SUDBURRY VALLEY SCHOOL: DISCUSSING DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND HOW THEY WORK
On the evening of January 28th, 2014, a class of prospective teachers gathered to discuss pressing questions we prepared about Peter Gray’s Free to Learn, our reading assignment for the week. We had read the first half of the book for the previous class, so we understood Gray’s points coming into seminar. Sitting around a table snacking on cookies and grapes, we began discussing the problem with our education system that prevents students from developing passionate interests, and later pursuing them in their education. In Free to Learn, Gray explains his ideas and points on why school has become a constant cycle of preparing for testing, testing, and repeating. Little time is left during the school day for extra activities such as something so simple as being outside. Students are expected to sit at a desk, read, write, and absorb massive amounts of information without their brains receiving any break. We discussed Gray’s examples and solutions to this stable education system.
In part of our reading assignment, Gray thoroughly explains the Sudburry Valley Elementary School; a school based on free play and no authorities. Sudburry Valley was founded in in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts and has continued to run by the same original founders. This school is founded on the belief of “Human nature- that children have an innate curiosity to learn and a drive to become effective, independent human being, no matter how many times they try and fail” (Marano 2006). Sudburry holds very unconventional beliefs that would frankly scare most parents away; however, proven by result, these kids come out of this school ready for the real world. At Sudburry, there are no teachers, just adult helpers that are there to help with whatever needed. “Adults do not control children’s education; children educate themselves” (Gray 92). There are no classrooms, lectures, homework assignments, tests, or grades. The students may request information or lectures on any subject they desire, and the students at this school range from four to eighteen. The school is located with a mansion with rooms, libraries, a kitchen, a large barn outside, and the grounds are located on 10-acres, all at the disposal for the students. Anywhere the adults go, the students can go, and the students run the school as a democracy. The helpers are voted in or out each year, and any new requests for the school must be discussed and voted on by the students. Students spend a large amount of time talking to each other, reading in quiet corners, drawing or painting, hunkered in the computer rooms and especially playing. “The basic premise of the school’s educational philosophy is that each person is responsible for his or her own education” (Gray 94).
During discussion, the group brought up some key points and questions that we wrestled with and eventually came up with general consensus of how we feel about the Sudburry Valley School.
1. What is your opinion on the school’s philosophy, and do you think this type of schooling would work for children in our society?
The schooling today clearly does not fit today’s society if the school system has been the same for the past fifty years. This radical type of change to school may just be the key to improving the success of children. The group was shocked at the ideas of no teachers and student-run schooling. The main concern was the lack of job security the helpers experienced. The school required all contracts re-signed each year, giving the students a voice in who helps them grow as people. People brought up that teachers today get tenure, and that allows some of the worst teachers to continue to have their job, while the new exciting teachers have to get pink-slipped in order to keep paying the old teachers. Also, we discussed how children can be irrational sometimes due to emotions, and how that could affect the outcome of people’s jobs. With having a student-run school, it allows children to grow up without fear of authority. At the school the adults and children are equal, and there is no separation due to authority. Gray conducted a study on the graduates in their success and troubles in higher education and what he found was that “the graduates reported that they had good relationships with professors and employers, communicated easily with them, and had no difficulty asking them for help or advice when needed” (Gray 96). Also, having an open relationship between the adults and students allows for a healthy atmosphere centered on trust.
2. How can we begin to incorporate Sudburry philosophy into the public system?
In discussion, the thought of bringing zone of development into public schools might allow students to find their interests at a younger age, instead of finding it in college, like most kids going through public school. Giving students at a young age the opportunities to explore their interests might produce better results in testing and it encourages personal incentives. This type of schooling “works well for all normal children because it provides the conditions that optimize children’s natural instincts to take charge of their own lives” (Gray 99). Also, the group brought up the benefits of age mixing today’s schools. In an article by Maria Scinto, she praises the idea of age mixing, and because of it “Children are free to group themselves however they like, based on shared interests, rather by age or achievement level” (Scinto 2012). Also, age mixing would discourage competition based on classmates, and encourage empathy to catch-up and help the others. The hostility of competition was mentioned because it has so much to do with the fact that we blatantly compare and pin the students against each other.
At Sudburry, there are no tests, but in public school the students need to be regulated on how they are doing simply because there are so many students. The group thought that yearly evaluations could work in a way of regulating the students and seeing how they progress each year. The students can keep their work in a portfolio and at the end of the year; the teacher evaluates them based on a same rubric each grade uses. This way the students can see how they are progressing, and the teachers can stay informed on the students’ individual needs. Often in schools, students continue to ask the same question, “Why are we learning this and when are we ever going to use it again?” We wondered why children were still asking the same questions we asked when we were in school, and unfortunately we concluded that we were given no incentives on what was to come after we finished school. The group discussed how today’s teachers could encourage students to be more motivated and we did not want to put too much pressure on the idea of college. We found ourselves at a young age being told that if we did not make it to college, we were not smart; and that is not what we want our students to think. Therefore, we thought that teaching more about jobs and showing students that every profession has jobs for them would get them motivated to pursue their interests. Having more career days, requiring students to complete internships before graduation, and continuing job shadows could force students to find their passion. Children need to understand that education is a privilege, and that going to school is something they should be grateful for.
3. Is this type of school possible for a city setting?
This question made everyone think more about the real-life families and the struggles that they faced. It is highly unlikely that we can find a ten-acre space in the city for this school, but we believe that there is plenty of culture in the city to expose students to. The amount of museums, parks, and life that charges through a city can force a student to see the real world up close and personal. However, with the city comes violence. In fact, we thought of the communities that do not allow their children outside because of what could happen to them. Places in this country are unsafe, but children go to school in those areas, so this type of schooling can be implemented in those. Having more security and locating the school in a central location with the most accessible public transportation can be some solutions as well. The different ages of the students allows for a lot of trust. The younger students see the decisions and mistakes the older students make and they learn from them. In the city, the students’ “curiosity is continuously provoked” (Gray 114).
In conclusion, the group felt that the Sudburry Valley School has many useful and knowledgeable ideas that we should implement into our school system. The students today are too stable and need time and space to be adventurous, curious, creative and alive. Unfortunately, the society sees adults as the ones who know how to learn, but in reality it is engraved into our brains to learn, even when we do not realize it. Children are the most organic at learning; and instead of getting in the way of that developmental process, we, as their educators and mentors need to trust them and give them every opportunity they require to learn.
References
Gray, Peter. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students For Life. 2013. Basic Books. New York, NY.
Scinto, Maria. "Sudbury Schools: A Radical Alternative to No Child Left Behind." Education.com. Education.com, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
Marano, Hara E. Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 1 May 2006. Web.
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