ÁrucrLA RUrz PToBLES

* t*rmp§ets the $p#e*h hy a würt:atr1 talkirlg ah*ut ker ftr"¡rhÉ*it¡r'cs

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I don't want to be disrespectful, but it wasn't enough for me to be

a I ........................ and stay at home. I wanted more from life. I was
ambitious, and loved a 2
lwas'
the difficulties young people faced when they came from poor
families. I know the parents worried about how
to 5 ...................... their children. I wanted to teach the
the children would need to earn money. I was
to help them change their lives - and I knew if
I used technology I could do it better - ancl I was right! I'm
of the things I've achieved. despite all the difficulties

* Po you thint* technology can help y*:u learr"r bet(er? Explain your
an§\ffer

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l§ Wfiiclr do you prnfero an e-boak trr a printed hoclk? Explain the

advantages and disadvantases eif, each, in yerur opinion"
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#* ffied§ffim,e*d Ybmcker
On 28th March, 1895, a daughter was born to Elena Robles and
Feliciano Ruiz in a small üllage called Villamanin, in the province of
Leon. They called her Ángela Ruiz Robles.
Ángela's family was quite wealthy and she grew up in a comfortable
home. Her father was a pharmacist, and well educated in science.
Her mother was a housewife who dedicated her life to her family.
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l Ángela studied in the Escuela Normal de Maestros in Leon, where
she received lessons in shorthand, typing and commercial
l
I
accounting.
After graduating from school, Ángela decided to study to become a
teacher. "We come to this world not only to live our lives as
comfortably as possible, but to care for others so that they can benefit
I from something offered by us," she said.
After Teachers' College, Ángela taüght at local schools. But she
ready to accept a bigger challenge - something worthwhile to
back to society. She had three years of experience teaching the
practical subjects of secretarial and office skills. In I9I8, those were
exactly the skills that young people from poor farming families
needed to advance in the'modern'world.
So, Ángela decided to take a teaching job in the village of Santa
Eugenia de Mandia, in the province of La Coruna, Galicia. The
families there were hard-working farmers and merchants with little
time or money to spend on educating their children.
Ángela was an excellent teacher, years ahead of her time in
educational philosophy and technology. She was aware of the hard
lives of the poor and tried to give her students the tools they needed
1o have the best possible lives.
The children in the village soon discovered that Doña Argelita, as
they affectionately called her, was not like other teachers. She
believed every child should be taught at his or her level of ability. She
insisted that every child should leave school with usable skills so they
would not have to struggle to find emplol,rnent in the future.
I
Her dedication to education was not limited to school hours. Doña
Angelita visited her students in their homes after school. "This way,
I can give them more personal attention, according to their needs"'
she said. Sometimes, she included the parents in her home lessons'
paid
as many of them could not read or nT ite themselves' She also
for many of the school supplies from her oum pocket'
Somefimes, Ángeta inctuded
the parents in her hame
t.,r'
was
give
Ángela stayed in the village of Mandia for I0 years' In 1925' her
neighbours awarded her a special distinction in recognition of her
dedication to teaching.
In 1928, Ángela married a merchant seaman and moved to the
nearby to'rm of Ferrol. There, she became a housewife and a mother
to three daughters, María Elvira, Maria del Carmen and Elena' But
tragedy occurred when her husband died young, and Ángela became
a widow and single mother, who had to provide for her young
family. Ángeta needed to find a job, and fast'
Ángela returned to teaching and became the manager of a school
for orphan girls. Once again, she cared deeply about her students and
was determined to give them useful tools for their future. without
families to help them, the girls needed to be able to take care of
themselves.
 Ángela prioritorised learning a profession and taught the girls
shorthand, tlping and commercial accounting. Thanks to her, all her
girls left school with rhe necessary skills to get good jobs.
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;
All her gids left school with rhe
necessory skills to get goodjobs.
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During this busy time of teaching and being a single mother,
Ángela began to r¡rrite. With little free time, she wnote at night while
her daughters were asleep. Her books were about education, spelling,
Spanish shorthand and how to study.
The Spanish Civil War started in 1936. During this devasrating
conflict, which lasted for three years, many soldiers and civilians
died. Millions of people were left trying to rebuild their lives.
After the war, Ángela opened a business and secretarial school
called Elmaca. It was named after her three daughters, using the
initial letters of each of their names. she declared that the objective
of the school was "to give a future to the young people for whom the
Civil War has taken their present".
