Sudbury education discussion - Page 4

[miamommy]

My daughter attends a democratic school which is very similiar to the sud model...I would love to answer any questions any of you may have about the philosophy. We love it so much, we are part of a very tight knit group of familys who have become really good friends (and we are in a huge city). Our school "allows" curse words, but there is almost no exposure to the media any exposure is purely accidental. I will say that as far as curse words go, it doesn't take long for the kids to learn when and where it is ok and not ok to use the words. Words are power and kids understand that just as well as we do.

Anyway, mamas, it is so awesome to hear about other parents challenging the educational norm!!!

[laurata]

Originally Posted by CurlyTop

Hi Laura,

You must be talking about Cedarwood in Santa Clara? I'm curious what you will do... did you visit the school yet? What do you think of it?

Yes, I am refering to Cedarwood. I haven't visited the school yet. I am considering going to their open house next week, but we do have a parent teacher conference at 6:30 that night, plus people coming for dinner at 7, so I don't know if I'll be up to it.

[Kateri]

Hey Laura,

How's it going? Sorry to hear about Jade's school closing. Good luck with the next step!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Hi,

I'm interested in this idea and will visit Cedarwood Sudbury School soon. DC is 4.5 and is going to her first year of pre-school in September and then, hopefully, going on to school the following year. Traditional schooling is not sitting well with me more and more lately so I'm looking into other options.

What I think I am most concerned with after reading this thread is the exposure to older children and the media stuff. With the older kids, I have a difficult time imagining DC seeing teens as peers (even though she sees our adult friends as peers often) and that relationship dynamic seems like it would be problematic for her. And, with the media thing, I just don't know how well I'll feel paying for school if DC chooses to spend much of her time playing video games. I also worry about reading and other "basics". I'd love to hear your opinions about this.

[irinam]

Originally Posted by IdentityCrisisMama

Hi,

I'm interested in this idea and will visit Cedarwood Sudbury School soon. DC is 4.5 and is going to her first year of pre-school in September and then, hopefully, going on to school the following year. Traditional schooling is not sitting well with me more and more lately so I'm looking into other options.
.

Me too! I *just* read about them and since DD's Montessori kindergarden is soon to be over, I was looking into alternative schools.

Cedarwood seems to be closest to us. Wanna visit it together?

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Originally Posted by irinam

Cedarwood seems to be closest to us. Wanna visit it together?

Yea, sure. I'll PM you today...

[MommyPam]

I just wanted to comment on the relationship of the younger children with the teenagers. From what I've seen, it's like big brothers and sisters. Some of the more nurturing bigger kids play with and help out the littler ones on a regular basis. Many of the teenagers pretty much ignore the little kids. But it seems like if a little one is struggling with something and really needs help, practically any of the big kids will step in to lend a hand.

My daughter (age 9) seems to have some role models among the teenagers, but doesn't have any interaction at all with the ones she doesn't have much in common with.

She loves the little kids (4 to 6 years old) and will play with them sometimes. She certainly looks out for the younger kids. If she sees someone is sad or looking lonely, she will quickly get involved to make them feel better.

When a 4 to 6 year old joins the school, its like getting a whole lot of big brothers and sisters!

[dmydlack]

'Sudbury' model school film featured on boingboing.net

Hi,

I'm the Professor/Filmmaker quoted in Monday's Washington Post article. Boingboing.net has featured the trailer to my film today (Sat 4/30/06.)

link:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/29..._on_radic.html

Please visit my website for more information and let me know what you think:

newamericanschoolhouse.com

All the best,

Danny Mydlack

[cloudspinning]

I went to see Danny's film today here in Seattle, and it was excellent. The showing was a fundraiser for Seattle's Sudbury school, The Clearwater School, where my dd (and in the fall, my ds) is a student. The movie did a great job of giving an overview of what it's like to be a student at a Sudbury school. The kids were very real (and often funny!). I fell in love with the Sudbury model all over again. I also watched the trailer on boingboing.net; it is fairly long and gives a good feel for the documentary. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it (I believe you can purchase it online at newamericanschoolhouse.com and at fairhavenschool.com).

