Tagged:
Respect
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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 ›
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Children are born with one overriding drive. They seek to grow up and to gain mastery over their own lives.
Any child who grows up in a wider culture that values freedom is naturally jealous of what s/he feels to be her/his right to pursue happiness… Read more ›
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Especially at the beginning of the school year, a new student, or somebody who has just not gotten around to it before, might ask about what’s the deal with the books at school. They might want to know if you can borrow them, and how that would work… 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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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 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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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 ›
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Our family moved to Framingham over six years ago, mostly so our children could attend Sudbury Valley School. When we were researching schools, my husband and I read every book we could find about SVS. My favorite is “Kingdom of Childhood,” the one… Read more ›
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Parental involvement is a term that is used frequently in traditional education. It usually consists of things like volunteering in the classroom, participating in the PTO or chaperoning field trips. On a more insidious level, the involvement of… Read more ›
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People regularly ask me how Sudbury Valley is preparing my kids for adulthood, and what they’re learning there. Early on, I would try to explain some of the things I thought my sons were learning. I now respond by saying that none of us really knows… Read more ›
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When new students arrive on our campus and I volunteer to show them around, there are some SVS basics I always hit on.
I tell them no staff can give them a detention here like they can at their traditional school. I tell them no one will force them… Read more ›
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When I went to traditional high school, the place reeked of rebellion. Contempt for the establishment was a badge of honor and students impressed each other with tales of misdeeds. Some circles were more obedient than others, sure, but there wasn't… Read more ›
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Sudbury Valley is an incredible place. Literally so, in that many people just don’t believe that any school could be so pleasant and well-functioning. At least not until they have seen us in action.
The aspect of our culture that surprises and… Read more ›
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When I was still a kid at SVS, Hanna, a staff member, would often ask me a question I never really knew how to answer. She'd ask, "Jesse, how did you develop such good language skills? You have such a large vocabulary, where did you learn it?" I… Read more ›
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I never thought that skiing would test my commitment to the Sudbury Model. But, it did.
Every winter, the school offers two ski programs. Students who are eight or older can sign up to go to Wachusett Mountain once a week for six weeks. Every… Read more ›