Essays
A reissue of an article published in the March 1993, issue of the Journal.
Few concepts have caused us more trouble than "interest" at Sudbury Valley. We use it all the time in our literature and in our daily conversations. It comes up in interviews… Read more ›
(What Does That Mean Anyway?)
Note: I was asked to speak, in a plenary session, at the International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC), in August, in Vancouver, Canada. This article is adapted from that talk.
The topic that I was asked to speak… Read more ›
This presentation took place at Jerusalem Sudbury School, on April 18, 2013.
Every infant is, at birth, a complete person. An inexperienced person, yes; but complete. Each has wants and needs and desires peculiar to him. Some are more comfortable… Read more ›
Note: This article appeared in the November 25, 2005 issue of the Metrowest Daily News.
One of the many things we as Americans can be thankful for in this Thanksgiving season is the diversity which is a hallmark of our society. From the beginning,… Read more ›
"I attend the Sudbury Valley School. . . It is based on the idea that humans are innately curious, and that, when left in charge of their own education, children will learn what they need to naturally."
I said this at the beginning of one of what… Read more ›
Part 1
Reprinted from Creating Extraordinary Organizations, Eletter, Volume 3, Letter 10, 10/14/2005, www.extraordinaryorganizations.com.
Welcome to Letter 3-10 of Creating Extraordinary Organizations. In the last letter I looked at the second issue… Read more ›
This is a speech delivered at Sacramento Valley School in August of 2008.
Coming to Sacramento Valley School nourishes me and my work as a Sudbury school staff member because it always makes me feel really good that the people in Sacramento Valley… Read more ›
Amanda Klein, Shawna Lee, Stephanie Sarantos, Nora Wheat, The Clearwater School, Seattle, Washington
As a Clearwater parent, I often find myself trying to articulate - even justify - the Clearwater model, and there are times I get stuck. As a member… Read more ›
[This paper contains the testimony delivered by State Senator Magnani, then Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, before the Massachusetts Commission on the Common Core of Learning. The Commission was charged with providing guidance for… Read more ›
Prologue
Ever since the school was first conceived, we have been searching for a way to express in clear and concise form its essential philosophy and practice. The search has been far-reaching, and has unearthed a wide range of concepts. Those I… Read more ›
After sixteen years at Evergreen Sudbury School in Maine and Fairhaven School in Maryland, I retired in June, 2009. It was time to go and I have exciting plans, but leaving was hard. (And I hope to be back now and then as a sub.) I was tempted to… Read more ›
When we started the school in 1968 we knew right from the outset that there is a tremendous chasm between traditional education and what we set out to do. Now you all have a photograph in your chairs and I want you to hang onto it--we'll be… Read more ›
Jeff Collins and Vanessa Van Burek are Founders and Staff of the Hudson Valley Sudbury School in Woodstock, NY.
As we sit in our school’s main lounge, trying to write about the underlying lessons of a Sudbury Education, we often find ourselves “off… Read more ›
After one has read Free at Last, it is tempting to think that the anecdotal sketches in it are idealized, and that there can be no such school in the real world. However, the school exists, and while attending is not quite a fairy tale existence, it… Read more ›
A Fortieth Anniversary Celebration, April 5, 20081
Nikole Beckwith, Mark Christianson, Jeannine Bouffard Moore, Greg Richard, and Hal Sadofsky
Mimsy Sadofsky, moderator, opened the event.
We are going to visit tonight with five alumni, and they're… Read more ›
Sudbury Valley School—is it the easiest school or the hardest? It sounds like a simple question. But before even trying to provide some kind of answer, we have to ask ourselves what “easy” means and what “hard” means when they’re applied to human… Read more ›
Anthony Burik is a staff member at Diablo Valley School. Connie Reiss is the parent of a DVS student.
Prominent English novelist William Golding did children a great disservice in his book, Lord of the Flies. He marooned a group of British… Read more ›
This essay is based on a talk delivered at the 2005 Summer Workshop for Staff of Sudbury Schools and Startup Groups. The full talk is available as a CD from The Sudbury Valley School Press.
Sudbury Valley School was consciously modeled on the… Read more ›