Alexander Sutherland Neill

A Dominie in Doubt (Dodo Press) Alexander Sutherland Neill

Alexander Sutherland Neill (1883-1973) was a Scottish progressive educator, author and founder of Summerhill school, which remains open and continues to follow his educational philosophy to this day. He is best known as an advocate of personal freedom for children. After acting as a pupil-teacher for his father, he studied at the University of Edinburgh and obtained an M. A. degree in 1912. In 1914 he became headmaster of the Gretna Green School in Scotland. A Freudian, Neill was strongly opposed to sexual repression and the imposition of the strict Victorian values of his childhood era. He said that to be anti-sex was to be anti-life. During his teaching career he wrote dozens of books, including the "Dominie" (Scottish word for teacher) series, beginning with A Dominie's Log (1916). His most influential book was Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing (1960) which created a storm in U. S. educational circles. His last work was his autobiography, Neill, Neill, Orange Peel! (1973) He also wrote humourous books for children, like The Last Man Alive (1939).