Martin Simmen

Martin Simmen (born August 26, 1887 in Ilanz ; † March 22, 1972 ) was a Swiss pedagogue and seminar teacher and editor of the Swiss teacher newspaper.

His father belonged to the Graubünden Walser family of the Simmen and ran the Gasthof Oberalb in Ilanz . His mother came from the Gaudenzi family from the Puschlav . He holds the citizenship rights of Medels in the Rheinwald and Lucerne . After the opening of the Gotthard tunnel, the inn ran into economic difficulties, and his parents also died relatively early. Even as a boy he had to take care of his younger siblings, whom he acted as guardian , which is why a direct academic career was not possible for financial reasons. Instead, he did a postal apprenticeship and worked for several years in the mail service . As an autodidact, he also taught himself the knowledge necessary to train as a teacher. His first job was in Celerina . After this he enrolled at the University of Zurich and studied psychology and pedagogy, but also took legal lectures, which was helpful to him in his later career when he had to deal with school law. His studies were temporarily interrupted by military service and also by his editorial work at the Free Councilor . He completed his studies with a doctorate and distinction and worked between 1921 and 1956 as a main teacher at the teachers' seminar in Lucerne. In addition, he was also involved in national and international teachers' associations. He became a member and later President of the Commission for Intercantonal School Issues and was also the editor of the Swiss Teachers' Journal. He also worked as a co-author on the Swiss Pedagogical Lexicon .

It advocates denominational and party-political neutrality in the state school.

Fonts (selection)

• The schools of the Swiss people - a little education. Huber, Frauenfeld 1946
• Elementary school and manual labor. Beyer & Sons, Langensalza 1922 (dissertation)
• Parental home and school. Bubenberg-Verlag, Bern 1951
• What are we going to do? Suggestions for further training for young teachers and information about studying at teacher training colleges and universities. Swiss Teachers' Association, 1935

literature

• Biographical lexicon of deceased Swiss people. Swiss Industrial Library, Zurich 1947–1982. Volume 6, page 115