Traditionally, the different generations of preceptors meet at the University of La Serena to remember their time at the former Normal School.

At only eleven years old, hundreds of girls from different parts of Chile began their application to be part of the La Serena Normal School, with the dream of training as primary school teachers. Once accepted, they would have to live together in what would be their home for six years, to learn subjects such as grammar, reading, hygiene, psychology, school administration, morality, among others, creating strong bonds of brotherhood with their peers.

In this context, annually different generations meet at the current Isabel Bongard Campus of the University of La Serena with the purpose of remembering all their experiences as “Normalists”, and on this occasion, it was the generation of '67 that celebrated its fifteenth anniversary as preceptors of education.

And as is tradition, the rooms of the study house were flooded with the joyful songs of the preceptors, whose voices reflected the affection and pride they feel for their training house. Susana Pacheco, from the generation of '61 and who is part of the choir created three years ago, said that knowing how to sing well was one of the requirements considered to be able to enter the School.

“The great pride I feel in being a preceptor is being able to have work in all instances, from very humble schools to well-resourced establishments. We had to work at a time when approximately 92% of the Chilean population was illiterate, and we were part of the projects that sought to reverse this situation. They sent us to the countryside to teach the syllabary to the most humble children in the country, we taught them to read and write, and that changed their lives. There are students who are now adults, who visit us with great affection remembering our work,” said Susana Pacheco, who wrote the book “Sowing alphabets. History, pedagogy and assistance in rural primary education, Coquimbo Region”, which captures the memories of many preceptors of the time.

Likewise, he expressed the differences that exist with the current type of training, in which in the past child care was prioritized along with school learning. “It seems that teachers these years have forgotten to teach the beauty of dreaming to children. The connection between you and me was the most important thing, because otherwise how do you get to know the students? They hired us for the position, not like it is done today, and that involved teaching them the school content, playing with them in the yard and giving breakfast, lunch and afternoon meals to the children, since it was the only thing they ate during the day. day. The great black box of today is that that closeness has been lost.”

The anniversary activities continued at the Municipal Theater of La Serena with an academic tribute ceremony for the 128th anniversary of the founding of the former Normal School, and culminated on Sunday with a recreational walk in the town of Punta de Choros .

Source: PMI FIP ULS1501 Press