Age mixing

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 ›

Somewhat to my surprise, I have recently gained a new insight into a key element of what goes on here, in an area that I thought had been thoroughly analyzed from ever-so-many angles from the very first days of the school’s founding. It came… Read more ›

School's a place for kids to learn. Everybody agrees to that. That's why they exist. Well, but kids learn all the time; it's part of human nature to learn. People have known that forever. The opening sentence of one of the most famous books ever… Read more ›

One of the criticisms I hear from time to time about Sudbury Valley School is along the lines of, “Well, doing what you want all day and making democratic decisions about the way your community is run, that's all well and good, but when they get… Read more ›

Dan: Recently, a group of alumni on their own initiative decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sudbury Valley School, and invited all alumni from everywhere in the world to come and join them. Amazingly, almost 200 alumni came, of all… Read more ›

I want to talk about something called “the zone of proximal development”, an idea developed by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky early in the 20th century. He felt that people learn best when either they are learning from somebody who knows a… Read more ›

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 ›

Every year, a large group of kids from Sudbury Valley decamp (literally) on the next to last week of school to Nickerson State Park, in Brewster, on Cape Cod. While writing this I was waiting (as was everyone else who didn’t go) for them to… Read more ›

I was speaking with a prospective family at an Open House a few months ago and telling them about the democratic process at Sudbury Valley and how students are respected, empowered, and internally motivated. The dad interjected, "Well, I think it’s… Read more ›

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 ›

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 ›

During the last Open House, in October of 2015, there was a remarkable interaction. It didn't surprise me, but it greatly pleased me. Unfortunately, I don't think the guests who were with me had enough context for what they saw to appreciate it.… Read more ›

Food serves as a major aspect of life at SVS. Of course, everyone in the world loves food; however, here it takes on a life of its own. The minute students arrive, they are eating or talking about food. Trading and sharing food items are a daily… Read more ›

As a new staff member, working at this school has been a wonderful learning experience. It has allowed me to notice certain patterns and common occurrences within the school community. Witnessing them first hand is nothing short of spectacular. My… Read more ›

Aren’t they adorable, all those little munchkins, big munchkins, bigger than munchkins, playing in the snow? Isn’t it nice that the school has so many good sliding places? One can even slide right onto the middle of the pond—not usually an option,… Read more ›