The Magic of Sudbury Schools: Happy Memories
This is my contribution to the latest Carnival of Anarchy.
The latter link is the site for the school I visited for a week. I was presented with the choice of going there or coming back to Kansas City and then dropping out of high school. I ended up choosing the latter, but I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to go there. I’d like to share some of my thoughts on the experience, since Sudbury Schools are definite anarchistic institutions.
First off, I just recalled how incredibly anxious I was when my dad and I were driving to the campus for my first day of the week visit. My chest seemed like it was going to explode, but I did manage to lose my shyness sometime during that day. This was such a beautiful environment — although I wouldn’t say that the individuals there were always spectacularly out of the ordinary or kinder than young people would be in other environments — where all the trappings of a traditional school were nowhere to be found.
An image that’s stuck in my head is one of seeing some young folks — and I think the ages were probably between 5-10 — outside when I was looking through a window. They were totally unsupervised with no adults around to force them into some age graded cell block; Oops! I mean classroom. They were caught up in the exploration of the world on their own terms.
I remember participating in Counter-strike matches on a local area network and looking up the news on Antiwar.com. A student noticed this and I was able to explain my reasons for opposing the war to him. I also sat in on a visit by a student’s parent who worked in some kind of profession involving design. I can’t recall exactly, but I think it had something to do with motorcycles.
One of the beauties at this school is that the dignity of children was respected. A five year old student could write up a faculty member who they believed had violated their rights or engaged in some wrong. There was a judicial process involving both students and faculty that followed.
In reflecting on my experiences recently, I couldn’t help but contrast the spirit and beauty of Sudbury with the high school I went to in the 9th grade. I absolutely can’t stand the structure of traditional schools. They disgust me and bore me to no end. The only way that a child I am raising will ever end up in one is if they want to go to it. I would try to persuade them that unschooling or Sudbury is a better choice, but I would respect their decision. In the end, it’s about what they want for themselves. I wouldn’t want to be the enforcer of compulsory unschooling/Sudbury school laws.
A good book for prospective or current parents — or anyone else; for that matter — to read is John Holt’s Escape from Childhood: The Needs and Rights of Children. I think it may be out of print, but I do have a used copy on my shelf. I wonder if I could try to get the copyright holder to let me type it up.
Natasha | Anarchy, LeftLibertarian.org, Personal, Youth Freedom
