Blog
Monday, May 21, 2018
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 ›
Monday, May 7, 2018
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 ›
Monday, April 23, 2018
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 ›
Monday, April 9, 2018
Cori, my oldest daughter and Kali, one of her close friends at SVS, are having a good-humored debate about which one of them reads more books. This debate has been going on so long now that for Christmas their friends bought them each a… Read more ›
Monday, March 26, 2018
One of our particularly lovely and fascinating bankers was visiting recently. It was not her first time, but being here makes most people, if they are even a little bit open to the environment, feel very good. She said, “I love to come here. It is a… Read more ›
Monday, March 12, 2018
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 ›
Monday, February 26, 2018
I can’t believe I even wrote such a sappy title. Me, the tell-it-like-it-is gal, who never exaggerates. But let me describe a bit of a very recent day. As I was walking down to school, on an absolutely perfect morning, a young boy (7), whom we will… Read more ›
Monday, February 12, 2018
This was published in our Janury 1998 Journal; a note from Jean and Rick Leif about what their daughter is up to now has been added.
Quite a lot has been written about what it is like to be a student at Sudbury Valley School, but I would like to… Read more ›
Monday, January 29, 2018
This article is reprinted from The Field, the newsletter of Fairfield School.
There is a debate among educators regarding the best way to teach reading and writing. In one camp are the whole language proponents. They believe that reading and writing… Read more ›
Monday, January 15, 2018
Sudbury Valley has just begun the 2017-2018 school year – and an exciting one it is! This will be our 50th year of operation, the half century mark for what was once a “far-out” experiment. Born in the tumultuous 1960s, SVS was destined to outlive… Read more ›
Monday, January 1, 2018
The month of December always feels rushed, but in a good way. Students are more amped than usual. They are excited for Christmas, parties, and especially making gingerbread houses.
Mimsy organizes a few days to make gingerbread houses before the… Read more ›
Monday, December 18, 2017
This blog was originally published as an article in our journal, November 1, 1992.
We often enjoy annual trips to the White Mountains in October. One trip took place a bit after the glorious colors of Fall were at the height of their beauty. The… Read more ›
Monday, December 4, 2017
Everyone has heard the aphorism, “To get the right answers, you have to ask the right questions.” Much energy has been expended on trying to discover how to formulate “right questions” in any field of endeavor. But people seldom give much… Read more ›
Monday, November 20, 2017
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 ›
Monday, November 6, 2017
An Introduction, by Hanna Greenberg
“In Israel, where I come from, there are two “Sudbury” schools, and both are thriving. One is in the heart of the city of Jerusalem, and the other, Kanaf (which means “wings”) is in the Golan Heights,… Read more ›