Jose Castillejo Duarte (1877-1945) was a renowned Spanish educator and jurist who was part of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. His participation in said educational establishment was double, first as a student and then as a teacher..
In addition, Castillejo Duarte was in the line of the last reformers who worked reliably for a better and advanced Spain. The jurist oriented his work towards teaching and education.
He was the author of different essays on pedagogy, and also served as promoter and creator of the Plurilingual School and the well-known International School. The first institution aimed to teach languages to children from the age of four; the second, to train around multiculturalism.
The pedagogue always showed attention and concern for the education that was imparted in his country. He was an active member and secretary of the Board for the Expansion of Scientific Studies and Research, which promoted scientific teaching and education.
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José was born on October 30, 1877 in the Ciudad Real province. He was the son of Daniel Castillejo y Masas, who was a lawyer, and Mariana Duarte y Pérez. The little boy showed undisciplined and disobedient behavior as a child, so his parents proceeded to intern him.
José Castillejo studied in his hometown. He managed to obtain a bachelor's degree on December 6, 1893, at the age of sixteen. For his rebellion, his parents committed him to the María Cristina School, which was run by the Augustinian friars, it was there that he began his steps in law.
Later, between 1893 and 1894, he began his career at the University of Valladolid, to continue it, until 1896, at the University of Zaragoza. Then he moved to the city of Madrid, where he enrolled in the Central University as an official student, and graduated in 1898. He obtained his doctorate four years later..
Castillejo continued with his preparation, so he began to study philosophy and letters, graduating in 1915. He studied with the pedagogue and philosopher Francisco Giner de los Ríos. It was this character who led him towards teaching, and put him in contact with the Institución de Libre Enseñanza.
Castillejo Duarte received scholarships to study in several European countries, such as Germany, where he studied civil law institutions, at the University of Berlin. After studying and learning languages, he returned to Spain, and in 1905 he agreed to teach law at the University of Seville.
The lawyer and professor was transferred in 1908 to give classes at the main house of studies in Valladolid. He continued to travel abroad to keep up to date with advances in education. Twelve years later he obtained a place at the University of Madrid, as professor of Roman law.
In one of his many trips, José Castillejo met his wife Irene Cleremont, who was of English nationality and worked as a psychologist and writer. They were married in 1922, and had four children: Jacinta, Leonardo, David and Sorrel.
His intellectual life and his movements in the educational field allowed him to occupy different positions. In 1927 the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations chose him as a member, he also directed the National Research Foundation in 1934.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936, José Castillejo decided to send his wife and children to England, while he stayed in Spain. However, some time later the Franco regime forced him to leave the country, and he was reunited with his family..
During his time in exile he wrote and published War of ideas in Spain, where non-violence and tolerance were the fundamental points. In addition, he was a professor at the University of Liverpool, and participated in a radio program of the BBC aimed at the Hispanic audience.
Castillejo also spent a season in Switzerland, where he served as director of the International Union of Students. The professor did not have the opportunity to return to his country; He died in London on May 30, 1945. He was remembered as a man with a passion for teaching..
José Castillejo Duarte's work was based on his thoughts and ideals about education and teaching. For him it was important that the institutions of his country were well trained to give citizens a suitable training to move the country forward.
In some of his written works Castillejo raised the problem of Spain about failure, concluding that education, politics and trade were the causes. The most outstanding works of the jurist and pedagogue are mentioned below:
- Education in England (1919, later reissued with the title Education in England: its ideas, its history and its national organization, 1930).
- History of Roman Law: politics, doctrines, legislation and administration (1935).
- The contractual form in inheritance law (1902).
- Universities, higher education and the professions in England (1919).
- War of ideas in Spain: philosophy, politics and education (1937).
- Dethroned democracies. A study in the light of the Spanish revolution (1923-1939, 2008).
- The Nazi Germanic Peace: three lectures broadcast by José Castillejo (1942).
- Message to the youth: three radio lectures by Professor José Castillejo, The state, education and workers: three radio lectures (1943).
- Democracies and dictatorships: Seven radio lectures by José Castillejo (1942).
- Fifty Divorce Lawsuits and Supreme Court Jurisprudence (1933-1934).
- The economic transformation of England (1842), exercises and cases of Roman Law (1930).
Finally, his son David Castillejo, who has a degree in History, compiled an epistolary from his father, which was divided into three volumes (1997-1999):
- The reforming intellectuals of Spain, volume I A bridge to Europe (1896-1909).
- Volume II entitled The spirit of an age (1910-1912).
- The last volume was Fatality and future (1913-1937).
Some of the scholars of the life and work of Castillejo Duarte consider that he was one of those important and prominent men who have been forgotten. His work deserves to be carefully analyzed, because his actions in the field of teaching were successful and accurate..
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