schoolyard subversion

2000-11-24 [< * >]

Update 2000-04-15: There's a Sudbury School near me -- I'm looking into it as a possibility.

I've written enough about the problems of school, but now it's time to turn to the solutions. All too often people tell me, yes, it's a great idea, but it just isn't possible -- it won't work. Well folks, sorry to bust your bubble, but I've got news for you: it works, and it works well.

Jim Carrico recently sent me an email about the Windsor House School of North Vancouver (sadly, a little too far away for me). He writes:

The basic idea is, how can we expect to raise effective citizens of a participatory democracy if they are treated like slaves for 12 years? At windsor house, there's lots of rules, but other than basic safety regulations, every rule can be challenged and changed by majority vote of the student/staff/parent assembly. It is that rarest of beasts - a happy school. It can be done...

Right on! It can be done. According to the school's handbook, Windsor House is "a community as well as a school" and "in an ongoing state of evolution". The important fact is that it is non-coercive. Children do what they want, when they want. The only regular classes are those specifically requested by students. Students have control of their education, as it should be.

It seems to be working. The school has been running since 1970, when a group of parents set up a school in a private home on Windsor Street. In 1975, they became a part of the Vancouver School system and has been growing steadily ever since. The students seem to come out normal, capable adults, and Canada seems to remain in decent shape. The doomsday scenarios I keep hearing about haven't seem to happened -- there was no school melt down because of the lack of teacher control.

These ideas aren't new. Windsor House has is quite similar to the Sudbury Valley School of Massachusetts (now that's a possibility -- I always wanted ot move to Massachusetts), which itself is based on the famous Summerhill School in England.

Summerhill is often criticized for being too open, and their lack of educational standards and rules. Sudbury Valley has modified the Summerhill model slightly. The students have a democracy which decides on the rules of the school and a judicial system to deal with behavioral problems. Sudbury Valley provides a list of schools that maintain programs in line with their beliefs. (Another list is provided by the Open Directory Project.) The Sudbury Valley model is a proven, viable alternative. As these lists shows, the number is slowly growing.

It's time to take back control of our schools. The fight starts now.

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