Elisabeth Blomqvist facts for kids

Elisabeth Blomqvist (born 1827, died 1901) was an important Finnish teacher and leader. She was the head of the Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Helsingfors (Swedish Girl School of Helsinki) from 1864 to 1898. Elisabeth was a true pioneer for girls' education in Finland. She helped change schools and even started the first training college for women teachers in 1861.

Early Life and Her Own School

Elisabeth Blomqvist was born in Helsinki. Her father, Alexander Blomqvist, was a professor. Her mother, Christina Charlotta Harring, was a governess.

In 1850, after her father passed away, Elisabeth's mother and aunt opened a school. It was called Blomqvistska skolan and was run from their home. Elisabeth took over the school after her mother and aunt died.

In 1856, Elisabeth traveled to France and Germany to study. When she returned in 1858, she reopened her school. She had big plans for it. Her school was very modern for its time. It had six classes and taught many subjects. These subjects were usually only taught in boys' schools. She even hired male teachers because they had formal training.

At this time, Finland had started its first government schools for girls in 1844. But there weren't many trained women teachers. So, in 1861, Elisabeth Blomqvist started something new. She opened the very first training college for women teachers in Finland.

A Leader in Education

In 1864, Elisabeth Blomqvist became the principal of the Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Helsingfors. This was one of only two government-run schools for girls in Finland. The other was the Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Åbo.

Because she led one of these important schools, Elisabeth played a big part. She helped change and improve education for girls in Finland. She often spoke up for new ideas in school meetings.

Fighting for Fairer Schools

Elisabeth wanted schools to be fair for all girls.

• She disagreed with the rule that only girls from rich, Swedish-speaking families could attend government schools. This rule was changed in 1872.
• She also believed that all girls should be allowed in school.
• She thought that educated women should learn Finnish. At the time, Finnish was spoken by poorer people. Many upper-class women did not know it.

New Ideas for Learning

Elisabeth brought many new ideas to her school:

• She started school outings for students.
• She supported teaching more subjects and having more classes for girls. Before, girls' education mostly focused on making them ideal wives.
• Elisabeth felt it was wrong that teaching was often the only job open to educated women. She believed women should have more choices.
• When Maria Tschetschulin became the first woman allowed into a Finnish university in 1870, Elisabeth supported this change. She wanted women to have access to university education and more types of jobs. This idea was discussed for many years before it finally happened.

During the 1870s and 1880s, Elisabeth Blomqvist was a strong voice for women's rights. She helped women get access to higher education and more professions. Even though her work was mainly at her school, she became a very important person in the early women's movement in Finland.

Her first school and its teacher training college closed in 1869. But she started a new training program for women teachers at the government school in 1868.