Radicalschooling’s Weblog

VIEWS OF EX-SUMMERHILLIANS

“For me non-compulsory lessons were a clear advantage. I had spent an unhappy year at (X) School prior to Summerhill, and was developing a distaste for learning that Summerhill helped me overcome.” (British female with a degree in Art and Design; now working for the BBC.)

“Non-compulsory lessons were an advantage, though hard to adjust to at first. I learned more at Summerhill in my one year of being able to attend what subjects I wanted and as many classes as interested me than I did in four years of US high school.” (American male with a BA in English Literature; now completing a degree in Mass Communication and working for AT and T.)

“Until I was almost ten years old I went to a C of E private school which, of course, had compulsory lessons. The years I spent there were the most miserable years of my life; I hated school and was constantly anxious – it did nothing at all to aid my education. Non-compulsory lessons give a child the confidence to make his/her own decisions and to be trusted to do so.” (British female working for Channel 4 TV and completing an Open University degree.)

“I believe that my love of learning was preserved by Summerhill’s non-compulsory lesson policy.” (American female currently completing a BA in Arts and Sciences.)

“Non-compulsory lessons were an advantage because they were (and are) fundamental to the philosophy that says children and young people learn best when they are personally motivated. Children are born learners. Neill understood this and it is probably impossible for Ofsted to comprehend the subtlety of letting children go towards sources of information in order to learn, rather than forcing them, under compulsion to absorb a given number of facts.” (British male, former journalist and ex deputy news editor of the ‘Times Educational Supplement’; now working with disabled children.)

“Making a student attend classes does not ensure an education. But to instil excitement about learning creates a vehicle that will last a student a lifetime. Summerhill creates the latter! Not making lessons mandatory instils in the student a sense of responsibility and dedication. I was able to carry this same dedication throughout my schooling. Summerhill instilled in me that I could achieve anything I wanted to. And I have!” (American female with a BA in Music and a Masters degree in Nursing; now a Family Nurse Practitioner.)

“The most valuable thing about Summerhill was non-compulsory lessons. I think with compulsory lessons my interest in subjects I studied would have been significantly reduced. This would have made learning more difficult. This would be particularly important with physics, the subject I’m currently studying at university.” (British male in the final year of a physics degree.)

Summerhill General Policy Statement

1) To provide choices and opportunities that allow children to develop at their own pace and to follow their own interests.

Summerhill does not aim to produce specific types of young people, with specific, assessed skills or knowledge, but aims to provide an environment in which children can define who they are and what they want to be.

2) To allow children to be free from compulsory or imposed assessment, allowing them to develop their own goals and sense of achievement

Children should be free from the pressure to conform to artificial standards of success based on predominant theories of child learning and academic achievement.

3) To allow children to be completely free to play as much as they like

Creative and imaginative play is an essential part of childhood and development. Spontaneous, natural play should not be undermined or redirected by adults into a “learning experience” for children. Play belongs to the child.

4) To allow children to experience the full range of feelings free from the judgement and intervention of an adult

Freedom to make decisions always involves risk and requires the possibility of negative outcomes. Apparently negative consequences such as boredom, stress, anger, disappointment and failure are a necessary part of individual development.

5) To allow children to live in a community that supports them and that they are responsible for; in which they have the freedom to be themselves, and have the power to change community life, through the democratic process

All individuals create their own set of values based on the community within which they live. Summerhill is a community which takes responsibility for itself. Problems are discussed and resolved through openness, democracy and social action. All members of the community, adults and children, irrespective of age, are equal in terms of this process.”

Summerhill School General Policy Statement (updated 15/03/98)

1) How do pupils fit into the outside world after what is, surely, a sheltered environment at Summerhill?

