In most Ecuadorian history manuals, Flores’ name appears as the first president of the country, a relative honor, because it was Rocafuerte who laid the real foundations for the construction of the new country, which was plunged in internal struggles and separatist attempts that were aborted in time and with energy.
For Don Vicente, education was a means by which the necessary reforms could be implemented to create a modern State and form citizens with knowledge of their duties and rights. Therefore, one of his objectives was to implement a vigorous system of public education, his words spoken at the 1835 Convention can be considered his declaration of principles: «Because the moment the people know their rights, there is no other way to govern them but to cultivate their intelligence and instruct them in the fulfillment of their duties. The instruction of the masses strengthens liberty and destroys slavery».
This thought describes a leader who sought education for all the inhabitants of the country, discarding any hint of elitist education. His model were the Lancasterian schools that he had seen in England, from which he took some elements, such as a preceptor for a certain number of students, as well as a system of punishments and rewards, plus a set of elementary subjects such as Mathematics, Geometry, Calligraphy, Religion; Under this very economical method, he focused his attention on primary education, thus creating the first school for girls in Quito in the old beaterio; at the beginning of his mandate, more than 70 girls received basic education under the guidance of the North American Isaac Guillermo Wheelwright.
In August 1836, by decree, it was ordered that in each of the male convents that existed in Quito, primary schools were created with the objective of educating 200 children. Likewise, the nuns of the Conception convent were asked to open a school for girls. To supply the dozens of small schools that were created throughout the republic, a quarry was ordered to be opened in Riobamba to produce blackboards where the students could write their daily lessons. He even implemented a printing press for the elaboration of school textbooks, since it is worth mentioning that Rocafuerte refused to collect his salary as president, allocating those funds for the promotion of education.
Legacy
Once the organizational bases of basic education were established, he moved on to organize secondary and higher education. He secularized the San Bernardo school in Quito, modernizing its academic curriculum. In 1838 he created the first Regulation of Public Instruction, creating the General Directorate of Education. New schools were created in Riobamba, Cuenca. Quito, Guayaquil and Latacunga. In higher education, his efforts were concentrated in the creation of the Nautical School in the city of Guayaquil.
http://www.larevista.ec/cultura/historia/vicente-rocafuerte-maestro-de-maestros
