Adela and Celsa Speratti
L to R: Celsa Speratti and Adela Speratti
Born(Adela) 1865 (1865); (Celsa) 1868 (1868)
(Adela) Barrero Grande, Paraguay; (Celsa) Luque, Paraguay
Died(Adela) 1902 (aged 36–37); (Celsa) 1938 (aged 69–70)
Asunción, Paraguay
NationalityParaguayan
Occupationeducators
Years active1886–1902; 1890–1907
Known forestablishing the first teacher training schools in the country after the War of the Triple Alliance

Adela Speratti (1865–1902) and Celsa Speratti (1868–1938) were Paraguayan sisters who were instrumental in developing the educational system of the country. Born during the War of the Triple Alliance, in which their father was killed, the sisters and their mother became refugees, fleeing to Argentina. Both trained as teachers there before returning to Paraguay and establishing the first normal school in Asunción.

Early life

Adela Speratti was born in 1865 in Barrero Grande[1] and Celsa was born in 1868 in Luque, Paraguay.[2] Their mother, Dolores Speratti, was the daughter of José Miguel Speratti, natural son of Josefa Facunda Speratti. Josefa was the wife of Fulgencio Yegros, one of the military officers who fought for Paraguayan independence and first head of state of an independent Paraguay, and daughter of José Tomás Speratti, who had immigrated from Bergamo, Italy to Paraguay before his daughter's birth.[2]

Both Adela and Celsa were born during the War Of The Triple Alliance, in which their father served as a soldier and which caused their mother to become a refugee. Fleeing the violence, Delores moved from place to place until the war ended in 1870. Their father was killed in the Battle of Ytororó in December 1868, after which the family moved to Corrientes, Argentina. From there they moved on to Buenos Aires, where the two girls began their schooling. In 1882, mother and daughters moved again, settling in Concepción del Uruguay in eastern Argentina, where Delores worked at the normal school,[1] Escuela Normal de Maestros y Profesores "Mariano Moreno" (Mariano Moreno Normal School of Teachers and Professors) and Adela began training to become a teacher. Celsa followed her sister's footsteps and enrolled in the same school a few years later.[1][3]

Careers

Completing her studies in 1886, Adela initially joined the school's administration workers and later became the chair of their mathematics department.[1] In 1889 Adela moved to Corrientes, where she taught as a professor of reading and writing at the normal school, for first and second year students.[3] At the encouragement of two other Argentine-trained, Paraguayan teachers, Anastacio Riera and Rosa Peña Guanes, wife of the former Paraguayan President Juan Gualberto González, Adela agreed to return to Paraguay to help the country recover from the war,[1] leaving Argentina in March 1890.[3]

By May 1890, Adela had established a school for preceptors in Asunción, the first training facility opened in the country after the war had ended. Celsa joined her in the school and helped organize the first graduate school for girls.[1][4][5] They pioneered improved teaching methods, expanding the opportunities for women to become educated in the country.[6] In 1897, Adela founded the normal school and became director of the institution, which she headed until her death on 8 November 1902. Celsa became the school director after Adela died and headed the school for five years. In 1907, Celsa married the president of the Superior Court of Justice, Pablo G. Garcete and retired from teaching. She died in Asunción, in 1938.[1]

Legacy

The Normal School in Asunción was renamed in Adela's honor[1] and in 1960, La Escuela Básica Nº 6722 in her home town, now known as Eusebio Ayala was also named after her.[7] The government issued a banknote in the denomination of ₲2,000 (two thousand Paraguayan guaraní) which features Adela[1] and Concepción Silva de Airaldi. Though the bank note is titled as if the photographs were Adela and Celsa, the likeness does not match the known images of her.[8] The government awards a prize for excellence in education, the Prize Professor Adela Speratti and Ramón Indalecio Cardozo, in honor of Adela and Cardozo's dedication to improving education in the country.[9]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Durán 2011, p. 6.
  2. 1 2 ABC Color 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 ABC Color 2004.
  4. ↑ Miller 1991, p. 46.
  5. ↑ Nickson 2015, p. 204.
  6. ↑ Nickson 2015, p. 227.
  7. ↑ Godoy 2017.
  8. ↑ Boltes 2011.
  9. ↑ Agencia de Información Paraguaya 2016.

Bibliography

  • Boltes, Oscar L. (16 February 2011). "La del billete de 2 mil guaraníes no es Celsa" [On the 2 thousand guaraníes bill is not Celsa] (in Spanish). Asunción, Paraguay: Paraguay Mi País. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  • Durán, Margarita (2011). "Billetes: Dos mil Guaraníes: Adela y Celsa Speratti" [Two thousand Guaraníes Banknotes: Adela and Celsa Speratti]. Boletín Científico Sapiens Research (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: Sapiens Research Group. 1 (1): 6. ISSN 2215-9312. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  • Godoy, Karina (19 March 2017). "En el olvido quedó escuela ubicada a metros de la casa de Adela Speratti" [In oblivion was school located meters from the home of Adela Speratti]. Última Hora (in Spanish). Asunción, Paraguay. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  • Miller, Francesca (1991). Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-87451-558-9.
  • Nickson, R. Andrew (2015). Historical Dictionary of Paraguay (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8108-7964-5.
  • "Adela Speratti: Biografía" [Adela Speratti Biography] (in Spanish). Asunción, Paraguay: ABC Color. 12 November 2004. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  • "Biografía de las hermanas Celsa y Adela Speratti" [Biography of the sisters Celsa and Adela Speratti] (in Spanish). Asunción, Paraguay: ABC Color. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  • "MEC premiará la excelencia educativa con el premio "Prof. Adela Speratti y Prof. Ramón Indalecio Cardozo 2016"" [MEC will reward educational excellence with the Prize "Prof. Adela Speratti and Prof. Ramón Indalecio Cardozo 2016"] (in Spanish). Asunción, Paraguay. Agencia de Información Paraguaya. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
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