Pau Vila

He was born in Sabadell in 1881 and died in Barcelona in 1980. Pedagogue, researcher and Spanish writer who excels in the field of geography in Catalonia, Colombia and Venezuela. He emphasizes, from very young age, his self-effort requiring him to complete the gaps in his education, besides its clear vocation as a guide or counsellor. In his youth he always tried to let people around him know about knowledge and orientations. There is evidence that since very young, taking advantage of the proletarian environment where he grows, already gave evening classes to groups of workers. Also, he had relationships with teachers of schools for workers as the Modern School of the renowned pedagogue Ferrer i Guardia. In 1902 he began his teaching career in the labourer cultural centre at Badalona and, later, in schools of Foment Martinenc and the Republican Federalist Democratic Centre. The sectors where he worked for years are immersed in the social, cultural and political environment that identify him. However, in 1905 he decides to start his teaching career independently according to his personality and what he had learned so far. He departs in his practice of educational ideas of Ferrer i Guardia, considering them as limited for the moment. Pau Vila begins to build himself as a pedagogue in constant application of practice, using different methods depending on the specific needs and objectives. He founded Horaciana’s School with a renewed claim to education. It becomes a school that avoids rote and passive attitude of the traditional school and seeks to give a more active approach to teaching practice. In 1912 he accepts a grant from the Board of Advanced Studies in Madrid for studies for two years at the Faculty of Education Sciences of Geneva under the direction of prominent pedagogue Edouard Claparède. Upon returning to Barcelona he founded the New World of Gold School, which comes to the fore as a leader in the world of Catalan educational reform.