Writing by:
Hanna Greenberg
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It’s already the first week of July and it is only now that I finally am rested enough to have a modicum of perspective about the hectic crazy busy last month of school.
The annual five day camping trip to Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod requires a… Read more ›
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All too often parents, educators, and even students ask us why we are so adamant about not offering any courses at SVS, and why we only teach in response to the students’ initiatives. They wonder why we don’t just offer a few “required” subjects and… Read more ›
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I myself am tired of my stories about SVS trips in general and of skiing trips in particular. But I just can’t help it!
The truth probably is that what I see happening on trips happens all the time at school, but it happens so privately that I… Read more ›
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For many years now a Halloween dance has taken place in the barn. Wearing a costume is optional but most people come wearing something funky, beautiful or amusing. The dances are totally organized by students, while staff serve as chaperones who are… Read more ›
Essay post |
There is a question which I dread and which I am invariably always asked. It is: “If you say that the children at SVS are supposed to be in charge of their lives at the school and do and learn what they want when and how they want, what then is that… Read more ›
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A young girl of nine or ten asked me to teach her math. I gave her some problems which she enjoyed doing. Next day she came to me with many sheets of paper covered with similar problems which she made for herself and then solved.
She is obviously… Read more ›
Essay post |
One day in late summer Danny came home from school with a very grim face. I knew that he had bad news for me and he indeed said that something terrible happened. Of course, being me, I thought that someone I cared about died. Danny said, “Yes, it’s… Read more ›
Essay post |
For years and years every Wednesday the upstairs piano room is taken over by Sharon Kane and her students. When I glance through the door’s window I see kids of all ages working with Sharon, but I have always wondered what is really going on in… Read more ›
Blog post |
This post was originally published in The Sudbury Valley School Journal, volume 30., number 4, March 2001.
“When God began to create heaven and earth, the universe was chaos and disorder, and darkness enveloped the void.” (Genesis 1:1)
One day I was… Read more ›
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This post originally appeared in The Sudbury Valley School Journal, volume 27, no. 5, May 1998.
A young girl of nine or ten asked me to teach her math. I gave her some problems which she enjoyed doing. Next day she came to me with many sheets of… Read more ›
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Sometimes what you wish for has consequences that you wished would not bother you. A case in point is the way SVS students who enrolled when they were very young tend to grow up to be persistent -- and capable of getting what they want.
So, quite… Read more ›
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What I love about children is their abiding optimism.
Sure they don’t like to fail and they can become very frustrated at times, but unlike adults they rarely give up hope and become gloomy. To most children, the world is full of wonders. Each… Read more ›
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Hanging the photo exhibit on Friday, January 24th proved to be an exhilarating experience for me.
It goes without saying that the photos are varied in their subjects, beautiful and interesting. What else would one expect from kids at SVS? They are… Read more ›
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Walking into our art room is usually fascinating. It seems that most young people love to do art in all sort of ways. They make things out of clay. They draw and paint and make amazing collages. And, they do many other things, like building… Read more ›
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The Dance Room is a large room with lots of wall space and windows. It looks and sounds rather cavernous. However, when the walls are used as an exhibition space for the art created at school, the room is transformed and becomes a delightful place.… Read more ›