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{{Article issues| advert = April 2009
| POV = April 2009
| self-published = April 2009
| refimprove = August 2009
}}
'''Sudbury schools''' practice a form of [[democratic education]] in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational [[syllabus]] or standardized instruction by classes following a prescriptive [[curriculum]]. Students are given complete responsibility for their own education and the school is run by a direct [[democracy]] in which students and staff are equals.<ref name=Ellis> {{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Arthur K.|title=Exemplars of curriculum theory|publisher=Eye on Education|year=2004|isbn=1930556705}}</ref>
'''Sudbury schools''' practice a form of [[democratic education]] in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational [[syllabus]] or standardized instruction by classes following a prescriptive [[curriculum]]. Students are given complete responsibility for their own education and the school is run by a direct [[democracy]] in which students and staff are equals.<ref name=Ellis> {{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Arthur K.|title=Exemplars of curriculum theory|publisher=Eye on Education|year=2004|isbn=1930556705}}</ref>


The 'Sudbury' name refers to [[Sudbury Valley School]], founded in 1968 in [[Framingham, Massachusetts]], the first school of this type; since 1991 more than three dozen Sudbury-type Schools have opened around the world.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Marano|first=Hara Estroff|title=Class dismissed: it's every modern parent's worst nightmare--a school where kids can play all day. but no one takes the easy way out, and graduates seem to have a head start on the information age. Welcome to Sudbury valley|journal=[[Psychology Today]]|volume=39|issue=3|pages=94(7)|date=May-June 2006}}</ref>
The 'Sudbury' name refers to [[Sudbury Valley School]], founded in 1968 in [[Framingham, Massachusetts]], the first school of this type; since 1991 more than three dozen Sudbury-type Schools have opened around the world<ref>{{cite journal|last=Marano|first=Hara Estroff|title=Class dismissed: it's every modern parent's worst nightmare--a school where kids can play all day. but no one takes the easy way out, and graduates seem to have a head start on the information age. Welcome to Sudbury valley|journal=[[Psychology Today]]|volume=39|issue=3|pages=94(7)|date=May-June 2006}}</ref>. These schools are not formally associated in any way, but generally maintain good communication with each other, and recognize a loose camaraderie.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}