And I know this part of the thread is a bit cold now, but I find that my dd doesn't really interact much with the older students because she is not interested in the same things as they are. Well, with the exception of the computer, but both my dh and I are gamers and internet fans, so I assume she got that from us. The kids she interacts the most with (at least, the ones I hear stories about) are between the ages of 5 and 10 (she is 7 1/2), although she does love the little boy of one of the staff members. He is...hmm, probably about 18 months old, and all the kids love to talk to him and listen to him say funny things, help him out with things he is trying to do, and so on. I think everyone who sends their kids to a Sudbury school has an occasional doubt or three, but for me, watching my dd follow this path so far is worth it.

Alright, I've run out of steam, but that's my take on things. See the movie if you can, it is a great way to see a Sudbury school in action.

namaste,
cloudspinning

[Hera]

Originally Posted by khrisday

I don't have any personal experience, although I am familiar with the Sudsbury model. The one thing that I don't understand about these schools is, if you wanted your children to be schooled in such a child led manner- why not keep them home and unschool them?

I can field this one...
My dd is 6. We started with an unschooling, child-led approach, but she was pretty bored. She needs a lot of interaction with people, and is also very athletic, she doesn't like to do seat work, not even art. The materials and projects that I made available weren't giving her what she needed. So, I decided to do more classical lessons. She learned a lot from that, but began to get resistant because when we weren't doing lessons she was bored again. Dh wanted to try a school, so I found one that is a sort of Sudbury-model part-time school for homeschoolers. Dd has kids to play with, is very stimulated by everything she sees going on there. She is doing a lot more art than she ever had patience to do, because it is a social gathering. She's putting on plays, participating in discussions, playing outside, all things that I tried to interest her in at home. There were no other kids at home, and there are at school. That's the major difference.

[synthesis]

Democratic Participation

Hi, new to these forums. I haven't read through this thread exhaustively, but perusing the discussion of the differences between home(un)schooling and Sudbury type schools, I noticed an important absence. To me, it is not simply that Sudbury schools provide opportunities for interaction and mentoring with a (hopefully) diverse group of human beings...which is incredibly valuable and important. Additionally, Sudbury-style schools provide a setting for the exercise of real power in a participatory, democratic community. Experiencing both the radical trust and responsibility that is entrusted in, and asked of, each student cannot be underestimated. If you look at the world and want to be an agent of change, and would like to offer your children an experience that enables them to look at the world anew, the values embedded in the Sudbury model will help catalyze their desire to actively work for a more just and democratic society too.

Kind of convoluted wording...hope it makes sense.

[ChristaN]

I know this thread is old, but we have just started exploring the possibility of sending dds to a Sudsbury school in Portland. (We're moving.) Have any of you had any experience with a child moving from a ps to a Sudsbury school?

It would be quite a shift for my girls and I have to admit that my older one has some damage to her confidence and self esteem from her experiences in ps thus far.

Also, any experience with highly sensitive, introverted, gifted, and/or uneven ability children in this type of environment?

[FreeTime]

Christa,

"Highly sensitive, introverted, gifted, and/or uneven ability" would be a good description of my DS. We enrolled my DS in a Sudbury school here in the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of 5th grade in PS. He had suffered self-esteem issues and resulting anger for several years. This was so much better... I can't even describe the relief. He attended for six years and graduated. He is now actively pursuing the career he always wanted, by going to culinary school and working in that field. He is able to handle whatever he needs to do for school and work.

If your DDs want to attend the Sudbury school, and you can support them in this, I think it is a great opportunity. Generally the biggest challenge is for the parents, as this is a very different model of schooling. You have to be patient and realize they will learn what they need to learn in their own time. It may look like they are playing all the time, but they are developing what they personally need to develop through play. This may include learning "skills" and it may also include de-pressurizing from their previous school experience.

I experienced "panic attacks" from time to time during our Sudbury student years, thinking "What have we done??? He's not doing anything that looks like school or learning!!!" These feelings lessened over time, as I saw how he was maturing. Now, DH and I are very pleased with the results.

