Sudbury Valley School

taken from Teachers.tv, 01/09/09:

School Matters - Tomorrow's Teacher, Tomorrow's School

http://www.teachers.tv/video/31224

For a sudbury school in your area, click the following link:

http://www.sudval.org/07_othe_01.html

More info on sudbury schools, see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury_Valley_School

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sudbury
• Sudbury Valley School
• unschooling

[gunnyification]

@876234ABC excuse me, but i'm a child, i go to this school, i am learning things all day, so please stop insulting me and my friends, what you have written down for this video was completely uncalled for. if you don't like this school than please keep your comments to yourself, and move on to a different video, there isn't any need to insult people, say they don't know how to spell, or do math. just because we have fun at school doesn't mean we are stupid.

[Treemeadow]

@taypicou

No. Why do people seem to think that childhood has to be solely dedicated to the process of training children to be adults?

This school is about learning and being KIDS.

Adulthood dawns- and guess what, these kids decide what happens in the future. Maybe they WILL go to work in PJs, and hey- I have friends who earn big bucks Beta-Testing Video games.

You have a problem with PJs? You're a product of a system. These kids are the SOLUTION to the problem.

[Paralyt1c]

I really like the idea of this school.

[Rauxlen]

@Norse If they had a way to curb the inherent sloth that fills most of the children of the United States, this would be a wonderful school but everyone I know that went to that school spent all day playing gaia and neopets.

what's more this is for like $7400 dollars a year. it's literally big kid daycare.

What I disliked about my public highschool was the repetitive boring essay work. There were many classes where the teachers made it interesting, but not enough. You'd remember the good ones.

[Norse]

@Norse So yeah, I don't see the reason behind mocking a place like this. Just because some kids inevitably float out of here as losers doesn't mean they would've done well in a "normal" school. All of our future historians and mathematicians will find their own interest in those subjects, the institutions where they were taught are irrelevant. People make themselves, not schools. Schools only exist to show and nurture opportunity, which this place undoubtedly does.

[Norse]

@Norse And now that I've entered college, an environment very similar to a Sudbury school where I spend my time how I want or better or worse, I'm flourishing and pulling a solid 3.0-3.5. If I had this freedom from the start instead of being pooled into an environment full of suburban trash-children where my individuality was squashed and I was forced to learn state-standardized garbage, I'd probably be way ahead of where I am today. I'm positive I'm not alone here either.

[Norse]

This is actually pretty incredible. Having gone to a semi-private vocational school where more freedom and individuality was allowed compared to other high schools, I can safely say that it did nothing but stunt my growth as a human being. All of the legitimately applicable things that I learned in all my years there can be summed up in probably a page or two, whereas the things I learned through my own interactions and experiences is what mattered. I graduated with a 1.4 GPA.

[VIV292]

this would be the hardest school on earth(the kids have too think for themselves haha yep 90%of kids in school have too be told, nothing like personal motivation from a young age> I suppose it would give responsibility back too the student too make choices

[gjc82071]

Warehousing kids for 8 or 9 hours a day, sometimes in un-air conditioned classrooms, depriving them of toilet use, while some of the poorer kids may actually be be hungry/underfed, all these conditions don't make for a very enjoyable education experience & are not conducive to learning. Maybe this isn't a totally perfect educational model/process, but then again, either are our public schools. Our educational world ranking proves at least that much. Something definitely has to change.

[Anonymous247n]

@SpyroEcho So they say 80% of their students go and graduate from college. Surprising that they get admitted from a school like that BUT then again, they must be from pretty rich families anyway if they're in this school so it's very likely they get into college too. I'll admit that it's an innovative new idea though so it could work in the future, who knows. At least it doesn't scare children away from learning.

[SpyroEcho]

@Anonymous247n

Actually, that is not true,. Read up on the studies of what beeeecomes of the alumni after they leave....

[Anonymous247n]

I wonder what jobs people can get after learning how to play games, read poems, sing and play instruments. Kids won't object to this... but there will be no more historians, mathematicians, scientists, technicians... looks like this will have to change a bit, but it may be a step in the right way.