For Ángela, learning was not about memorising and reciting
Iessons, but about reasoning and thinking. She believed teachers
should make interactive lessons, adapted for each child,s level and
difficulties. She encouraged her teachers to bring in their or¡m
materials to make their lessons interesting.
I
Elmaca taught secondary school students and prepared young men
and women for the entrance examinations to the Customs, Postal
and Telegraph Offices. The school was soon the most successful
school of its kind in the country, producing better results and higher
pass rates than any other college. Ángela Ruiz Robles was recognised
as a revolutionary in the field of education.
In the 1940s, Ángela bccame a professor at the Free Workers'
College, whcre she taught her educational theories. She was also still
raising her daughters and managing hcr household. Aithough she
had published l6 books, she felt therc was somcthing missing. Not
all of her pedagogical ideals could be rcalisecl. Thc tools for students
to participate and intcract in lcssons did not cxist. Ángcla said, "If it
does nol" exist, it must be invcnted."
So, along with everything else shc hacl to do, Ángela bccame an
invcntor. Her first invention, in 1944, the Scientific Gramrnatical
Atlas, was a device to teach thc geography and culturc of Spain
through languagc.
Next, she invcnted a ncw shorthand machine. Using this, her
students could now type up to 250 words a mlnulel Ángela was very
happy with her invcntions, and cncouraged by their success.
In 1947, she was awardcd a big honour - the Grand Cross
ol' thc Civil Ordcr of Alfonso X the Wise. This was a
national award for exceptional achievement in education,
science, culture or research, in recognition of her social
work and pedagogical innovations.
But Ángela didr-t sit back and
congratulate herself - in fact, she
didn't take a break at alll
ln l947,she wos awarded the
Grond Cross of the Civil Arder
of Alfonsa X theWise.
 Ángela had noticed that her students carried an enormous weight
of books home in order to study outside school hours. She imagined
a schoolbag with only one book in it - an ilteractive book that could
teach many subjects in a number of different languages. This book
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would have text, pictures, sound and a light for reading in the dark.
This ambitious idea led to Ángela's most famous invention of all -
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the Mechanical Encyclopedia.
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The Mechonicol Encyclopedio
This concept is very familiar to us now. It sountls i,cry rruch iike
thc tablets and iPads we use today. But, in thosc days. the idca was
revolutionary and spectacular. It was years ahcatl ol' its tirnc.
Ángela didn't have the money to commission a prototypc rnodel
of her Mechanical Encyclopedia, but hcr dctailctl slictcltcs and
written description were enough to securc hcl a patcnt ill I949.
The basic idea was that inlbrmation wor¡lti [rc rrrir'roscopically
printecl onto film and wound onto a recl, likc .trl okl lashioned
camera. The film would pass under a magnifying glass, lit f'rom
below, as it wound fi'om the first reel to a not ltcl r.t't.l or r I I rc ot hcr sicle
of the glass'page'. The reels could be changcd lir rlilf t.rt'rr( subjects,
and diffcrcnt languages.
The mechanism was worked by pressing on letters to close an
electronic circuit, designed by Ángeta herself. This would select
the required subject and move the film along to show the selected
material on the glass page. She also planned to add sound recordings
to the device for a multi-sensory experience. It was an ambitious and
revolutionary idea, but she needed to get financial support for the
production costs. Where would this come from?
Armed with her notes and sketches, and a patent for her idea,
Ángela went to the Ministry of Education and Science in Madrid in
1949 arrd explained all the benefits of her Mechanical Enryclopedia.
ldvanta$eE of th* Me*anical Encvclopeáiaz
. lt, can be uaed af, hCIrrts afrd at" echo*l,
" Learntnq wilh souná and liqhr, help* peaVle wiLh
poor vieion.
, lt üan be u*ed in any lanquaqe.
: Sludent* *rúy need ane baak tar al\ lheir aubjtcLs.
r lhe iriform atian ia ?raasnLad in qraphic*, 6aund
attd lúxl.
, Srudyinq ie eaEi*r bacauoe visual canceVle
ár8 ynar* powsrtul Lhan Lhe 5?aken würd.
t Teachera can add,lheir *wn aubject. matf*er.
, l+, Gan be manutaclured in lighl and waler-reeialant
ffialfrrialb,
nut Ángela was not taken seriously. Apart from not being
able to show a working model, she was 'only' a woman and a
provincial teacher. She was congratulated for her wonderful idea,
but the ministry couldn't help with financing the manufacture of
the Mechanical Enryclopedia. Ángela returned home empty-handed
and disappointed.
-

There was some interest overscas but Ángela ignoreci it. She
was still determined that Spain wor.rld get the benefit of what shc
believecl to be the futurc of cducation. In a way, Ángela was correct.
I Ángela Ruiz Robles never gave up hope that her invention This was the futurc of cducation, but not until over 60 years later.
would be manufactured in Spain. In an interview in 1958, she said, Meanwhile, Ángela was teaching about eclucation. She became the
"Foreign companies have been interested in buying my patent, but director ol'Ibáñez Martín School (now called CEIP Recimil ), whcrc
I