Certain facets of the model separate it from other democratic schools and [[free school]]s, although there are evident similarities:
Certain facets of the model separate it from other democratic schools and [[free school]]s, although there are evident similarities:
* '''De-emphasis of [[class (education)|class]]es:''' classes arise only when an individual creates them, and staff are not expected to offer classes as any sort of [[curriculum]] — most democratic schools offer at least some basic curricula. Sudbury schools' attitude on classes stems from the belief that every individual learns what they need to know through life and that there is no need to try and design a curriculum that will prepare a young person for adult life.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}
* '''Age mixing:''' students are not separated into age-groups of any kind and allowed to mix freely, interacting with those younger and older than themselves; free age-mixing is emphasized as a powerful tool for learning and development in all ages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_645.aspx |title=Nature's Powerful Tutors; The Educative Functions of Free Play |accessdate=2009-07-25 |publisher=[[The National Honor Society in Psychology]] |last=Gray |first=Peter |authorlink=Peter Gray (psychologist)}}</ref>
* '''Age mixing:''' students are not separated into age-groups of any kind and allowed to mix freely, interacting with those younger and older than themselves; free age-mixing is emphasized as a powerful tool for learning and development in all ages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_645.aspx |title=Nature's Powerful Tutors; The Educative Functions of Free Play |accessdate=2009-07-25 |publisher=[[The National Honor Society in Psychology]] |last=Gray |first=Peter |authorlink=Peter Gray (psychologist)}}</ref>
* '''Autonomous democracy:''' Another prominent difference is the limitation &mdash; or total absence &mdash; of parental involvement in the administration of Sudbury schools; Sudbury schools are run by a democratic School Meeting where the students and staff participate exclusively and equally. The democratic School Meeting of a Sudbury school is also the sole authority on hiring and firing of staff — a facet that separates these schools from most others.<ref>{{cite book|title= Promises Kept|last= Gross|first= Steven J.|year= 2004|publisher=[[Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development]]|location= United States|isbn= 087120973X|page= 140 |quote=Based on this philosophy, the three teachers opened the Red Cedar School, allowing children to decide what they wanted to learn, then they wanted to learn it, and for how long they wanted to engage in it. In addition, the school did not discriminate between play and academic work, making students responsible for their choices. Community was established through a shared governance system in which students and adults considered the school's needs and how to meet them, including hiring decisions and need for revenue. There was also a student and staff council that established codes of behavior and met with students who violated them. Clearly, this kind of student-centered, democratic school endeavor was both bold and innovated. It was also remarkably different from any experiement that I had seen.}}</ref>
* '''Autonomous democracy:''' Another prominent difference is the limitation &mdash; or total absence &mdash; of parental involvement in the administration of Sudbury schools; Sudbury schools are run by a democratic School Meeting where the students and staff participate exclusively and equally. The democratic School Meeting of a Sudbury school is also the sole authority on hiring and firing of staff — a facet that separates these schools from most others.<ref>{{cite book|title= Promises Kept|last= Gross|first= Steven J.|year= 2004|publisher=[[Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development]]|location= United States|isbn= 087120973X|page= 140 |quote=Based on this philosophy, the three teachers opened the Red Cedar School, allowing children to decide what they wanted to learn, then they wanted to learn it, and for how long they wanted to engage in it. In addition, the school did not discriminate between play and academic work, making students responsible for their choices. Community was established through a shared governance system in which students and adults considered the school's needs and how to meet them, including hiring decisions and need for revenue. There was also a student and staff council that established codes of behavior and met with students who violated them. Clearly, this kind of student-centered, democratic school endeavor was both bold and innovated. It was also remarkably different from any experiement that I had seen.}}</ref>
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==School Democracy==
==School Democracy==
All aspects of governing a Sudbury School are determined by the weekly School Meeting, modeled after the traditional [[New England]] [[Town meeting|Town Meeting]].<ref> {{cite news|title=Students revel in free-for-all|date=1992-04-19|work=Telegram & Gazette|location=Worcester, Massachusetts}}</ref> School Meeting passes, amends and repeals school rules, manages the school's budget, and decides on hiring and firing of staff. Each individual present — whether student or staff — has exactly one vote, and most decisions are made by simple majority<ref name=Ellis/>, with the vote of a child counting as much as an adult.<ref>{{cite news|title=In Woodstock, a nonschool with nonteachers.(Hudson Valley Sudbury School, Woodstock, New York)|last=Rowe|first=Claudia|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2002-02-20}}</ref>
All aspects of governing a Sudbury School are determined by the weekly School Meeting, modeled after the traditional [[New England]] [[Town meeting|Town Meeting]].<ref> {{cite news|title=Students revel in free-for-all|date=1992-04-19|work=Telegram & Gazette|location=Worcester, Massachusetts}}</ref> School Meeting passes, amends and repeals school rules, manages the school's budget, and decides on hiring and firing of staff. Each individual present — whether student or staff — has exactly one vote, and most decisions are made by simple majority<ref name=Ellis/>, with the vote of a child counting as much as an adult.<ref>{{cite news|title=In Woodstock, a nonschool with nonteachers.(Hudson Valley Sudbury School, Woodstock, New York)|last=Rowe|first=Claudia|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2002-02-20}}</ref>

Several aspects of running the school are often delegated to other parties so that School Meetings do not get bogged down with the minutiae of detail. These may include elected administrative clerks (who may be elected from staff or students) and committees of volunteers. Additionally, corporations and cooperatives are formed by the School Meeting for a specific area of activity that a group is interested in organizing, such as sports, art or computers.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}