We feel that Summerhill pupils are better prepared for the outside world than most other young people. Pupils at Summerhill are used to being in control of their own lives and making decisions for themselves – just as all adults do in their daily lives. They decide what to do, when, and how to do it.
Critics say there are many things in the outside world that have to be done, such as earning a living. They believe that our pupils will find it difficult to adapt, as there is no compulsion at Summerhill. Summerhill pupils face similar situations in their everyday lives at the school all the time. There are many, many things that need to be done in order to keep the community running. If we, the members of the community do not do them, then they do not get done at all. Instead of being compelled to do things by somebody else, you have to take responsibility for yourself and the community around you.You have to be self-motivated. This is true of all of us in adult life. We have no big “teacher” standing by to tell us what to do. We have to get on and deal with things by ourselves.
At Summerhill we feel that children in other schools are being disadvantaged by the fact that they have no decision making processes to learn from, making it very difficult when they subsequently leave school and have to start living in the adult world.
The popular belief that Summerhill is a wild, unstructured society is untrue. Because of the many laws at Summerhill that govern our lives (they usually vary in number between about 150 to 230) the pupils are used to a strong framework.Living in a democratic society where grievances are aired in the school meetings gives the pupils a strong sense of justice as well as an ability to listen to, and understand, the other person’s point of view. Thus they are well prepared for interacting in the outside world. Although when they move to colleges and university, like many others, they may find some rules petty and unnecessary, they are tolerant and understanding enough to deal with it.

2) Do Summerhill pupils take exams?

Yes, we take the standard English school leaving exams, GCSEs at ordinary level, though they are not compulsory. We do not provide for “A” levels at Summerhill. Pupils wishing to take them will have to go to college afterwards, though very occasionally they may take some “A” levels – by mutual agreement with their teacher. Almost all Summerhill pupils take some exams before they leave, but some prefer not to take any at all.

3) What particular qualities do you expect Summerhill pupils to acquire?

Obviously this depends to some degree upon the personal circumstances of the child before and during their stay at the school. Some children who have come to the school with problems are still going to have to deal with many of them into their adult lives. Summerhill has a very good record of helping such children, but it is no magic “fix” or utopian cure-all.
Qualities we typically see in Summerhill pupils are: Self-esteem, tolerance, integrity, fairness, understanding, sensitivity, compassion, assertiveness, creativity, individuality, humour, self-motivation, and common sense.

4) Why do parents send their children to Summerhill?

Most parents believe in the philosophy of the school, but we also inevitably get some pupils who have had problems at other schools and come here to get away from them. Unfortunately many parents do not contact us until their child is having serious problems at school. Often these children will be teenagers. Our experience tells us that latecomers, though sometimes successful, can find the change too challenging and this can cause problems for themselves or for the community.

5) What kinds of people send their children to Summerhill?

There is no typical Summerhill parent. People from all walks of life send their children to us. Because it is a fee paying school they are predominantly professional people, but this is not always the case. We try to keep our fees as low as possible so that more families can afford it – some manage on very low incomes.
The New A.S Neill Summerhill Trust is aiming to provide bursaries for the school so that a greater number of families with financial limitations may apply.

6) Summerhill pupils are mostly from pretty wealthy backgrounds – could it work in an inner-city school?

It can work anywhere – all children respond to freedom and self-government. There is a lot of work being done in various quarters (see the link page) to educate the public about freer environments for children. Summerhill assists in this by inviting visitors to see the school in action as well as giving lectures and holding workshops both in UK and abroad.
The A.S Neill Summerhill Trust will be funding this work as well as providing assisted places for pupils.

7) Is Summerhill suitable for all children – or do some need more structure?

All children respond to personal freedom and self-government. The only time it does not work is where there is friction between the school and the home. Children sense when their parents are not happy with them being at Summerhill.
Occasionally a child who is struggling with their own personal difficulties in life may find the freedom at Summerhill so captivating that they are unable to differentiate between freedom and licence and take responsibility for their actions. This can lead to problems with violence or bullying, creating fear in other children. It can also lead to the development of other children being impaired due to the negative influence upon them. In such cases, sadly, the child will have to go elswhere.

Is bullying a problem at the school and how do you deal with it?

