Ena Neill
Ena May Neill , née Woof, (born May 29, 1910 in West Malling , Kent ; † October 26, 1997 in Suffolk ) was the wife and reform educational supporter of Alexander Sutherland Neill , who founded the private boarding school Summerhill and made it world famous for its radical liberal educational practices .
Life
Ena met AS Neill in 1939 when she registered her son Peter in Summerhill. In 1940 she was employed as a kitchen assistant in Summerhill. Later, as a “housemother”, she carried out further care functions for the boarding school children before she finally became personal secretary AS Neills. Ena's marriage to this man, 27 years her senior, took place in 1945, and their daughter was born in 1946.
After the death of her husband in 1973, Ena Neill took over the management of Summerhills and consequently continued the anti-authoritarian educational methods of AS Neill. She successfully fended off political and legal efforts to close Summerhill. In constant dispute with the English authorities, she - like her husband before - successfully defended herself against state efforts to make classes in Summerhill compulsory for students. According to the boarding school tradition, lessons were held exclusively on a voluntary basis during the Ena era . In 1985, Ena Neill finally handed over the management of the boarding school to her daughter Zoë Readhead .
literature
Ena Neill (1910-1997). In: Reform women in school. A reader. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider-Verl. Hohengehren (2005).
Web links
proof
- ↑ Obituary: Ena Neill , The Independent , November 28, 1997 (accessed March 26, 2019)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Neill, Ena |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Neill, Ena May (full name); Wooff, Ena (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British educator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | West Malling , Kent |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 26, 1997 |
| Place of death | Suffolk |