Blog
Monday, October 23, 2017
A Fall Apple Picking ExcursionHanna Greenberg
New England has the perfect climate for growing apples. There are several orchards in the school’s vicinity where people can pick their own fruit. You pay an entrance fee, get a bag and you are allowed… Read more ›
Monday, October 9, 2017
Summer vacation is over and on the way to school I make my now predictable joke. “Did you complete your assigned summer reading? How about that social studies diorama for Danny?” My kids smile and roll their eyes. My mind drifts back to when my… Read more ›
Monday, September 25, 2017
When talking about the school, we all find others confused about what we believe, and about what we do. As with most confusion, much of the confusion can be reduced to language.
People casually use certain terms loosely and interchangeably as a… Read more ›
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
In many ways, it is nothing short of miraculous that Sudbury Valley has reached the 50th year of its operation. For all the talk of reform in the world of education, those parents who feel comfortable allowing their small and large children autonomy… Read more ›
Monday, September 4, 2017
This blog was originally published as an article in our journal, May 1, 1994.
Somewhere I read this quote by Lotte Bailin:
"Instant availability without continuous presence is the best role a mother could play."
A lovely quote, I thought, and I let… Read more ›
Monday, August 21, 2017
It is not uncommon for people who come to an interview inquiring about enrollment to ask, “What activities do you have at Sudbury Valley?” After all, it is a school, and schools usually have, in addition to regular classes teaching the… Read more ›
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Ever since I heard about SVS, I began thinking of ways to develop an awareness of the Sudbury model in France. Founding Ecole Dynamique, in Paris, was a fascinating adventure that reached well beyond the circle of the families involved in the school… Read more ›
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Recently, an article was brought to my attention, entitled “Alternative Educational System Sudbury Valley as a Model for Reforming School”. It was a paper presented to the 4th World Conference on Educational Technology Researches, held in Barcelona… Read more ›
Monday, July 10, 2017
Strewing is one of the latest techniques used by educators and parents to lure children to learn things that the adults want them to learn at a time of the adult’s choosing. It has become especially popular among “unschooling” homeschoolers.… Read more ›
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
It is the first question parents ask once they try to wrap their minds around the fact that students at Sudbury Valley are, in fact, free to use their time in the ways that appeal to them.
And even after we have gone through the whole bit; after one… Read more ›
Monday, June 12, 2017
Over the past few months I have noticed, and been fascinated by, the proliferation of “secret worlds”. As I’m an invited guest to these meaningful and sometimes sacred endeavors, I must omit names, locations, and other details, so as not to break… Read more ›
Monday, June 5, 2017
There was a Separation and Transition Workshop for parents at my son’s college orientation that I went to, and I don’t regret going, even though I thought I would.
Convinced that the last thing my SVS educated son needed on his first day of college… Read more ›
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
“It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how,” said The Cat In the Hat. It seems to me that Dr. Seuss, who obviously understood children, nevertheless, like most adults, was blind to the ability of kids to extract pleasure out of any place or… Read more ›
Monday, May 22, 2017
Through a series of coincidences involving shelving books at school, I recently found myself spending a weekend reading through Cynthia Voigt’s “young adult” cycle of books about the Tillerman family, starting with volume number two called Dicey’s… Read more ›
Monday, May 8, 2017
Part 1 - The Architects
Where can insects, rabbits, and snakes go when they’re sick or injured? Two young SVS students not only pondered this problem, they took action. They had a history of creating entire worlds out of sticks, leaves, rocks,… Read more ›