Moisés Sáenz: Vigencia De Su Legado (English Translation) Edmund T

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications: Department of Teaching, Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Learning and Teacher Education Education 3-8-2015 Moisés Sáenz: Vigencia de su Legado (English translation) Edmund T. Hamann University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/teachlearnfacpub Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons Hamann, Edmund T., "Moisés Sáenz: Vigencia de su Legado (English translation)" (2015). Faculty Publications: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education. 192. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/teachlearnfacpub/192 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Moisés Sáenz: RELEVANCE OF HIS LEGACY EDMUND T. HAMANN Moisés Sáenz: RELEVANCE OF HIS LEGACY ESCUELA NORMAL SUPERIOR “PROFR. MOISÉS SÁENZ GARZA” FONDO EDITORIAL DE NUEVO LEÓN Monterrey, México, 2015 LIC. RODRIGO MEDINA DE LA CRUZ Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Nuevo León MTRO. JESÚS ALBERTO ALMAGUER ROCHA Secretario de Educación MTRO. HUMBERTO LEAL MARTÍNEZ Director General de la Escuela Normal Superior “Profr. Moisés Sáenz Garza” DR. ROGELIO REYES REYES Director de la Escuela de Graduados DRA. CAROLINA FARÍAS CAMPERO Directora del Fondo Editorial de Nuevo León 1st edition, 2015 © Edmund T. Hamann © Escuela Normal Superior “Profr. Moisés Sáenz Garza” © Fondo Editorial de Nuevo León Zuazua 105 Sur, Centro CP 64000, Monterrey, Nuevo León (81) 8344-2970 y 71 www.fondoeditorialnl.gob.mx ISBN 978-607-8266-60-9 PRINTED IN MEXICO The total or partial reproduction of this work is prohibited by any means or process, including electronic. This text is dedicated to my father,who has shared my interest in Moisés Sáenz’ biography and legacy and whose long ago edits on early versions of this manuscript contribute to whatever quality it may have. TABLE OF CONTENTS Presentation 11 Prologue 13 Foreword 19 Moisés Sáenz’ Mission for Rural Schools 35 Sáenz’ Ideal Rural School and the Shadow 51 of John Dewey The Ideal School in Practice 73 The Carapan Experiment 77 Sáenz and Townsend: The Bilingual 82 Education Example Indian Education: Sáenz Hidden Legacy 86 Conclusion 90 Sources 96 PRESENTATION I am highly pleased to make available to all readers this work written by the American anthropologist Edmund T. Hamman which, in spite of having been concluded two decades ago, had not been published in the original language or in Spanish. It is a remarkable research of the contributions of Moisés Sáenz-Garza, an illustrious educator from Nuevo Leon, to education in Mexico and the world during a highly productive period of educational renewal such as the early Twentieth Century. This work by E. T. Hamman is significant for at least three reasons: it constitutes a first both in our academic and its source environments; it refers us to a large number of American data sources engaged in analyzing and valuating a unique period in Mexican public education, back when a happy alliance occurred between creativity and human- ism, experimentalism and social sensitivity; and it vindicates on sound foundations the central role of Moisés Sáenz-Garza in the construction of Mexican educational nationalism, on account of his contributions to the rural education model under an auto-critical outlook, to the novel education in native languages, and to the understanding that educational actions should be a part of a comprehensive social policy if we truly seek a strong promotion of a sustainable improvement among the most vulnerable population. 12 The treatment of this subject shows close proximity to the Mex- ican educator, his thoughts on education, his trajectory, and his very particular ethos as a public servant (i.e. his interest in working direct- ly with the communities far from the comforts of a cabinet official) from some biographical, at times even autobiographical, angle which renders its reading a pleasant, and appreciated experience. Addition- ally to the Spanish version, this edition contains the original texts in an attached CD, which allows an even wider exposure in the international milieu. We hope specialists in Mexican education history, educators in Nuevo León and México at large, and all who share an interest in education as a means to drive development and achieve a higher social equity will find inspiration in the emotion and commitment that al- ways characterized the public