Obviously we have bullying at Summerhill, but anybody, staff or pupil, can bring a case against anybody else in the school meetings. Thus, we are all answerable to the whole community. Our ombudsmen and self-government meetings ensure that everybody in the school has a voice and can have conflicts resolved or perpetrators dealt with by the community. The openness of the school environment brings things to notice so bullying tends to be dealt with in the early stages.

9) Do you have problems with alcohol / drugs?

Drugs and alcohol are not allowed in the school. Obviously there are occasions when an older child tries experimenting with alcohol or smoking cannabis. If pupils are caught drinking or smoking dope they will be sent home for a period and this will generally be sufficient. Because they have such a strong feeling for the school it is rare for a pupil to persist.
Neither drugs nor alcohol ever reach “problem” proportions. However, in these seemingly enlightened times occasionally a pupil will be persistant. In such a case it would be appropriate for them to decide whether Summerhill is really where they want to be, and perhaps move on to a more adult environment.

10) How do you recruit staff?

We usually advertise in the newspapers, either the ‘Guardian’ or the TES. Our recruitment process is pretty conventional although the interview is casual and friendly. We do all the standard UK checks (police and list 99) against sexual offenders.

11) What qualities do you look for in staff?

First and foremost an ability to do the job. Although independent schools do not have to employ qualified teachers, the job is so specialised these days that we rarely take teachers who are not qualified. We look for somebody who will be adaptable, genuinely interested in the school philosophy, and is a nice person. Unfortunately, we cannot employ people from outside the European Union without a work permit – and obtaining one of these is like extracting hen’s teeth!

12) How much are parents involved in the school?

There is no involvement with parents at Summerhill. They are able to visit during term time on a limited basis and there is a newsletter sent to parents each holidays.In spite of this many parents become good friends and participate from a distance with their approval and anything helpful they can offer. We also have a really nice summer half-term weekend when parents are invited to come and stay for a few days and relax – but the philosophy of the school is to encourage children to live their own lives, and make their own decisions. The children value their independence and the vast majority prefer parents not to be a part of it at school.

13) Do the children have homework?
As classes are optional it is a completely different situation to conventional schools. Pupils have homework when studying for exams, but this is mutually agreed between teacher and pupil.

14) Why aren’t the pupils responsible for the cleaning and cooking at Summerhill?
Summerhill cannot afford to let hygiene slip so we prefer to keep the school up to standard by employing cleaning staff.This cuts out any adult-child conflict over an issue that would be on going and unproductive. The older children with individual bedrooms are responsible for their own washing and cleaning, and the whole community has to take care of keeping the school grounds tidy. This usually involves a “litter pick-up” every once in a while. There is a ‘Health & safety’ committee to ensure that standards of reasonable hygiene and safety are maintained, they visit all rooms (including staff who live in areas adjoining the children) a few times each term. Most children enjoy doing some cooking – but having to feed over 100 people every day for the whole year is a different kettle of fish! We also have to comply with Health & Hygiene rules, which make it impossible for the children to cook for the whole school.
We employ a team of professional chefs to look after the catering. However, there are many opportunities for the children to get involved in cooking: cookery classes, kitchen helping, bar committee, school café etc.

15) What is your relationship like with the local community?

Many local people are very proud to have Summerhill as a neighbour. During the court case against the government in 2000 we received a great deal of encouragement from Leiston people, including the local Town Council who wrote a letter of support to the Department of Education. Of course some people are suspicious and some are hostile, but usually this is because they have not taken the time to find out about Summerhill’s methods.

16) Do you have day pupils?

Yes, we have several. Most are local but a few have moved here specifically to be near the school. It is common for parents of younger children to move here for the first few terms so that the child can start off as a ‘day child’.

17) Nowadays many people consider it bad parenting to send children to boarding school – how does Summerhill justify this?