If you have any more questions, just ask.

[ChristaN]

Thanks . We're originally from the Bay area, too and missing home.

Dealing with parental fear of them learning nothing really is my biggest hurdle.

If I have specific questions as we continue to explore this, I'll get back with you. Thanks again!

[EllenC]

Originally Posted by FreeTime

Christa,


Generally the biggest challenge is for the parents, as this is a very different model of schooling. You have to be patient and realize they will learn what they need to learn in their own time. It may look like they are playing all the time, but they are developing what they personally need to develop through play. This may include learning "skills" and it may also include de-pressurizing from their previous school experience.

I experienced "panic attacks" from time to time during our Sudbury student years, thinking "What have we done??? He's not doing anything that looks like school or learning!!!" These feelings lessened over time, as I saw how he was maturing. Now, DH and I are very pleased with the results.

I have loved this discussion because I am interested in starting a Sudbury school in Houston, Texas.

I quoted the above because I want to know what can be said to a prospective parent that will make them want to send their child there. It is such a huge difference from a regular school and many people dismiss it as something that could never work.

So as far as marketing efforts, do any of you have suggestions of how to best reach people? What messages or ideas have made you want to send your child to such a school?

[FreeTime]

[QUOTEWhat messages or ideas have made you want to send your child to such a school?[/QUOTE]

Ellen,

If we knew the answer to that question, we would have a lot more students in Sudbury schools -- or at least willing to consider the option, LOL.

I think the most respectful thing is to ask parents to consider questions such as "what kind of school do you want for your child?" "How do children really learn?" "How do you learn best?" "Do you want a different kind of school for your child?"

[EllenC]

I think the most respectful thing is to ask parents to consider questions such as "what kind of school do you want for your child?" "How do children really learn?" "How do you learn best?" "Do you want a different kind of school for your child?"

I like the way these questions put the issues back in the parents' hands. It is up to them to decide. And it makes them think long term. Because they have to live without the usual landmarks that indicate a child's progress like grades and test scores.

Freetime, I tried to email you back but it kept bouncing back. I'd be happy to answer your questions if I had an email address that worked for you.

[Rastamom]

Resurrecting an old thread here,I know, but I was wonderinf if any of you have any more to add to this.

We're considering the local Sudbury school for our 7 yr old dd, primarily because she wants to try something new and is infatuated with the school.

Thanks!

[mamoma]

I'm so glad this thread took off (I'm the OP on the old Sudbury Question thread) because I have so many questions (even though I've read through school sites and I watched some clips from the movie that are on you tube). So - (and again, I swear I'm not a pervert and I don't have a one track mind I *swear*) but I can't help wondering about how the schools handle sexuality. I went to a totally vanilla public school with bells and rules and supervision all over the place... and kids would still sneak into band practice rooms (or whatever) and make out. So if you've got a school with lots of rooms and acres of land and no particular place to be.... to what extent does that go on? (and I refuse to believe it doesn't go on at all...) and is it "ok"? is it ok for two 17 year olds? what about two twelve year olds? what if they're 14 and 18? That anecdote about the seven year old "punished" by having to do a britney spears-style dance as a consequence for "sexual acting out" scares the crap out of me. Anyone else? I'm so glad we have former students on this thread!

[Snuzzmom]

Researching Sudbury in the Bay Area

Hi All!

My son is 15 months old, but I'm researching Sudbury now, while we have some time.

I love what I am hearing so far, but it's been hard to find any real criticism. For those of you with Sudbury kids, and especially those of you who ARE Sudbury kids-- what is the best and worst thing about it? Please give me your worst with the worst. I feel like I can't make an informed decision until I know as many facets as I can.

I have spoken to some people at the school in Concord and I will be visiting the open house on March 15. I don't know much about the Santa Clara school, though I'm happy to hear anything you have to say about it. We're in the City, so those are our closest options, unless someone starts one here. SF would be the perfect place for it, IMO.

Thank you all!!