performance of this exemplary son of Nuevo Leon, distinguished advocate of education in our State, whose name, memory, and legacy will forever honor our beloved educational institution. Humberto Leal Martínez GENERAL DIRECTOR TEACHERS COLLEGE “PROFR. MOISÉS SÁENZ GARZA” MONTERREY, NUEVO LEÓN. FEBRUARY, 2015 PROLOGUE This book is an outcome of the research effort of a young American anthropologist who works with an approach similar to that of a biographical essay and analyzes the pedagogical thinking of a remarkable Mexican educator and his historical, social and cultural context. The ideas printed here preserve a concern for learning and explaining educational contributions within a given period of time; these contributions have gained significance as time went by. In fact, Doctor Edmund Tappan Hamann developed an interest in the work of Moisés Sáenz-Garza when he studied education in the nineties. Hamann’s intellectual venture, his educational research and experiences in different countries started with the anal- ysis and interpretation of a salient player in the history of education in Mexico. Moisés Sáenz, Distinguished Professor in Nuevo Leon whose re- mains rest at the Rotunda of the Illustrious Persons in Mexico City, graduated from Teachers College in Jalapa, Veracruz; studied chem- ical and natural science in the Washington & Jefferson College, at Pennsylvania, USA; completed his PhD at Teachers College at Co- lumbia University, New York, in said country, and studied at the Paris Sorbonne University, in France. 14 After residing and studying abroad he returned home to join the academia and public service; the country was in the course of recon- struction after the upheaval of the Mexican Revolution. Sáenz-Garza was a social scientist concerned with the integration of native Indians to national life. As well as Manuel Gamio, he was one of the academi- cians and public officials to undertake research efforts and relate them to the nation’s social development programs. With the creation of the Public Education Department in 1921, Mexican rural schools were enhanced by the educational thinking of José Vasconcelos, Rafael Ramírez, Narciso Bassols, and the significant participation of Moisés Sáenz; who was also the promoter of secondary schools in Mexico, effective by a presidential decree in 1925. The book explains the circumstances that aroused Hamann’s interest in the work of Moisés Sáenz and ponders the current validity of his pedagogical thinking. This book has eight chapters. The first one deals with his work highlighting the escuelas rurales (rural schools) mission. The second one discusses relations between the thoughts of John Dew- ey and the manner in which Sáenz transformed and adapted his ideas for the Mexican experience. The proposed “ideal school in practice” is featured in the third chapter. The fourth section contains an explana- tion of the experimental project carried out at Carapan, Michoacán. The fifth one discusses the influence of William Cameron Townsend on bilingual education for the indigenous population. The veiled Sáenz legacy on the Indians’ education is the subject of the sixth chapter. Under Conclusions, the document contains an evaluative approach of the work of Sáenz and education in Mexico. The book concludes referencing the abundant and valuable sources of information used for research. 15 After reading this book, you will be able to find parallels in the lives of Moisés Sáenz and Edmund T. Hamann. When young, Sáenz developed the social experiment in Carapan at the Purepecha Cañada de los Once Pueblos. In turn, in the mid-eighties Hamann also participated in a voluntary intercultural collaboration and leadership development pro- gram named Amigos de las Américas (Friends of the Americas) where he worked in health promotion efforts in a number of Michoacan villages. In both of them we find a fruitful collaboration involving ideas and external resources on one hand; and dependence and success of these projects with an active participation of the communities, on the other. Sáenz was highly influenced by the practice-oriented education philosophy of John Dewey, his professor at Teachers College Colum- bia University, as well as by William Cameron Townsend, an American missionary and linguist, remarkable for his work in native languages at several Latin American countries although barely studied in Mexico regardless of his close relationship with President Cárdenas. In turn, Hamann was supported

Load more