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It would be simplistic to think that Calasanz statarted from scratch. His
efforts were built upon the attempts and achievements of many others, in both Catholic and Protestants camps. It is not an
easy task to determine the boundaries of his original contributions so as to credit him neither more nor less than he deserves.
Today, we are the door of a modern world in a new millennium, but it should come as no surprise to learn that many modern
educational concepts can already be found in the life and writings of Calasanz. His life and our are in two very different
epochs but share some striking similarities in the social field. When Galileo observed the trajectory of the pendulum, when
Calasanz discovered children in both a fatherly and pastoral way, when Descartes pronounced his famous statement concerning
his own existence, we can say that they had already stepped on the threshold of modernity. According to Professor Valdecantos,
these three great men had a tremendous impact on society, each in his own way.
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