I my wish is that Spain can benefit from my work." But unfortunately, shc Lrad taught for l0 years. She joined the Association of Spanish
no one in Spain was interested in providing the money. Although she Inventors and becamc the Provincial Head for Galicia. After the
kept paying the yearly I950s, Ángela won ovcr a dozen national
patent fees until 1961, anc'l international prizes and honours
no one offered the for her work in edr.rcation and scientil'ic
financial support she innovation. And during all this time, she
needed. continued teaching fiee night classes at the
Ángeta travelled to Workers' College.
science conventions Ángela never stoppecl believing in
and exhibitions all over her Mechanical Encyclopedia. In 1962,
Europe, publicising the she applied and received a patent for
mechanical book, and 'an apparatus for diverse readings and
won many prizes and exercises'. It was a simiiar but simpler
awards [or thc idea mechanical apparatus for reading. writing
and innovative design. and making basic calculations.
Unfortunately, these This time, she found a manufacturer to make a sample machine
¿wards werc only [or in zinc and bronze, with an alphabet and numbers so the students
the honour of winning could write their own texts and do simple calculations. Information
and did not come with could be acccsscd in Spanish, French or English. It was not thc
a monetary prize. Mechanical Encyclopedia, but it was still an amazing invention.
 Ángela took the machine to Maddd, where she tried to get financial
support again. Despite being a cheaper device to produce and having Ángeta Ruiz Robles once said, "After my death, leave me alone." And this is

the working prototype, she was once again congratulated, but not almost what happened. Her name was forgotten for over 30 years, until 2006,
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offered any financial investment. when her 1962 prototype appeared in a museum in Ferrol. Over the next
In 1970, Ángela rejected an offer to use her patent to build a decade, the prltl@e was moved to a larger museum in La Coruna, where it
mechanicalbook in the United States. Despite years of disappointment is exhibrted today.

from Spanish investors, she was still stoically patriotic to Spain. Interest in Ángela Ruiz Robles revived. Her biography now appears in many

Finally, ittl97l, a company did a cost report using plastic instead publications. There is a book about her life, a national prize given in her name,

of zinc and bronze. They concluded that each mechanical book would and even a Google Doodle published in 2016 on the date of her 12Lst birthday!

cost about 100.000 pesetas (over ó00 euros)! This was a huge amount Perhaps the greatest triumph of all, and possibly the one that she would

in those days, and too expensive for the students to buy' Even be most proud of, is that Ángeta Ruiz Robles is now finally recognised as the

schools would not be able to pay for a mechanical book for every inventor of the precursor to the e-book. It seems her early philosophy came

student. Despite this setback, Ángela kept hoping for recognition true - we all benefit today from the vision and contribution of this remarkable

for her creation until her death. w0man.

Ángela Ruiz Robles died on 27th October, 1975 in Ferrol, Spain.

In 2018. the Council of Madrid named a street after her: Ángela Ruiz
Robles Street.

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l. Ángela dealt wilh a lot of disappointment' For example, she ........................ 1. Ángela understood the particular needs of the children she taught.
I

2. We know that Ángela's vision came true because

2. Ángela did many other things besides teaching.

4. Ángela needed financial support so that she

3. Ángela was a talented inventor.
5. The weight of thc students' books meant they were

4. Ángela's ideas were ahead of her time

* ffre words in bold are in the wrong §enten§e§'

Write the eonrect word after the sentemee, 5. Ángela didn't receive much support for her ideas fiom the business
l. Ángela's powerful girls didn't have any help from families, community.
but they still left school with usable skills' ..............

2. The Mechanical Encyclopedia worked by missing letters near

an electronic circuit.
J. For some children, seeing things is a more nearby way of lcarning 't, &.ffis\*¡flr'tlre questÉ*nrr. xffr''ite ths mstswers Ém ywur" melteh#qrts.

than just listening to the spoken word l. In what way was Ángela different from other teachers?
4. Ángela's orphan achievements were finally recognised, in 2006. 2. What was the tragedy Ángela suffered?
3. What were the names of Ángela's inventions
5. Ángela published many educationai books, but she stili felt something and what were they used for?
was pressing from her life. 4. What were the benefits of the Mechanicai
6. Ángela moved to a remarkable town and had three children there. Encyclopedia?
5. Why didn't Ángela respond to the
interest in her devices that
Ángeta wasnt the only scientist to.havq a street named after her. she received from overseas?
Recently, a decision was made in Madrid to recogn¡se the
forgotten work of pioneering Spanish women by naming at least
30 streets after them.