Lilia González González (1891–1973) was a Costa Rican educator, and activist.

Biography

She graduated from the Teacher's Training School in 1907 and began teaching at the Escuela Párvulos directed by Anatolia Zamora de Obregón. She also taught at the Escuela Superior de Niñas No. 4 and the Escuela Graduada, both of which were under the direction of Esther Silva. Beginning in 1912, she worked with

Carmen Lyra Carmen Lyra (January 15, 1887 – May 14, 1949) was the pseudonym of the first prominent female Costa Rican writer, born María Isabel Carvajal Quesada. She was a teacher and founder of the country's first Montessori school. She was a co-founder ...

on a children's magazine called "San Selerín" that they published for several years. She was active in the movement against the labor policies of President Federico Tinoco Granados, which culminated in a 1919 teacher's strike and the teachers setting fire to the government newspaper office, ''La Información''. The strike, led by

Ángela Acuña Braun Ángela Acuña Braun, also known as Ángela Acuña de Chacón, (2 October 1888 – 10 October 1983), a Costa Rican lawyer, women's rights pioneer and ambassador, was the first woman to graduate as a lawyer in Central America. Orphaned at the a ...

included teachers like Gonzáles and

Ana Rosa Chacón Ana Rosa Chacón (1889 – 28 March 1985) was a Costa Rican educator, health education practitioner, feminist and suffragette. In 1953, in the first election held after women became enfranchisement, enfranchised in Costa Rica, Chacón became one ...

Matilde Carranza Francisca Matilde Carranza Volío, better known as Matilde Carranza was a Costa Rican activist and teacher. She was the first Costa Rican woman to receive a doctorate in philosophy. Life Matilde Carranza was born on January 6, 1892, in San José, ...

, Carmen Lyra,

Victoria Madrigal Victoria Madrigal Araya was a Costa Rican teacher and suffragette. She was the daughter of José Madrigal and Rosa Araya. Her sister, Vitalia Madrigal (died 21 April 1927), was also a teacher and suffragette. In 1919, Madrigal participated in a t ...

, Vitalia Madrigal,

Esther De Mezerville Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

, María Ortiz,

Teodora Ortiz Teodora ( sr, Теодора) is a feminine given name, a variation of the name Theodora. Notable people with the name include: *Teodora Sava (born 2001), Romanian singer *Teodora Albon (born 1977), Romanian football referee *Teodora Ginés, (15 ...

Ester Silva In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...

and

Andrea Venegas Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

. After Tinoco's ouster, new president

Julio Acosta García Julio Acosta García (23 May 1872 – 6 July 1954) served as 24th President of Costa Rica from 1920 to 1924. Early life Rafael Julio del Rosario Acosta García was born on 23 May 1872 in San Ramón, Alajuela, Costa Rica to Jesús de la Rosa Ga ...

, had begun concessions with teachers and appointed a new Secretary of Education to make changes. One of those changes was that Gonzáles, Lyra and two other teachers were sent to Europe to study European schooling methods. When they returned, in 1926 the first Montessori preschool was opened. González helped to implement the new uniform educational policies which for the first time were being implemented through the country"Rodríguez Vega (2004)", pp 33–34 using a scientific basis. She became director of the Escuela Julia Lang and was a member of the School Inspector's team for the province of San José. In 1928, she began teaching in the Practical School of the Teacher's Normal School and later helped Esther Silva found schools and canteens for workers. In 1945, after the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

was founded, she taught classes there and was later named an honorary professor. In 1959, she was promoted to Dean of the Faculty of Education and retired in 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Lilia 1891 births 1973 deaths Costa Rican academics Costa Rican activists Costa Rican educators Costa Rican women educators Costa Rican women activists Costa Rican women academics