Welcome to the new school year. We are more excited than ever about starting school this year and about (okay, I admit it) the incredible quality of the student body. Yes, we have new and visiting students, and yes they may only make it better, but… Read more ›
Blog
My purpose in writing is to help parents who are thinking about Sudbury Valley School. Those parents who are attracted to this model for their children need to provide them with the support that will make their SVS experience most effective. They do… Read more ›
This year we had a three-week summer session at Sudbury Valley, open to those who were regular students during the school year. It is hard to explain how lovely it was. I don’t think there were more than 15 or 16 kids for any of the three weeks, and… Read more ›
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 ›
From the point of view of a brand new student, the school is an astonishing (if sometimes overwhelming) place. The freedom to manage one’s own time is generally the first aspect of the school noticed, and it is what attracts a new student first.
The… Read more ›
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 ›
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 ›
I was very amused when I heard that my children were "Playing School" at Sudbury Valley. I learned about this one morning when my daughter urgently needed to print out some "worksheets" before we left for school. God forbid, a teacher arrive at… Read more ›
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 ›
When new students arrive on our campus and I volunteer to show them around, there are some SVS basics I always hit on.
I tell them no staff can give them a detention here like they can at their traditional school. I tell them no one will force them… Read more ›
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 ›
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 ›
Maybe my memory is foggy but never do I remember the ice on our pond being as perfect as it was the week of January 6. On Tuesday, we were all, young and old, stuck inside as the “polar vortex” kept the wind chill dangerous.
The next day was still… Read more ›
When I went to traditional high school, the place reeked of rebellion. Contempt for the establishment was a badge of honor and students impressed each other with tales of misdeeds. Some circles were more obedient than others, sure, but there wasn't… Read more ›
Twenty-thirteen was a big year for Sudbury Valley School. Last Spring, we decided to dip a toe into the social media water and soon took the plunge for real, launching an “official” Facebook page and a blog, as well as a presence on Twitter.
The… Read more ›