He was sent off to Iloilo together with his older brother Martin Jr. to stay with their aunt Patrocinio Gamboa, best known in Philippine history for her role in transporting the Katipunan flag.
William Orison Valentine encouraged Aguilar to continue his college education at Denison University in Ohio.
He received his Bachelor of Philosophy degree two years later in 1925 after which he immediately returned to the Philippines as a teacher of English at his alma mater Negros Occidental High School.
After a series of promotions, he finally married his sweetheart in 1927 and the union brought forth six children: Neva, Sonya, Elmer, Delia, Lina, and Mila.
During World War II, Aguilar was almost killed because of his college education in the United States and for being perceived as having pro-American sentiments.
[1] At the height of his career, Aguilar sought to address issues like the high number of dropouts, low level of language proficiency, irrelevance of the school curriculum to daily realities, and the cultural gap between the elites and the ordinary citizens.
In 1948, Aguilar was instrumental in initiating a research project in Santa Barbara, Iloilo with an official endorsement from the Bureau of Public Schools in Manila.