Writing by:
Daniel Greenberg
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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 ›
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When we started the school in 1968 we knew right from the outset that there is a tremendous chasm between traditional education and what we set out to do. Now you all have a photograph in your chairs and I want you to hang onto it--we'll be… Read more ›
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Sudbury Valley School—is it the easiest school or the hardest? It sounds like a simple question. But before even trying to provide some kind of answer, we have to ask ourselves what “easy” means and what “hard” means when they’re applied to human… Read more ›
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This essay is based on a talk delivered at the 2005 Summer Workshop for Staff of Sudbury Schools and Startup Groups. The full talk is available as a CD from The Sudbury Valley School Press.
Sudbury Valley School was consciously modeled on the… Read more ›
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Editor's note: In early 1999, this series of op-ed pieces was published in the Metro-West Daily News.
The Notion that All Children Undergo the Same Developmental Processes at the Same Rate
published January 29, 1999
The MCAS tests, and the so-… Read more ›
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Acquiring wisdom is the highest goal of education. To be wise is to have the ability to lead a good, useful, and productive life, both as an individual and as a member of a community. From earliest times, wisdom has been recognized as the finest… Read more ›
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Note: This is an edited transcript of a talk delivered at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on February 9, 2001. In editing, the flavor of an oral presentation has been preserved.
My focus, as you might expect, is the concept behind… Read more ›
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Note: Edited version of a talk given in Portland, OR on March 9, 1991.
It's very difficult to begin a discussion about Sudbury Valley School, because it takes a certain fundamental change in mindset to grasp what we're trying to do. We're not… Read more ›
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Every year, word gets around that certain students in the school are receiving outside tutoring arranged by their parents in subjects that their parents think are important for them to know - subjects that the students are not pursuing on their own… Read more ›
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Note: This is an edited version of a talk presented to the 2002 Workshop for Staff of Sudbury Schools and for Startup Groups about to open new Sudbury Schools, held at Sudbury Valley School in July 2002.
I
For a long time I've held that as soon as… Read more ›
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During a School Meeting debate in the late spring of the year 2000, someone made an oft-repeated point: "If the people involved in this activity really cared, they would be here and promote their cause." It is a refrain that I have heard often from… Read more ›
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Note: This essay is based on a talk given at Framingham State College in November 2007.
I
When people write about schools, they usually talk about curriculum, program, management, pedagogy, and other such matters. I’m not going to do that at all.… Read more ›
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Note: This essay is an edited version of the transcript of a talk given at the school on November 19, 2008.
It is a question that people ask all the time. We hear it at Open Houses, we hear it when we meet people outside, we hear it at interviews,… Read more ›
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The indispensable ingredients for establishing and maintaining a Sudbury school as a viable entity1
I. The Core Group
The seeds for having a sustainable school are planted at the very beginning. How you start, how you set the place up, are largely… Read more ›
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The Question
For as long as I can remember, Sudbury Valley School has stated that its reason for existence, in a nutshell, is to provide an environment, suitable for our place and time, in which children can take responsibility for preparing… Read more ›