Ask the children! Summerhill pupils are not forced to be here – they choose to be. Ex-Summerhillians all agree that being away from home was a really positive and important thing for them. Summerhill is nothing like a “boarding school” in the traditional sense. It is somewhere between tribe and family, a sociable, child-centred environment where the adults are friends and where you can play all day if you want to. It is an enrichment of family life, something extra that you can’t get at home – lots of brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and friends. Some people say they will miss their children’s childhood if they send them to Summerhill. My answer is that childhood is for the child, not for the parents. It can take courage to give your children the independence they need, especially if this means they will leave home. But Summerhill parents will agree that you don’t “lose” your child, you gain a special friendship with them that lasts a lifetime.

18) At what age do you first accept pupils?
Day pupils can come at five years. Some children are very happy to board at about six or seven years, others need more time and come later.

19) Do you ever expel pupils?

Occasionally, but not in the usual sense of being expelled for doing something “naughty”. In Summerhill someone will only be asked to leave if their general attitude shows that they are not really interested in staying. Occasionally a child who is struggling with their own personal difficulties in life may find the freedom at Summerhill so captivating that they are unable to differentiate between freedom and licence and take responsibility for their actions. This can lead to problems with violence or bullying, creating fear in other children. It can also lead to the development of other children being impaired due to the negative influence upon them. In such cases, sadly, the child will have to go elswhere.

20) What do Summerhill pupils do after leaving?

When children leave Summerhill most go on to study for appropriate qualifications (A-level, BTEC, GNVQ) at Colleges of Higher Education. Some will go to university, some will not – it is a case of personal choice. Because of the unconventional schooling they have had they tend to look at it with a balanced view, not just thinking that “you have to go to university to get anywhere”. They know that it is not the only answer to happiness and success in life! Their careers are very varied. We have artists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, university professors, carpenters, scientists, musicians, chefs, actors, gardeners, farmers, newspaper reporters, filmmakers, technicians, photographers, dancers, computer programmers, writers, illustrators, carers for the handicapped, and entrepreneurs. . . .

21) What is the school’s attitude to sex?

Under British law it is illegal for children to have sex under the age of 16. In line with many other establishments that deal with teenagers in a real-life setting, we are supportive – providing them with information and advice wherever possible.We are proud of the fact that our children are unafraid to approach us to discuss anything. In 85 years we have not had a pregnancy.

22) I would like to do some work experience at the school – is this possible?

We do take adult students on a short term basis. It works best if they stay for up to a few weeks and gain experience of the school. One important factor is that they need to have something to offer us in return as it makes their time here so much more productive and enables them to get involved with the children better. Needless to say, we are very booked up as this is popular! Jason, our curriculum manager, is the first point of contact. jasonpreater@btconnect.com. We make the decision about who can come in March so we need applications by then for any given year.

23) Can I work at Summerhill?

If you are legally able to work in UK, have the skills for the job offered, are prepared to live on a very small wage, and are enthusiastic, humorous, hardworking and adaptable – you could be just what we are looking for!

24) May I visit the school?

Yes, we have visitor’s days during all three terms of the year. We have a visitor’s committee to look after them. Obviously we get a great many so we prefer them not to stay longer than a day. Contact the school office for details. (Address at the end).

25) How many pupils are there at Summerhill?

In 1995 we were 68, in 1998 we were only 61, in June 2001- 75, in November 2002 – 94, in January 2006 – 80.

26) What nationalities?

English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swiss, Israeli, American, Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese.

27) How many staff?

There are four full-time house parents at the moment and 8 full-time teachers for Class 1(6-10), Class 2(10-12), Maths, Science, English, Languages, English as an Additional Language, Woodwork and Art. There are part-time teachers for Japanese, Chinese, Humanities, Music (drums, piano, guitar, singing, violin), Music Technology, recording, Djing. All full-time staff live on the 12-acre school site, either in single rooms alongside the children or in caravans. When the Houseparents take time off they are covered by the teachers. The full-time staff meet several times a week to discuss any issues which arise. We also have a team of “day” staff, including teachers, cleaning staff, chefs, etc.

