Posters for reading education: materiality, political-pedagogical debates and teaching practices in schools in Buenos Aires in the late XIX century.

Abstract

Reading education was one of the most important tasks assigned to primary schools as part of the consolidation of the liberal state model in Argentina. The time period in question was characterized by deep changes, like a greater emphasis on alphabetization, which was used as a sign of civilization, progress and the legitimacy of the political system.

The renovation of methods and reading materials became a political and pedagogic need. Because of this, charts and posters emerged to replace the previous “cartillas” used for basic alphabetization. These materials, designed specifically for basic reading education were undoubtedly the most common resource in schools in Buenos Aires by the end of the XIX century, when reading books were neither enough nor appropriate.

How did this “cartillas” look like? What were they made of? When were they first used and why? Who were the authors and editors that developed them? What pedagogical principles were they based on? What pedagogical/political debates arose at the time of their production and use? What practices emerged from their use? These are some of the questions we will try to answer in this article, which is based on the analysis of images of these “cartillas” (given that the originals are no longer available), pedagogic papers, magazine articles, resumes from practical conferences and from the inspectors that visited these schools.