Gwen Somerset
|
Gwen Somerset MBE |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Gwendolen Lucy Alley 16 November 1894 Springfield, New Zealand |
| Died | 31 October 1988 (aged 93) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Known for | Contribution to development of adult education and pre-school education in New Zealand |
| Spouse(s) | Crawford Somerset (m. 1930; d. 1968) |
| Relatives |
Geoff Alley (brother) Rewi Alley (brother) |
Gwendolen Lucy "Gwen" Somerset MBE (née Alley, 16 November 1894 – 31 October 1988) was a New Zealand teacher, adult education director, educationalist and writer.
Somerset was born in Springfield, New Zealand in 1895. She was the second of seven children of Frederick Alley and Clara (born Buckingham). Her brother Rewi Alley later became famous for his development work in China. Another brother, Geoffrey Thomas Alley played rugby union for New Zealand as an All Black.
The family moved to Amberley when Somerset was three, and her father became headmaster of the local high school there. When Somerset was 14, the family moved again, to Christchurch and she began to attend Christchurch Girls' High School. Two years later she became a pupil-teacher at a Christchurch primary school, and simultaneously took classes at Canterbury University College.
In 1921, Somerset attended a Workers' Educational Association (WEA) summer school in Oxford, New Zealand and met James Shelley, a professor of education at Canterbury University College. She was inspired by his ideas and said that this course changed her life. She went on to apply for a teaching position in Oxford. Her teaching methods were unconventional - she started the day with singing and dancing for example, as she found that many of her pupils worked hard on their family farms and needed relaxation at school. She also removed the teacher's table and chair in her classroom as symbols of authority and sat on children's chairs herself. As there was little reading material for the younger children, Somerset started to write her own booklets. School inspectors and the headmaster supported her and her new ideas, and in 1923 she was promoted to Infant Mistress.
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