Tagged:

Respect

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There are so many ways that SVS challenges the way we think about school and education. Some are deep and profound others are just strange. Recently my daughter asked if she could sleep over at a friend’s house. It was mid-week and my first thought… Read more ›
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Posted by permission of Philly Free School. First published on their blog, May 22, 2015. www.phillyfreeschool.org/blog By Michelle Loucas, PFS Staff "We must raise both the ceiling and the floor." -Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the… 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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When I was in Israel (the country of my birth) this summer, I visited two thriving schools inspired by Sudbury Valley. Both are filled to capacity and growing fast, with a current total of over 200 students between them. What was especially… 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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When we first enrolled our girls in SVS, I thought the emphasis on having both parents and kids sign things was a little silly or forced. The kids were nervous, not about going to SVS, but how they should sign. Was the first name and last name… 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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The one and only “best class’‘ I have ever attended is the Judicial Committee at Sudbury Valley. Basically, the JC is the organ of the school which keeps the school safe, deals with interpersonal conflicts, and ensures that the physical plant is not… Read more ›
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Often we as adults don’t get why kids make a big deal about things that seem trivial to us. A good case in point is the matter of fashion. It probably has been a bone of contention between the young and the old since the beginning of history, but… Read more ›
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Sudbury Valley’s big drama in November was a trial. Trials are rare. Almost always, when the Judicial Committee decides, after careful investigation, to charge someone with violating a rule, the person charged accepts the fairness of the process and… 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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We’ve all been brought up on the old adage, “You can’t tell a book by its cover.” The point of this well-worn piece of ancient wisdom is simple: don’t judge the reality of a situation from its outward appearance. Even if you are put off (or… 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 ›