Friday, December 12, 2008

VICTOR MERCANTE (1870–1934)


This Argentinean educator was born in Buenos Aires in 1870. According to him, Education had to be based on observation and experimentation in order to prepare children for life. He wanted to achieve a practical and utilitarian education that helped students to manage life.
What I found interesting about him is his preoccupation in developing an effective pedagogic method for the whole population. Isn’t it great that someone started being interested in how to teach so many years ago?
He also developed some laws about education which would be the principles used by teachers. The ones that I found more interesting are:
Universality Law: he thought that everyone had the need and the aptitude to learn, in short, that education should be for everyone.
Autonomy Law: he said that the teacher should help students develop autonomous thinking.
Integrity Law: education should try to foster the integrity of the student, not only psychologically speaking but also related to the integrity of the knowledge.
Finally, I would like to point out his interest in universal education, his taking into account the affective life of students and also his contribution to the renewal in pedagogy of the 20s and 30s.

If you want to know more about this educator visit the following page:

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:pR0XFUKVYIgJ:www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/publications/ThinkersPdf/mercantes.PDF+victor+mercante&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ar