School rules are normally compiled in a law book, updated repeatedly over time, which forms the school's [[code (law)|code of law]]. Usually, there is a set procedure to handle complaints, and most of the schools follow guidelines that respect the idea of [[due process]] of law. There are usually rules requiring an investigation, a [[hearing (law)|hearing]], a [[trial (law)|trial]], a [[sentence (law)|sentence]], and allowing for an [[appeal]],<ref>{{citation|last=Feldman|first=Jay|title=The Moral Behavior of Children and Adolescents at a Democratic School|series=Paper presented at 82nd [[American Educational Research Association]] Meeting|place=[[Seattle]]|year=2001|url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/23/12/00.pdf}}</ref> generally following the philosophy that students face the consequences of their own behavior.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting|last=Marano|first=Hara Estroff|year=2008|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=0767924037|page=237}}</ref>
School rules are normally compiled in a law book, updated repeatedly over time, which forms the school's [[code (law)|code of law]]. Usually, there is a set procedure to handle complaints, and most of the schools follow guidelines that respect the idea of [[due process]] of law. There are usually rules requiring an investigation, a [[hearing (law)|hearing]], a [[trial (law)|trial]], a [[sentence (law)|sentence]], and allowing for an [[appeal]],<ref>{{citation|last=Feldman|first=Jay|title=The Moral Behavior of Children and Adolescents at a Democratic School|series=Paper presented at 82nd [[American Educational Research Association]] Meeting|place=[[Seattle]]|year=2001|url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/23/12/00.pdf}}</ref> generally following the philosophy that students face the consequences of their own behavior.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting|last=Marano|first=Hara Estroff|year=2008|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=0767924037|page=237}}</ref>

Revision as of 05:37, 24 October 2009

Sudbury schools practice a form of democratic education in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational syllabus or standardized instruction by classes following a prescriptive curriculum. Students are given complete responsibility for their own education and the school is run by a direct democracy in which students and staff are equals.[1]

The 'Sudbury' name refers to Sudbury Valley School, founded in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts, the first school of this type; since 1991 more than three dozen Sudbury-type Schools have opened around the world[2]. These schools are not formally associated in any way, but generally maintain good communication with each other, and recognize a loose camaraderie.[citation needed]

Certain facets of the model separate it from other democratic schools and free schools, although there are evident similarities:

  • De-emphasis of classes: classes arise only when an individual creates them, and staff are not expected to offer classes as any sort of curriculum — most democratic schools offer at least some basic curricula. Sudbury schools' attitude on classes stems from the belief that every individual learns what they need to know through life and that there is no need to try and design a curriculum that will prepare a young person for adult life.[citation needed]
  • Age mixing: students are not separated into age-groups of any kind and allowed to mix freely, interacting with those younger and older than themselves; free age-mixing is emphasized as a powerful tool for learning and development in all ages.[3]
  • Autonomous democracy: Another prominent difference is the limitation — or total absence — of parental involvement in the administration of Sudbury schools; Sudbury schools are run by a democratic School Meeting where the students and staff participate exclusively and equally. The democratic School Meeting of a Sudbury school is also the sole authority on hiring and firing of staff — a facet that separates these schools from most others.[4]

Sudbury schools are based on the belief that no kind of curriculum is necessary to prepare a young person for adult life. Instead, these schools place emphasis on learning as a natural by-product of all human activity.[5]

School Democracy

All aspects of governing a Sudbury School are determined by the weekly School Meeting, modeled after the traditional New England Town Meeting.[6] School Meeting passes, amends and repeals school rules, manages the school's budget, and decides on hiring and firing of staff. Each individual present — whether student or staff — has exactly one vote, and most decisions are made by simple majority[1], with the vote of a child counting as much as an adult.[7]

Several aspects of running the school are often delegated to other parties so that School Meetings do not get bogged down with the minutiae of detail. These may include elected administrative clerks (who may be elected from staff or students) and committees of volunteers. Additionally, corporations and cooperatives are formed by the School Meeting for a specific area of activity that a group is interested in organizing, such as sports, art or computers.[citation needed]

