Esther Ella Lawrence (1862 – July 23, 1944) was a New York born educationist and school principal. She took over from the founder and moved what would become the
Froebel College
Froebel College is one of the four constituent colleges of the University of Roehampton.
History
The college was founded as a women's teacher training college in 1892 by followers of Friedrich Fröbel. The Froebel Society had been formed in 1874 ...
to be a residential college in Roehampton to train kindergarten teachers over three years.
Life
Lawrence was born in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
in 1862. She was the third child born to Emily and John M. Lawrence - they would have six more. Her mother was from Jamaica and her father was English ad they were both Jewish. The family moved to London where she attended
South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School is a private day school in Hampstead, north-west London, England, which was founded by the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST). It is for girls aged 4–18 with selective entry at ages 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+ (Sixth Form).
...
. She was briefly at
Bedford College before studying at the recently formed Tavistock Place Training College. The college was founded by the
Froebel Society and
Penelope Lawrence was the head. She left in 1883 and briefly ran her own kindergarten before she was head hunted by
Alice Woods in 1884 to lead the preparatory department of Chiswick High School. Alice became her lifelong friend - even after she left in 1893 to work with
Emilie Michaelis.
Emilie Michaelis had started one of the first English kindergartens in
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
in 1875. Lawrence was to take charge of the kindergarten which would be called the
Froebel Educational Institute in the following year. The facility existed because of the fund raising efforts of
Julia Schwabe.
She had a four-year break from the institute when she went to Naples to work at the Froebel kindergarten there. She returned in 1899 and she was re-employed by the Froebel Educational Institute. In 1901 Emilie Michaelis retired and Lawrence was appointed as her successor. Under her management the courses extended to be three years in length at what became a residential college at Grove House, Roehampton.
Lawrence retired in 1931,
[ and was an enthusiastic follower of the Tasmanian educationalist F. Matthias Alexander.]Aldenham
Aldenham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire, England. The parish includes Radlett and Letchmore Heath as well as Aldenham village itself. The village of Aldenham lies north-eas ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Esther
1862 births
1944 deaths
Educators from New York (state)
School principals and headteachers