During his 20 years at Friends, Javier Ergueta has consistently raised the bar of intellectual engagement and critical thinking in the upper school.

Javier has taught many history courses during his tenure at the School, including designing a brand new course for WFS, Global Politics, for the fall of 2020. Javier did nothing half-way. He had significant materials housed online for student learning, whether in a “Diigo” bookmarking site, a quiz bank site (Quia), or on our school learning platform. Javier read widely and voraciously, both to develop his own learning and in support of student growth.

Javier was passionate as well about the Theory of Knowledge course, a cornerstone of the International Baccalaureate diploma program. He has introduced hundreds of students to new ways of thinking critically about knowledge sources and creation. Junior “TOK” students regularly can talk about the important boundary between skepticism and gullibility, thanks to his discussions. His lessons on how we learn and what is considered truth in different disciplines have shaped the WFS TOK program.

Javier also advised the Model Organization of American States club and organized the World Affairs debates. He supported the Quiz Bowl club and an annual competition for local schools. Since his sabbatical in 2018-19, Javier has raised the climate change alarm in the WFS community and engaged students in climate change activism. In retirement he plans to devote more time to this critical agenda.

Javier and his wife, Petra, are the parents of three WFS alums, Emilio ’16, Cecilia ’18, and Pier-Paolo ’22.