School rules are normally compiled in a law book, updated repeatedly over time, which forms the school's code of law. Usually, there is a set procedure to handle complaints, and most of the schools follow guidelines that respect the idea of due process of law. There are usually rules requiring an investigation, a hearing, a trial, a sentence, and allowing for an appeal,[8] generally following the philosophy that students face the consequences of their own behavior.[9]

Learning

Sudbury schools are based on the belief that no kind of curriculum is necessary to prepare a young person for adult life. Instead, these schools place emphasis on learning as a natural by-product of all human activity.[5] Learning is self-initiated and self-motivated.[10] They rely on the free market of ideas, and free conversation and interplay of people, to provide sufficient exposure to any area that may prove relevant and interesting to the individual. Students of all ages mix together; older students learn from younger students as well as vice versa. Students of different ages often mentor each other in social skills.[11] The pervasiveness of play has led to a recurring observation by first-time visitors to a Sudbury school that the students appear to be in perpetual "recess".[5][12]

Implicitly and explicitly, students are given responsibility for their own education, meaning the only person designing what a student will learn is the student themselves or by the way of apprenticeship. As such, Sudbury schools do not compare or rank students — the system has no tests, evaluations, or transcripts.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ellis, Arthur K. (2004). Exemplars of curriculum theory. Eye on Education. ISBN 1930556705.
  2. ^ Marano, Hara Estroff (May–June 2006). "Class dismissed: it's every modern parent's worst nightmare--a school where kids can play all day. but no one takes the easy way out, and graduates seem to have a head start on the information age. Welcome to Sudbury valley". Psychology Today. 39 (3): 94(7).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  3. ^ Gray, Peter. "Nature's Powerful Tutors; The Educative Functions of Free Play". The National Honor Society in Psychology. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  4. ^ Gross, Steven J. (2004). Promises Kept. United States: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. p. 140. ISBN 087120973X. Based on this philosophy, the three teachers opened the Red Cedar School, allowing children to decide what they wanted to learn, then they wanted to learn it, and for how long they wanted to engage in it. In addition, the school did not discriminate between play and academic work, making students responsible for their choices. Community was established through a shared governance system in which students and adults considered the school's needs and how to meet them, including hiring decisions and need for revenue. There was also a student and staff council that established codes of behavior and met with students who violated them. Clearly, this kind of student-centered, democratic school endeavor was both bold and innovated. It was also remarkably different from any experiement that I had seen.
  5. ^ a b c Holzman, Lois (1997). Schools for Growth: Radical Alternatives To Current Education Models. United Kingdom: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp. 97–99. ISBN 0805823573.
  6. ^ "Students revel in free-for-all". Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Massachusetts. 1992-04-19.
  7. ^ Rowe, Claudia (2002-02-20). "In Woodstock, a nonschool with nonteachers.(Hudson Valley Sudbury School, Woodstock, New York)". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Feldman, Jay (2001), The Moral Behavior of Children and Adolescents at a Democratic School (PDF), Paper presented at 82nd American Educational Research Association Meeting, Seattle{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Marano, Hara Estroff (2008). A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting. Random House. p. 237. ISBN 0767924037.
  10. ^ Schugurensky, Daniel (2003). "Self-governed, Sudbury Valley School begins in Massachusetts in History of Education: Selected Moments of the 20th Century". Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  11. ^ Collins, Jeff. "The Sudbury Model of Education". Hudson Valley Sudbury School. Retrieved 2009-02-28. Age mixing provides a safe environment for students to work on their social skills. Students that are not confident of their social skills can practice them and work to improve them by interacting with other students; whether older, younger or the same age. Students of all ages can look to more mature students or the staff as role models.
    In Sudbury Schools, it is very common for students to learn from other students. Sometimes the teaching student is older than the learning student, sometimes the teacher is younger than the learner, and sometimes they are the same age.     {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 341 (help)
  12. ^ Gray, Peter. "Why We Should Stop Segregating Children by Age: Part I--The Value of Play in the Zone of Proximal Development". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2009-07-25. {{cite web}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help).
  13. ^ Wallace, Mike (2001-04-29). "60 Minutes". CBS News. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |season= ignored (|date= suggested) (help)

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