A graduate from Sudbury Valley School, in Framingham MA, says, "I didn't |
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Outsiders would ask, "What classes do you do?" And you'd think, "Classes? We don't do classes, you know. Look around. There are no classrooms here." They'd say, "What did you learn today?" and we'd think, "What did we learn today? What are you talking about?" Because it wasn't as if you went into the library and learned your facts for the day. You had a dozen conversations with people. We weren't learning subject by subject. We were learning in a much more organic manner. You would be doing a lot of different things and you would learn them in little bits and pieces that would start adding up to much bigger pictures. You wouldn't really know where it came from a lot of the time. By the time you were done learning about something, information was coming from so many different sources, from books and from people you were talking to, and from a long drawn out experience, that you had no idea how you learned it."
Freedom can be frightening. Change can be frightening. Standard school traditions have been evolving for years, and even people who see obvious problems are sometimes reluctant to a different style of learning, even if it seems to be a better fit for their children. We have only one chance to give our children a start in life, so why take risks? But there are risks in whatever we do. Perhaps we don't dare risk not doing our best, even if we don't have complete information about what is best for our children.
The founding fathers of the United States didn't go to school. They worked individually, sometimes with tutors and sometimes in apprenticeships. President Lincoln didn't go to law school. He studied on his own, with help. The most prestigious university in Great Briton doesn't have classes. It has tutors. Rich aristocrats can afford it. They meet with their tutors for an hour a week. This system is tried and true; it would be risky to change it. The Sudbury system is tried and true, and is growing. It might be risky to dismiss without thoughtful consideration.
One tradition of the public school system is that students are in classes six hours a day. When that system fails, people suggest doing more of the same - lengthening the school day, and shortening the summer vacation. People want to take charge of the problem, and further limit the freedom of the students. Perhaps the students would do well to take charge of the problem.
Our colleges seem to work better than our public grade schools and high schools. And college students spend about three hours per day in classes. Presumably, they have longer attention spans than younger students. College students have more opportunities for independent learning than are available for students in standard public schools.
If it freedom works, maybe we should have more of it, instead of less. The United States is a good place to try such an enlightened policy. Perhaps our citizens can be more responsible, creative and independent if we trust our traditions of freedom and democracy, and offer them to our children. At Sudbury schools, this policy is working.
Email us for more information or to schedule a visit:
katuahsudbury@gmail.com
Katuah Sudbury School
178A Westwood Place
Asheville, NC 28806