Grace Jecks Paul (born 1901 – died after 1972) was a Tamil Christian educator from Sri Lanka. She was principal at three girls' schools in Sri Lanka, and a founding member of the Ceylon Federation of University Women in 1941.
Grace Paul | |
|---|---|
 Grace Paul, from the 1924 Mount Holyoke College yearbook | |
| Born | 1901 Jaffna |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Occupation | Educator |
Early life edit
Paul was born in Jaffna, to Tamil Christian parents, Rev. Isaac Paul and Elizabeth Holsington Paul.[1] Her grandfather, father, and uncles were pastors, connected with the American Ceylon Mission.[2] She graduated from Uduvil Seminary and Madras Christian College before attending Mount Holyoke College in 1920.[3][2] At Mount Holyoke, she was president of the Cosmopolitan Club.[4] She graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1924,[5] and pursued further studies at Teachers College, Columbia University.[6]
While a student in the United States, she attended the 19th Conference of Women's Foreign Missionary Societies in 1922, in Massachusetts.[7] In 1924, she spoke at the Fourth Congress of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Washington.[8]
Career edit
Paul taught science at Uduvil Girls' School, and was eventually principal of the school's bilingual program. From 1947 to 1955, she was principal at Girls' High School, Kandy,[9] the school's first Sri Lankan head.[10] From 1958 to 1964, she was principal of St. Paul's Girls School, Milagiriya. She was known for requiring laboratory work in her classes.[6]
In 1941 she was a founding member of the Ceylon Federation of University Women, along with Doreen Young Wickremasinghe, Hilda Kularatne, Susan George Pulimood, Marjorie Westrop, and Clara Motwani. She was the only native-born founder of the organization, and its first Sri Lankan president, leading the federation from 1944 to 1946 and from 1958 to 1959.[11]
Personal life edit
In 1932, she visited one of her brothers, clergyman and educator Charles Blackshear Paul, in Singapore[12] and spoke on her experiences in the United States.[13] She survived her brother Charles when he died in 1973.[14]
References edit
- ^ "Foreign Women Welcomed as Students Here". The Baltimore Sun. October 29, 1922. p. 105. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Our Own Girls at Madras College". Life and Light for Woman. 49: 467–468. November 1919.
- ^ "To Proclaim Release to the Captives" Life and Light 51(December 1921): 436. via Internet Archive
- ^ "Cosmopolitan Club Formed by Girls at Mt. Holyoke". The Tampa Tribune. January 7, 1923. p. 10. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mount Holyoke College, The Llamarada (1924 yearbook): 127.
- ^ a b "Grace Paul '24". Mount Holyoke College. 2013-06-14. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ Butler, Clementina (October 1922). "The Nineteenth Conference of Women's Foreign Missionary Societies". Record of Christian Work. 41: 672–673.
- ^ Report of the fourth congress of the Women's international league for peace and freedom, Washington, May 1 to 7, 1924. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Washington, U.S.A. : Women's international league, U.S. section; [etc., etc. 1924. pp. 15–16.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Paul, Grace J. (June 1958). "Christian Education in Ceylon". Journal of Christian Education. os-1 (1): 45–48. doi:10.1177/002196575800100106. ISSN 0021-9657. S2CID 149126443.
- ^ "Past Principals". Girls’ High School Kandy. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ^ "75 years of Sri Lanka Federation of University Women". The Island. 10 September 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- ^ "Missionary Teacher in Singapore". Malaya Tribune. May 10, 1932. p. 3. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Experiences in America; Miss Paul Addresses Local Audience". Malaya Tribune. May 12, 1932. p. 10. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ "Rev. 'Julius Caesar' Dies, aged 77". The Straits Times. January 4, 1973. p. 20. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via NewspaperSG.
External links edit
- A 1923 photograph of Grace Paul with other international students at Mount Holyoke College.
