Writing by:

Jay Flood

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This question has clearly been answered by our society with a resounding “YES”. It is an accepted notion that all children should learn at the same pace, and stringent measures are taken to ensure that this is the case and that there be “no child… Read more ›
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Whenever we have an Open House at Sudbury Valley School we often get the same question, “What do the kids do all day?” Underneath this question is a broader one, “Can you prove to me that this place works?” On the spot, the short answer is, “No.”… Read more ›
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People often ask if there is a problem with bullying at Sudbury Valley School given that all these kids of all different ages are mixed together in a seemingly haphazard and unordered way. I tell them that bullying is quite rare; to which they… Read more ›
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When we say that we are “bringing people up”, it can mean anything from bringing up a person in a conversation to bringing up our kids according to certain principles. At SVS, “bringing a person up” (i.e., filing a complaint against someone with… Read more ›
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Ever since I started teaching music composition at a conservatory, I’ve been comparing the progress of the college students with the Sudbury Valley School kids I’ve observed in my time as a staff member. In each case, they are trying to work out… Read more ›
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We live in a country which is governed on the principle of individual liberty, where people have been able to grow up in a way that fosters imagination and inventiveness. This idea of the sovereignty of the individual underlies the… Read more ›
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On May 9th at noon the SVS Music Corp gave its first concert since it was disbanded three years ago. I was part and parcel to the proceedings, being the only adult with the privilege (tech and mixer), and I got to watch all the trials and… Read more ›
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I had an interesting discussion with a five year old SVS student who was irked by something a seven year old from a traditional school had said to him, namely, that she knew more than he did because she was older and already half way through second… Read more ›
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I’ve grown to love the interactions with the guests at Open House. It’s fun to stumble onto someone who has little or no knowledge of the school, and also to see their reaction to hearing about the model for the first time. I had a particular… Read more ›
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And now for a brief update of the sonic happenings in The Barn: We are a Music Corp in transition and working out the acoustics of the hall is now front and center. After the Winter Show, there were a number of posts from parents regarding the… Read more ›

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