28) What subjects do you offer?
Subjects offered at the moment are: Science – Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Maths, English, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Woodwork, Art, Photography, Drama, History, Geography, Music technology, DJ work, Studio Sessions, horse-riding
Information Technology, swimming in our own outdoor pool and at the Leiston leisure centre. A range of activities including crafts, life drawing, sports- tennis, football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis-, writing for the school newspaper and games in the cafe. Music – piano, singing, drums, guitar, violin, saxophone, Various sports (by arrangement). There is an outdoor swimming pool, a well equipped computer study room, games field, skateboard ramps, tennis court, theatre, music rooms.

29) I cannot afford the school fees – are there any funds available to help?

Unfortunately the school has no bursary fund to assist with fees. We receive no help financially from outside the school and must rely entirely upon our fees, which are among the lowest in the country. Very occasionally you can get help from your local education authority, but usually only if your child has problems at school which they feel will benefit from a Summerhill education – as you can imagine, not many local authorities are broad minded enough for that! The New A.S Neill Summerhill Trust is aiming to provide bursaries for the school so that a greater number of families with financial constraints may apply. Details available on the website or by contacting the school office.

30) How has the school changed since Neill was alive?

The philosophy of the school has not changed at all. Although many exterior things have changed, it is comforting to see how the atmosphere and general feel of the place have remained the same over the years. Obviously as a living community there are constant small changes going on. Summerhill is like the sea – there is constant movement. The tides may change, but the sea remains the same.

31) Neill used to give therapy sessions to some pupils, known as PLs – do you still provide “private lessons”?

Long ago Neill discovered that those children who did not come to him for therapy were being cured as well. He concluded that it was the experience of Summerhill that cured people, not his PLs – so he gave them up! We do not have formal PLs at Summerhill though if there are concerns about a particular pupil an adult will undertake to talk to them if they are agreeable.

32) Self-government and democracy.

We are a self-governing community, which means that the whole group makes all the decisions regarding our daily lives in the school. The business side, the hiring and firing of staff, intake of pupils etc are not the responsibility of the community although input is always available and welcome. Our school decision-making process is democratic. Each adult and child has an equal vote. Thus the youngest child has the same voting power as the head. Not only do the children have equal power in the school meetings; they also vastly outnumber the adults. If children from most standard families suddenly had self-government it could be hard for them to settle and manage their lives successfully. One has to learn to be an effective decision maker, and, like everything else, it doesn’t come naturally without some experience. New children at Summerhill join a mature working unit of self-government with many years of experience behind it. They learn as part of the unit about democracy, their own rights, and those of other people. But most of all they learn about responsibility to themselves and to others. Children in mainstream schools seldom have a chance to make important decisions or take real responsibility. Adults decide everything they do. This can breed frustration and rebellion, or it can intensify fear and insecurity. In Summerhill, because of the freedom they have, most of the older pupils are already socially responsible and are used to thinking about the needs of the group rather than their own. This does not mean that we never have disputes or disagreements – one of the important things we have learned here is that the needs of children and adults can be very different indeed! What is important is that we all recognise these differences and try to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution to any problem, instead of the adults just making up the rules to suit themselves.
A typical Meeting case may be this one as we had a while ago. The older children in the school wanted to have no bedtimes and proposed that they could stay up as late as they liked provided that they stick to the silence hour, which is 10.30pm.There was a long discussion about it as many people had things to say on the subject. Some were worried about the possible noise, others about lack of sleep. Eventually the vote was taken and it was carried that they try it for one week, to see if it would work. After a few days, there was a Special Meeting because somebody had been woken up several times in the night. The community decided that they had lost their chance and should have a bedtime back again. Occasionally it is carried that most of the school laws are dropped. Obviously it can be a bit disruptive when this happens but it is a good learning experience and always sorts itself out quickly. What better way to learn to be a law-abiding citizen than to try living without laws?
We believe in freedom but not licence. This means that you are free to do as you like – but you must not interfere with somebody else’s freedom. You are free to go to lessons, or stay away, because that is your own personal business, but you cannot play your drum kit at four in the morning because it would keep other people awake. Within this structure we probably have more laws than any other school in the country – they vary from between 150 – 250! Many laws are seasonal and are changed or abolished when not needed. Others carry on year after year.

