I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to say goodbye to all of you after nearly 38 years working at the Saint Augustine High School of the Augustinian Recollects in Valladolid.
I say goodbye with both joy and sadness: joy at leaving with my health restored after the ups and downs of cancer in various episodes; sadness because work has been made easier thanks to you and my colleagues in the office, with whom there was never any bad environment. They have always been by my side during the most difficult times.
In 1988, I joined the Saint Augustine High School secretary office. Back then, in addition to a telephone, we had an electronic typewriter that could store up to 250 characters, daisies in different fonts and sizes, and relentless spell checkers… Oh! We were cutting edge!
We lived like this for a decade until computers arrived. Our first computer course was taught by the Augustinian Recollect José Antonio Martínez Merino, and I participated alongside other Recollect religious, such as José Luis Garayoa and Antonio Eraso, the most diligent, who copied the instructions from the keyboard.
This changing technological world would revolutionize work and communication. We delved into data computerization with the HyperCard program. We entered grades using printed lists given to tutors, who circled each student’s result for each subject. It was crazy: when the software didn’t work, the scanner wouldn’t interpret the grades correctly, and the final result wasn’t accurate… And let’s not even talk about the minutes!
Furthermore, the two religious men who helped us with the programming were no longer around: José Antonio Martínez, the program’s creator, went to Rome as the Order’s general secretary; and Rafael Mediavilla, who is here today, wasn’t living in Valladolid at the time. Fortunately, HyperCard didn’t last long, and better alternatives appeared.
Over time, our relationship with students, parents, and teachers has changed a lot. Previously, paper was the primary method for everything: registration, beginning and end-of-year newsletters, lists, field trips, exams, minutes, summer activities, report cards, assessment summaries, grade books, extracts from student personal records, parties (Christmas, school)…
Half the time was spent making photocopies. Because it was physical, the relationship with students, parents, and teachers was direct and personal. It was also more complicated; for example, high school transcripts were handwritten and duplicated, and University Orientation Course (COU) transcripts were triplicate for university, high school, and school.
Students and teachers frequently came to the office to make photocopies. I felt comfortable, although sometimes you took the pressure of not getting all your paperwork done on time home with you, and that kept you from sleeping well.
Now, that relationship is completely different. Passwords, data, and certificates are exchanged with families without any presence; and teachers manage their tools independently, using their passwords. Students barely need copies of anything. Physical contact is scarce, something further reinforced by the pandemic. It has generated advantages for work, but it has also lost warmth and human touch.
I don’t want to say goodbye without remembering all those who have worked directly in the secretary Office of the Saint Agustine High School, five of whom were friars and one lay person. I remember them all for their spirit, support, and leadership. And I also want to remember my colleague and friend Clara, a great educator and coworker. She will be the sweetest thing I take with me.
Greetings, and thank you.
