Mrs. Carmen, Mrs. Conchita, Mr. Atilano, and Mr. Octavio: educators from Teruel of the 1950s who shaped the future of young Honorio Romero, who would go on to become the Dean of the Notarial College of Aragon, a member of the General Council of Notaries of Spain, president of the Board of the Ibercaja Foundation, and director of the Royal Aragonese Economic Society of Friends of the Country, among other responsibilities. When he first walked into his village school, Honorio Romero did not know that this would be the first step toward a long, prestigious, and prolific professional career that would make him one of the most relevant figures in the notarial and economic fields of Aragon and Spain.
Honorio, the son of a carpenter, was born in Santa Eulalia del Campo (Teruel) in 1949 and showed a special interest in studies from a very young age. So much so that one of his teachers at the village school, the aforementioned Mr. Octavio, advised his parents to ‘enroll him in further studies.’ This means that he should pursue higher education after finishing his basic training. An education that began in the classroom of a locality that at that time had around 2,500 inhabitants, compared to nearly 20,000 in the provincial capital and over 300,000 in Zaragoza.
If he wanted to continue his education, Honorio Romero had to leave his family home and move to Molina de Aragón first and then to Zaragoza. He completed his high school studies in his hometown and in Molina de Aragón and graduated in Law from the University of Zaragoza. His first competitive exams were for Judicial Secretary, working in Molina de Aragón. He then took the exams for Notaries and has been assigned to Chantada (Lugo), Barbate (Cádiz), Tudela (Navarra), and Huesca. Since 1992 he has practiced in Zaragoza.
In this interview, Honorio Romero looks back and shares his experience as a student in a rural school and what it has meant for him to be educated there.
How would you describe your experience as a student in a rural school? There is a saying that neither the past is as we remember it, nor the future has turned out as we dreamed. I have many memories from those years. The first day I went to school: the teachers we had, Mrs. Carmen and Mrs. Conchita. Then, at six, we moved to the upper schools, first and second grade, where I was with Mr. Atilano. Also Mr. Octavio, Mrs. Pilar, who prepared me for high school… I have fond feelings for all my teachers. I appreciated and valued them and I have good memories. The role of the teacher in a village is essential. A teacher must be fundamentally vocational. If they have vocation, they will have a passion for educating. Mr. Octavio was the one who called my father to see if they could enroll me in school, which was called then, and he prepared me and another friend for admission. We did well in 1st grade and later continued well in 2nd and 3rd grade with Mrs. Pilar, another teacher from Santa Eulalia, who prepared us for high school in the afternoons. We also performed well, and then I went to Molina de Aragón for 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. And in pre-university, I came to Zaragoza. After that came the degree and the competitive exams, and in all those places, I found exceptional teachers.
What is the first memory that comes to mind when you think of your rural school? The first day I went to school, which my mother took me to the kindergarten, where I sat at recess and met my neighbors who told me to come play with them. I remember it perfectly. In my time in Santa Eulalia, I remember there were ten teachers. There were two for kindergarten, six for the upper schools that we attended, where there were thirty or forty kids in each class; and two from «La Azucarera.» At that time, Santa Eulalia had nearly 3,000 inhabitants, and now there are fewer, so I suppose the number of teachers has decreased as well.
What was the relationship like with your teachers and classmates in such a close-knit environment? I remember that if we were walking down the street and saw the teacher, we would run to greet them. Both the teacher and the doctor, any figure of authority. Even if we were playing, it was a sign of respect. It’s something that was instilled in us. And among the classmates, the relationship was very good, and it continues to be. When I see an old classmate, it brings me joy. Whether from Santa Eulalia, or from the years in Molina de Aragón, or while studying Law in Zaragoza. The older one gets, the more one needs to return to their roots. We have to revert to the values we have been given. It’s very necessary. Speaking of this, what values or teachings acquired in your rural school do you believe have influenced your professional development? First and foremost, the value of respect is essential. Everyone can think in their own way, but respecting the ideas of others is crucial. There is a very good saying that if everyone agrees in a meeting, someone is not thinking. You must contribute your own criteria, but the way to contribute is with respect for the views of others. And you cannot allow others to disrespect you. That is a huge red line. The example we were given, both at home and in school, is that in this life, the only way to move forward is by working. Everyone in what they are capable of, but work is essential. There’s a saying from my fellow countryman Isidoro Antillón, when he was a deputy in the Cádiz Courts: “If I do no more, it will be because I cannot physically, and if I do not do better, it will be because I do not understand more.” In other words, in all activities we start in our lives, we must dedicate our physical strength and our intellectual capacity. These are the values of effort, work, self-improvement, and the desire for a better life, which my parents had for my sister and me in our studies so that we could have a better life than theirs.
Do you think the rural school played an important role in your sense of belonging and attachment to the rural environment? I love my village above all, everyone knows I am from Santa Eulalia, and I always say it. Even when I prepare candidates for notarial exams, the cases I provide are always from my village. Being from a village has influenced me, both in my life and in the education I have given to my daughters. I have been fortunate to lead a much more manageable life than my parents, who worked tirelessly. Regarding the attachment to the rural world, I think it also includes the fact that it was a completely different time. The rural world now in Santa Eulalia is nothing like the one we lived in 70 years ago. It’s not only about being rural, but also how different Aragon and Spain are now compared to the 1950s. I was born on October 30, 1949, just four years after the end of World War II and ten years after the Spanish Civil War.
How do you assess the role of the rural school in the cohesion and future of communities in depopulated areas? The first premise is that there cannot be a single student, not a single child left without a school. None. Education must be made accessible to everyone.