Here is a random selection of them:
5 You must have a working front and back brake on your bike.

5 You can’t ride little kids bikes -even with permission.

5 There are no bedtimes on the first night of term for shack and Carriage kids but silence hour is as usual. House, Cottage and San go to bed at the Beddie’s Officers discretion.

5 You can’t climb the Big Beech when it’s dark or wet.

5 No wheels allowed inside buildings.

5 New children and staff cannot be on committees in their first term.

We hold school meetings four days of the week. Chairing the meeting is a difficult task. Although nobody is exactly unruly, it is demanding to keep up to 70 or so people of different ages sitting quietly for up to an hour at a time. The Chairperson has ULTIMATE power! If you make noise you can be fined, moved or thrown out altogether. It a strangely formal occasion and visitors have often remarked that it is more orderly than the English House of Commons.

We hope that these answers have been helpful.

Zoë Readhead,

Summerhill school, Leiston, Suffolk, IP16 4HY. UK.

Office Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1728 830540. office@summerhillschool.co.uk
Home phone: +44 (0) 1728 830030 E-mail: zoe@summerhillschool.co.uk Website: www.summerhillschool.co.uk

How do you know that it is time to look for another educational approach for your child? Here are some of the signs:

1. Does your child say he or she hates school?

2. Does your child find it difficult to look an adult in the eye, or to interact with children younger or older than they are?

3. Does your child seem fixated on designer labels and trendy clothes for school?

4. Does your child come from school tired and cranky?

5. Do your children come home complaining about conflicts that they’ve had in school and unfair situations that they have been exposed to?

6. Has your child lost interest in creative expression through art, music, and dance?

7. Has your child stopped reading for fun, or reading or writing for pleasure? Are your children doing just the minimum for homework and going off for some escapist activity?

8. Does your child procrastinate until the last minute to do homework?

9. Does your child come home talking about anything exciting that happened in school that day?

10. Did the school nurse of guidance counselor suggest that your child has some strange three lettered disease, like ADD, and that they should now be given Ritalin or some other drug?

Interested in learning more about The Albany Free School?

Read the press…

http://www.albanyfreeschool.com/press_metro.shtml
Free to Be: At Albany’s most unique alternative school, students have control over their own education (By Kate Sipher)

http://www.albanyfreeschool.com/press_tu.shtml

Students feel slaves’ fearful flight: Albany– Free School trip brings Underground Railroad journey and Harriet Tubman’s freedom fight to life (By Mike Fricano)

“In the USA, Mercogliano says public demand for alternative education is greater than at any time since the late 1960s. He gives the example of Sudbury Valley School outside Boston, which “clones” itself by providing startup kits to educators. There are now about 40 Sudbury spinoffs across the US, as well as in Israel, Japan and the Netherlands. According to Mercogliano, this renaissance is an inadvertent result of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act, which critics say undercuts local control of public schools.”

Check out this article: http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/67.php?id=201

“What if we could raise a generation of children free of race and class prejudice, free of an overdependence on material things as the basis for the good life, and free of the belief in the necessity of war? What what if society were to begin embracing education as a process that encourages learning for learning’s sake and enables children to develop fully and authentically?” -Chris Mercogliano (Albany Free School teacher and author) 

Mary Leue, the founder of The Albany Free School was determined to start a school based on freedom and democratic principles. She wanted the school to be accessible to poor children. And so it was… Today, thirty-two years later, the school is flourishing. About half of the kids come from the inner city, one-fourth from uptown neighborhoods, and the remainder from suburbs. The school operates on a sliding-scale tuition; no one is turned away for financial reasons. Approximately eighty percent of the students are eligible for a free or reduced price breakfast or lunch. There are approximately fifty-five kids, ages three through fourteen that attend the school. There are eight full-time teachers, a cook, and many interns, volunteers and visitors. Goats, chickens, rabbits, pet lizards, and goldfish are also part of the community. Some rooms in the school have blackboards, books, adn teaching materials. There is also a computer network. Students are organized into hometoom groups by age so that they can have a space to call their own and a specific teacher to check in with during the day

