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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 ›
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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 ›
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It is hard not to think that the passing of Alan White this winter marks the passing of an era. Alan has been the voice of calm, the voice of reason, the voice of gentleness, and the voice of steel as Sudbury Valley has gone through 49 of its first… Read more ›
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An Open Mic is a scary thing to organize. After all, the success of the endeavor depends not on who says they want to sing, or play a song, or dance, or do an act, beforehand, but who actually steps up and does it at the time it is happening. In a… Read more ›
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From my teaching days, there is a particular moment I remember with special sadness: It’s the moment in the semester when everything kind of closes up, and it happened without fail just a few weeks into the school year, coinciding directly with the… Read more ›
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The school year has started with a bang! Students and staff are excited for activities and work to begin. The amount of fundraisers we recently had is a good indication of it! Now that it is the beginning of October, all of the corporations for the… Read more ›
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The following two scenes were unfolding recently on the different ends of one of the low red tables in the playroom, around lunchtime. On the one end, close to me, Josie sat down with her tablet and a snack, joined in quick succession by Nell on one… Read more ›
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Today I was engrossed in contemplating how difficult it is to tell the “bad guys” from the “good guys”. I have had that trouble since I was a little girl watching cowboy movies. It wasn’t that I didn’t have some clue that Roy Rogers, or the Lone… Read more ›
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During February break, I took the opportunity to visit the Fairhaven School in Maryland, one of our sister schools. I am so glad I did! It brought key aspects of our work at Sudbury into sharp focus for me, and I returned to our school energized and… Read more ›
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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 ›
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It wasn’t even an eventful day. Yet things happened that stood out, as always. First there was a relatively innocuous moment that started the day. It seems that the people who run the daily concession had found an innovative way to store some of the… Read more ›
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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 ›
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A school without students is not really a school. While beautiful and quiet, SVS during the summer can be a bit melancholy, like an empty husk. Hot and humid days don’t make it much better. Yes, summer can be a good time to get things done, and it’s… Read more ›
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In May, the Sudbury schools in Europe usually get together at one of their schools for a few days of deep conversing and even deeper collegiality building. Mostly staff attend these conferences, but some students who are particularly interested in… Read more ›
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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 paper covered with similar problems which she made for herself and then solved. She is obviously… Read more ›