The legacy of teachers Olga and Leticia Cossettini: between thoughts and the nostalgia for a better school

Purpose What role did educational historians play in disseminating the legacy of these teachers? What connections were woven between the academic work and that of the alumni who helped disseminate the experience? What tensions have arisen around references to this experience within the field of education? When, and through what mechanisms, did it become public history? Finally, in light of this experience, what challenges does the history of education face in bringing the legacies of educators who “made history” into dialogue with today's problems? Design/methodology/approach The experience of teachers Olga and Leticia Cossettini took place in Rosario, Argentina, between 1935 and 1950. It ended abruptly due to an intervention linked to the country's context and the political ideas of these women. While it enjoyed significant presence in the region at the time, it was only after the military dictatorship ended in 1983 that the experience began to be known, and it continued to spread nationally and internationally in the following decades. Findings Even before this experience was studied and systematized by historians of education, it was already widely known in the educational field thanks to the film La escuela de la Señorita Olga/The School of Miss Olga (Piazza, Argentina, 1992). In the decades following its release, we can observe the work of numerous educators, historians of education and other historians in systematizing the experience, but also a significant movement of educators and organizations, brought together by alumni of the school, who have dedicated themselves to keeping their legacy alive. Originality/value Research on the intersection between the guardians of the Cossettini legacy and what has been investigated by educational historians.