However, noise is more common than quiet at this school, where kids play and move about constantly. There is no curriculum, or compulsory classes. Classes that do take place are informal and last as long as students’ interest holds. As for evaluation, there are no test or grades because a child’s innate desire to learn is more powerfully motivating than any external reward or threat. The school enjoys using the following mottos in its definition: “Never a dull moment, always a dull roar”, “First love, then teach”, and “Trust children and they will learn”. The greatest emphasis is on fostering loving and caring relationships with students. Visitors often remark on how children seem to be filled with joy and exuberance.

As for behavior, staff do not monitor and manage the students. Instead, they learn to manage themselves; urgent problems can be dealt with in the democratic meetings, where real emotional healing takes place. It is in these meetings that students and teachers share the responsibility for school policy and planning; each hold an equal vote. This is how students live and learn real participatory democracy.

When asked what a typical day at the Free School is like, the staff respond by saying: 165, for the number of days in an average school year. “Each day unfolds organically according ot people’s moods and interests, to the season and the weather, and to local and even world events” (http://www.albanyfreeschool.com/overview.shtml). Students write poetry, short stories, create books, magazines, and works of art, plays, or learn French and Algebra. There are daily classes too, for those who want to work on basic skills in a structured way. Subjects include reading, math, history, and science. However, students also engage in a number of spontaneous activities. One example of such an activity was when the whole school dropped everything to follow public high school students who were marching to the State Education Department in protest to demand an end to high stakes testing.

Although the school is not intended to cater to students with special needs, these students are frequently found in attendance. At any given time, the school has about half of their students from public school referrals. Some students have been labeled as having ADHD. Once they have been placed on Ritalin. or other biopsychiatric medications, parents become concerned with side effects and instead, opt to have their students attend the Free School.

The school uses its surrounding city for its “classroom” on a daily basis. Older students get involved in apprenticeship programs; they work with artists, actors, attorneys, , carpenters, dancers, midwives, archaeologists, magicians, chefs, and even pilots! They also volunteer at places like food banks, soup kitchens, and daycare centres. Seventh and eight-grade students also take a trip every spring. The experience is very memorable for them. They are responsible to raise all of the funds themselves. Another distinctive feature to the school includes the ooperating of a small organic farm where students learn how to compost, grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables.

Visitors to the school are welcome throughout the year.

A.S. Neill’s Summerhill School in England served to create a model for other schools. Today, over 80 such schools exist and operate worldwide. They are built on the following three ideas:

1) traditional education ignores a child’s ability to make educational choices,

2) traditional education is punitive, and

3) traditional education is psychologically damaging to a child.

Unfortunately, I was not able to visit such a school, as none exist in Quebec or even Ontario.

However, such a school exists not too far from here, in Albany, New York. It’s called The Albany Free School.

http://www.albanyfreeschool.com/

Here are some facts:

-Founded in 1969 by Mary Leue, whose fifth-grade son was miserable in his regular class at one of the “better schools”. When she began homeschooling him, another parent asked Mary to take her sons, too! A school was born…

-Oldest inner-city independent alternative school in the United States

-It first opened in an inner city black church; Mary could afford the monthly rent and the location ensured that hte school would be integrated both in terms of race and social class

-Parents initially battled over educational philosophy nad practice

-First rule established was that only those who were present day-to-day in the school could determine school policy (internal autonomy). In an effort to empower the kids, they were given the opportunity to participate in school governance and for a way to nonviolently work out differences (“council meeting”). Basically, anyone, with sufficient support, could set policy, make or change rules, and establish consequences for anti-social behavior.

There! The cat’s out of the bag! Ever since I first heard about Summerhill School a couple of years ago, I have been completely entranced by its philosophy… I spent four years studying educational theories and philosophies in my undergrad and was never introduced to Free Schools… When I found out about it, I felt completely cheated!

