“I didn’t understand the idea of having to artificially ‘get’ an education. I thought that you lived in the world and you got smarter because every day you were learning. I thought that there was no way to get dumber unless you were erasing stuff out of your brain.” -Sudbury Valley School student on getting an education
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table of contents
Sudbury Valley School 1. Students of All Ages 2. No Classes 3. Real World Skills 4. Self Motivation 5. Taking Charge 6. The Democratic Way 7. Leadership 8. Graduation 9. College life 10. Why it isn’t crazy Conclusion
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sudbury valley school Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts by a handful of parents and educators who felt that certain children do not thrive in typical classroom environments. In creating this school, they discarded most traditional ideas about learning and education, and created something entirely new, that to many seems ineffective and ridiculous. The school is in an old victorian house which holds its entire 200-student population, as well as the 10 staff members which keep the school running smoothly. How does a school function with such a low student to teacher ratio? The fact is, there are no classes at Sudbury Valley. Students are free to converse and explore to their heart’s content and seems to revolve around an idea proposed by a Russian psychologist that conversation is the foundation for higher thought.
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Sudbury Valley School hosts children from preschool age (4 years) all the way through high school (18-19 years). There is no separation of the ages like in a traditional school; everyone is allowed and encouraged to talk to one another and collaborate. This encouragement allows the transfer of ideas between age groups and allows children to gain a better understanding and appreciation of each other, as well as allowing younger children to learn from and emulate the actions of the older students.
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students of all ages
In a typical school environment, the separation of ages as well as the strong influence of the teachers means that children only have their teachers to look to for guidance and knowledge. But at Sudbury Valley, this role of guidance and learning comes from peers and students both older and younger.The older students also serve as motivation for the learning of younger children. Younger students will see older ones reading, or completing more difficult tasks, which compels other students to follow. It’s not a competition, but rather a way to use children’s natural curiousity in a learning environment
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there are 20 students to every staff member
no classes At Sudbury Valley School, children are encouraged to learn through self-directed play and exploration. In essence, the school functions on the idea that adults do not direct learning, but instead that children teach themselves. For those thinking this sounds ridiculous, consider this: In the years before a child enters the classroom, they teach themselves a lot. They teach themselves to crawl and then walk. They teach themselves to communicate with others, and about body language. They learn how the world works through observation and immitation of the items and actions they see around them. Why should the rest of their learning be any different? For this reason, there are no classes at Sudbury Valley, unless a group of children gather and decide to create one. Even the staff members (not teachers) are only there to answer questions and direct learning when it is desired by students, or when other children cannot find answers elsewhere. The adults, of which there are few, are their for guidance when necessary and to keep the school running smoothly. They are not there to enforce ideas or tell students what to do with their day. Students have complete control over how they spend their time at Sudbury Valley. Even if they spend their whole day fishing, as it was with two students, they still are learning. They are learning how to research (reading up on different fish or fishing techniques), they are learning patience, and they are learning how to go about mastering a skill. These are all transferable skills which will allow a child to do anything they desire. Some may worry that students do not learn necessary things like reading or math without
teachers. This may be true to a point, however a student will eventually realize that these are necessary skills and teach them to themselves. For instance, you need to read in order to look at street signs and know where you’re going. You need math in order to discern how much money you are spending. It may take longer for a student to learn these skills than at a traditional school, but they will eventually learn the skills necessary for everyday life.
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real world skills At a traditional school, children are forced into learning subjects that they are not only not interested in, but really have no application in the real world. Not only is the knowledg not applicable, but most students forget most of it anyway, keeping only the most basic of facts like who Shakespeare was and the fact that Napoleon was in fact a person, but not quite remembering what he did.
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At Sudbury Valley, students are allowed to learn whatever they want, which allows them to focus on skill-based learning rather than rote memorization of facts as it is in traditional classrooms. Instead they can focus on gaining skills and knowledge that is relevant to their everyday lives. As previous stated, children will realize certain knowledge is integral to their moving foreward in life, such as the ability to read and do basic math. However, it is believed at Sudbury Valley that it is not the adult’s job to decide when that time is for it to be learned.
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self motivation Though there is no imposed structure, children are still able to learn both from other students and the staff members at the school. Children, when self-motivated to learn about their own interests, can learn much more quickly and retain more of the information then when information is forced upon them. Students in normal classrooms might memorize facts for a test, and promptly forget them afterward. But when interested in a subject and self-propelled to learn about it, the information can be much more easily learned and retained. What is meaningful to you is easier to learn than what is not meaningful to you. Even in a traditional school, subjects that interest you are generally the ones you do best in, because you are more personally invested in the subject. For example, athletes probably find it much easier to learn the rules of their sport than learning to solve math equations, and it’s not because of the difficulty of the task. Both involve essentially memorization. However, the athlete will have more interest in learning about sports, which will make the task fun for them and consequently easier.
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Children at Sudbury Valley School also find self-motivation by watching the successes of older students. The same way a child might see their parent climbing the stairs and want to follow, young students see others reading or engaging in deeper conversations and want to do the same, motivating themselves to catch up to the students ahead of them, and always working harder.
