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Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino (1811-1888), was born in San Juan and was largely self-educated. He was the first civil president of the Republic of Argentina, and he also engaged in journalism and education.
In 1842 he was named as the director of a new teacher-treaning institution in Santiago, Chile, and three years later, he was sent to Europe and Unites States by the Chilean government to study educational systems.
In 1845 he published "Civilization and barbarity", an essay that discusses the conflict between barbarism and civilization as a perennial theme in Latin American literature.
After the fall of Rosas in 1852, Sarmiento returned to Argentina. Moreover after he finished his presidential period, as director of schools in Buenos Aires, he reorganized the school system. His administration was energetic, vigorous and progressive; he extended commerce and he encouraged education.
Sarmiento was a very responsible person and his only dream was to give the opportunity for all the children to have a place to study. He is, in the history of my country, the best teacher of all. What's more he was the first one to start making educational systems, so when talking about him, we can say that we are proud of him and that he will always be a historical figure.
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