Had it been kept hidden because it was radical, untraditional and different? Or perhaps, as pre-service teachers, we were “shielded” from such thinking, so as to avoid critiquing the education we had been a part of and would soon be propagating… All these thoughts bombarded me when I first started reading about Summerhill. Ultimately, I yearned to find out more because it challenged the very nature of what I claimed to think and know… Suddenly, I felt I understood very little… Only non-coercive education has truly inspired me to question what education is and ought to be… What are your thoughts on Free Schools?

A.S. Neill founded the Summerhill School in England in 1921. The school served as a testing ground for libertarian philosophy and continues to operate under the direction of Neill’s daughter (seen in the video posted last week). It became the model of free schools around the world. The philosophy behind such free schools argues that each student should be granted the freedom to direct his/her own learning according to his/her needs and desires. The school also challenges the need for grades, external rewards, and teacher authority. Battles have always ensued over who should control classroom curriculum, but very few schools have embraced utter freedom of choice for the students themselves.

In effect, Neill packaged Freud’s ideas about the benefits of psychoanalysis into a school that treated the emotional and psychological health of students as the most important consideration. The school represented a resurgence of the educational thinking behind Rousseau and Thoreau’s work. Thoreau, for one, emphasized lived experience as an essential element of education, while Rousseau was critical of traditional education, believing that children were able to reason. Although traditional education aimed to promote a child’s intellectual capacity, progressive education’s goal was to educate the whole child, including the emotional and physical components. Neill felt compelled to establish a school where he believed emotions should take precedence over everything. He wanted to destroy all forms of moral sanctions – adults could not teach children the difference between right and wrong because they themselves did not know the difference! If children are given total approval to do as they pleased (as long as it was not dangerous), they would be more happy and mature. Making the school fit the child was Neill’s ultimate goal. The school also functioned by the mantra: “Hate breeds hate, and love breeds love”. Love was expressed through forms of fun and games, whereas hate was transmitted through a duty and obedience… It was Freud who said that “only someone who can feel his way into the mids of children can be capable of educating them” (Freud, 1913, p. 189) and thus, Neill suggested that adults run around outside with students and truly play with them. Neill thought schools that “made active children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects is a bad school (only) for (those) who want docile, uncreative children who will fit into civilization whose standard of success is money” (Neill, 1960, p. 4). Daniel and Hanna Greenberg were PH.D-educated physicists who were taken by Neill’s ideals on education and formed the Sudbury School in 1961 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Such schools promote the process, not the product, as criterions of success. There are no teachers at Free Schools, only “staff”. There are also no classrooms, just rooms in which students may choose to use. The school is non-compulsory; there are no required classes, activities, or lessons. Playing outdoors is strongly encouraged, and artistic creativity in all its forms is also promoted. Principles of mathematics are discouraged… At Free Schools, students can express themselves as they choose, and can decide if, when, and how they want to learn. There are no external rewards or punishments for educational decisions. By giving students trust and freedom to choose how they want to spend their day, the schools contend that students will learn what they want in ways they choose to learn it. Learning will thus be meaningful and relevant to them, which will intrinsically motivate them to learn more!

Applying such princples to the public education system is truly difficult, as schools must answer to policymakers, judiciary, and to the public, all of whom have an investment in student’s education. Free Schools are able to grant such unusual freedoms to students partly due to their small student body. As for studetns who are learning disabled, Sudbury reprsentaives state that they do not recognize leaning disorders and do not label students in any particular manner.

It has been said that Neill felt so strongly about his ideals set forth in Summerhill that he truly believed that children growing up in such a free school would be happy; criminal activity and need for psychoanalysis would be eliminated. Although his passion and ideals inspired thousands, free schools remain a very small minority of schools attended by children worldwide.

References

Freud, S. (1966). On the history of the psychoanalytic movement: the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Neill, A. S. (1960). Summerhill; A radical approach to child rearing. New York: N.Y. Hart Publishing Company. pp. 3-28, 343-379.

Peramas, M. (2007). The Sudbury school and influences on psychoanalytic theory on student-controlled education. Vol. 19. Essays in Education.