Biographical
data
José
Abelardo Núñez Murúa was
born in Santiago de Chile in the middle of a family
of educators. His father was José María
Núñez. José Abelardo became
an orphan at the age of 14, he studied at the
National Institute and soon attended the Law School
at the University of Chile, where he graduated
as a lawyer in 1865. Although he worked as such
and was very much close to politics, his vocation
focused educational problems early.
In
1866, he participated of the foundation of the
Society of Primary Education - of which Abelardo
Núñez was its secretary since the
beginning and also the director of the Bulletin
of Education, the official diffusion organ.
In
recognition to his capacities, the central government
commissioned him in 1878 to travel to Europe and
the United States, to know the basic education
and high school systems besides the programs for
teachers' formation, foreseeing a possible application
in Chile.
Between
1879 and 1882, he mailed articles and essays to
Valparaiso's "El Mercurio" and Santiagos's
" El Ferrocarril " newspapers from several
places at the Northern Hemisphere, exposing his
observations intelligently.
The
Impeller of Education. After returning from
Europe in 1882, Núñez wrote: "Organization
of Schools for Teachers", a report that
was thoroughly accepted above all for reconciling
a reforming vision with a realistic look concerning
how to impel Chile's education. In 1888, he was
designated General Inspector of Primary Education
and promoted the creation of elementary schools
in the whole country and Schools for Teachers
at Copiapó, La Serena, Chillán,
Victória and Valdivia. In order to have
teachers formed he impelled the hiring of German,
Swiss and Austrian educators and cared for the
teachers' constant upgrading.
No
area was forbidden to him as an innovator of education,
being, besides that, the founder of the Pedagogic
Museum. He also impelled funding for school furniture,
didactic material and libraries.
The
American Reader*. Among the works written
by Núñez there are two that marked
generations of Chilean children and of other countries.
Abelardo Núñez published a spelling-book,
a book that taught the first letters and a text
of gradual reading entitled "The American
Reader" that was used at Chilean schools
longer than 40 years, being also drawn on as an
official Spanish Language Manual at primary schools
of several countries in Central America.
This
distinguished educator, an active member of Chile's
Council of Public Education until the end of his
days, died in Santiago de Chile in August 1910.
________________
*
"American"
meaning "Americano/ Americana" whether
in Spanish or Portuguese was a word used since
it was created to designate those born anywhere
in the whole Continent known as America. This,
of course, until some U.S. Government official
decided to appropriate it as theirs to designate
just those born in the USA. Then, they created
the expression "The Americas" to appoint
North, Central and South America but the USA stayed
as "America" and the other inhabitants
mostly became "Latin Americans". Can
one imagine "The Europes" or "The
Africas" or "The Asias"?
Notice.
The founder
of Grosrem, Alliance of Tertiary Exchange
's is a great-grandson of Prof.
José Abelardo Núñez Murúa.