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taking charge “From the beginning of their enrollment, no matter what their age, students are given the freedom to use their time as they wish, and the resposibility for designing their path to adulthood.” --The Sudbury Model Children in standard education are so often restricted by the rigidity of classroom structure that they can feel as though they have little control or influence over their own lives. They feel as though they must follow a pre-defined path from their parents or teachers, and that deviation from this will result in a lesser life or an unacceptable change from the expectations laid out for them. At Sudbury Valley, there are no expectations and they pride themselves in teaching their students that they can take charge of their lives and their futures. Being able to shape their own education gives children confidence and teaches them that they can do anything with their lives; that the only thing standing in their way is themselves. “The kids who go to school here feel very profoundly that they can influence their lives in any way they want and that they can influence the world. That’s a miraculous thing: not to feel that they’re being pushed and pulled by the tides, but to feel that they can take charge and do what they want in life.” --Mimsy Sadofsky, co-founder
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the democratic way Just because there is no structured learning doesn’t mean that the school has no structure. Sudbury Valley School works by means of a very democratic system. There is a weekly school meeting, run by an elected senior student, made up by the student body and staff members. During this meeting, important information about the school is decided, with issues being put up to a vote. Students of any age can vote on changes in school policies, the budget, and during the spring can vote for the hiring of new staff members (there
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is no tenure). During this meeting, difficult disciplinary cases may also be brought up. Due to this structure, students are entirely involved in the inner workings of the school and given a chance to make change if they don’t like how something is run. The school also has a Judicial Committee (JC) which is also made up of students and one staff member and takes care of all complaints of violations of school rules (of which there are few). Complaints can be filed by any student, and usually involve issues such as arguments be-
tween students. Whether or not there has been a violation will be assessed, based on statements of the students involved and any witnesses. A punishment worthy of the violation will be voted upon and delt out to the rule-breaker. More serious violations may be sent to the School Meeting to be discussed, and could result in suspension. This system not only teaches students the power of democracy, but also teaches them that they are all equally valuable members of the community and that everyone’s opinion matters. It allows them to be directly involved in the
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leadership At Sudbury Valley, some of the most important skills students learn are communication and leadership through interacting with others and taking charge of their education. Interactions with peers is such a main aspect of life at Sudbury Valley that communication is a fast-learned skill. Students learn to communicate effectively and solve their own problems before approaching a staff member about it. Since the School Meeting is run by an elected official and the Judicial Committee is made up of circulating student members, they learn important leadership skills that can be used in other areas of life. They learn to take charge of situations and make their voices heard. Leadership is such an important skill that can be transferable to any career, and it’s a skill that students continue to strengthen every day.
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“I have prepared myself for a responsible adult life.� This is the statement a student must defend in a written thesis and present orally to a panel for review in order to recieve a high school diploma from Sudbury Valley. Not every student opts to get one, and instead may choose to go straight into a vocational career or a career in the arts. For those who do want one, or have college aspirations, they must have attended the school for at least 3 years to be eligible. As surprising as it may be, Sudbury Valley School is in fact recognized by the town and the state of Massachusetts, giving them the right to give out diplomas.
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graduation
80% go on to higher education
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college life As unconventional as Sudbury Valley education is, as high as 80% of their students eventually go on to higher education, though some not right away. Some express wanting to take a year off or else start working to save up money to go to college later. The other 20% jump right into vocational careers or become artists. Those that do go on to college succeed dispite never having been in a classroom, proving that motivation really is the key to success. In fact, one founder of the school argues that Sudbury is more similar to college than most high schools because students have to be much more autonomous and self-motivated in both environments. However, the leap to college isn’t without its difficulties, as students often have to adjust to test-taking and performing in a normal classroom setting. It also seems that students have a hard time accepting that they can’t always do their best all the time, due to the stresses and pressures of life at college. In spite of these adjustments, graduates of Sudbury are predominantly successful in college. 23
why it isn’t crazy It isn’t so surprising that children are thriving in this new schooling system. In the first years of our life, we learn in the same way, through curiousity and observation. It’s instictual. Hunter-gatherer children learned in the same way, which can still today be observed in certain areas of Africa. In these tribes of people, adults rarely teach children, they simply learn from observation. Children observe men leaving for hunts, and began play-hunting, mimicking what they see. Young girls build play-villages. Eventually these actions done in the spirit of play become actual skills, and the children become useful members of the group. The only time adults step in would be to offer helpful tips and corrections of technique. The reason this isn’t more prevalent in our lives today has a little to do with the growing complexity of things to learn, such as writing or arithmetic, which are more difficult to learn simply by observation. But it has more to do with how we separate the age groups in modern society. Children rarely spend enough time around adults to observe and mimick and learn; instead they are sent off to school, and adults to work, where they see each other much less often than
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in hunter-gatherer communities. This creates a growing necessity for different types of learning, but that doesn’t mean the old ways are any less effective. Though our society has changed and grown to include a wider variety of more specific skills, the way our brains absorb and process information is more or less the same.
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conclusion The Sudbury Valley School is an unusual place, without a doubt. It challenges all aspects of today’s traditional education system that we don’t even think to question, because it has been this way for so long. Today it seems that each person has their own idea about what the best teaching methods are, and what is best for our children. We are so caught up in trying to make them the smartest kids or the most successful kids that we never stop to ask them what they think would be the best. We think that because we are older and wiser that we must know what is best for them. What do they know, they’re just kids. Classrooms are becoming more and more structured, but Sudbury Valley went radically in the other direction, and guess what? It worked. Not to say that traditional education isn’t working; if that were the case, it would not still be around. But it’s certainly not the best environment for all children to learn and it’s about time we accepted that not everyone learns the same way.
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