Writing by:

Daniel Greenberg

Essay post | Saturday, December 1, 2018

Let's Be Clear: Sudbury Valley School and "Un-schooling" Have NOTHING in Common

by Daniel Greenberg
Introduction This essay has been prompted by a feeling of frustration that has finally led me to sit down and face an unpleasant reality: too many people think we are basically an “un-schooling” institution with some sort of added twist. Consider… Read more ›
Blog post | Monday, September 10, 2018

Diversity

by Daniel Greenberg
Every morning, from the beginning of the school day, one can watch children making their way from the parking lot to the main building. Some come running, breathless to get down to work, to carry out whatever they had planned for the day. Some come… Read more ›
Blog post | Friday, July 6, 2018

Long Overdue

by Daniel Greenberg
     “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” - the three cornerstones of this country, and the reason it was founded in the first place.  These were the “unalienable rights” that our founders declared belonged to every… Read more ›
Blog post | Monday, May 7, 2018

Sudbury Valley School: Celebrating a Half Century of a Radical Approach to Educating Children

by Daniel Greenberg
For 50 years, Sudbury Valley Schools, and other schools inspired by its model, have been providing children with a place to grow like no other. Our starting point is treating children who enroll at school, from age four and up, as human beings… Read more ›
Essay post | Sunday, April 1, 2018

The Pursuit of Excellence and Democratic Schools

by Daniel Greenberg
One of the key problems every democratic system must work out for itself is the relationship between the individual and the community. Democracy, taken in its unembellished form as a system of self-government, focuses exclusively on the mechanism… Read more ›
Article | Friday, March 16, 2018

Sudbury Valley School: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

by Daniel Greenberg
Sudbury Valley School: An Idea Whose Time Has Come [SVS Journal, vol. 45, Spring 2016] Contents  Archetype: 1965 - 1990  I. In the Beginning  II. The Shakedown Cruise  III. Swept Up in the Tide—and Almost Drowned!  IV. Who… Read more ›
Article | Friday, March 16, 2018

Developing Each Child's Unique Destiny

by Daniel Greenberg
Child Destiny
[Chapter 5, A Clearer View; pp. 92-116] We always felt that Sudbury Valley was the best place to develop each child’s unique potential to the fullest. That was a given for us from day one. The question is, how does this beautiful concept relate to… Read more ›
Article | Thursday, March 15, 2018

No One Need Apply

by Daniel Greenberg
No One Need Apply
[Free At Last, Foreword, pp. 9-11] There were no appointments available. By December, everyone who hoped to attend Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, had long since submitted their applications and made arrangements for an admissions… Read more ›
Article | Thursday, March 15, 2018

The Significance of the Democratic Model: Self-Esteem, Self-Rule, and Self-Motivation

by Daniel Greenberg
Democratic Model
A Clearer View, Chapter 4, pp. 72-91 It may sound like a strange thing to talk about the significance of the democratic model in a school like ours, because the democratic model is so embedded in the school, and has been from day one. In fact,… Read more ›
Article | Monday, March 12, 2018

Let’s Be Clear: Sudbury Valley School and “Un-schooling” Have NOTHING in Common

by Daniel Greenberg
Sudbury Valley School Journal, Winter 2016 Introduction This essay has been prompted by a feeling of frustration that has finally led me to sit down and face an unpleasant reality: too many people think we are basically an “un-schooling” institution… Read more ›
Article | Monday, March 12, 2018

The Meaning of Play

by Daniel Greenberg
The Meaning of Play [Chapter 1, A Clearer View, pp. 3-30] Back in 1965, a small group of us started discussing a set of ideas about education and schooling. That was when we began to become self conscious of the fact that rather than just being… Read more ›
Article | Monday, March 12, 2018

Sudbury Valley's Secret Weapon: Allowing People of Different Ages to Mix Freely at School

by Daniel Greenberg
Sudbury Valley School Experience, pp. 121-136 For a long time I had the strong conviction that age mixing, which is one of the most obvious features of Sudbury Valley, is among the most important educational components of the school (as well as… Read more ›
Essay post | Thursday, March 1, 2018

What Do People Learn at Sudbury Valley?

by Daniel Greenberg
A New Look at Learning At the Sudbury Valley School, we have encountered a new version of the old story of the parent-child dialogue: “Where did you go?” “Out.” “What did you do?” “Nothing.” Our version is: “Where do you go?” “Sudbury Valley.” “What… Read more ›
Article | Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Conversation: the Staple Ingredient

by Daniel Greenberg
Conversation
The sub-title was carefully chosen to represent the status I think conversation has relative to the entire process of learning and living. This is a retrospective series of talks about what we’ve learned over the thirty years, and I find it rather… Read more ›
Article | Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Assuming Excellence

by Daniel Greenberg
AssumingExcellence
Prologue Ever since the school was first conceived, we have been searching for a way to express in clear and concise form its essential philosophy and practice. The search has been far-reaching, and has unearthed a wide range of concepts. Those I… Read more ›