Whenever we have an Open House at Sudbury Valley School we often get the same question, “What do the kids do all day?” Underneath this question is a broader one, “Can you prove to me that this place works?” On the spot, the short answer is, “No.” The truth is that they do all kinds of things. They play music, paint pictures and construct digital worlds. They share devices, throw pots and spin cartwheels in the yard. They invent games, plan events and converse constantly. But all those are really only the surface reflections of a very deep pool. After the Open House, I considered this questio ..read more

I have been extremely puzzled for some time that our society seems to be eagerly pursuing mutually inconsistent goals, almost as if we are unaware that in so doing, we are trying to go in opposite directions at the same time! Let me give you some startling examples from the realm of education, where I first noticed this phenomenon. Consider the matter of creativity and innovation. One of the things for which our country is justly famous is our ability to foster new ideas, create new inventions, develop new systems, and experiment with new lifestyles. You will look in vain throughout history f ..read more

This question has clearly been answered by our society with a resounding “YES”. It is an accepted notion that all children should learn at the same pace, and stringent measures are taken to ensure that this is the case and that there be “no child left behind”. Whether it means that those who neglect to keep up the pace are segregated (at the cost of their self-esteem), or that those who attempt to move forward are boxed in by the agenda; in such a system, those who are not acclimated to a subject are forced to acclimate, those who refuse to cooperate are disciplined. The pace that is set ensu ..read more

The phrase “self-directed learning” is used in education circles all over the Internet, and it is often applied to Sudbury Valley. But the term is misleading, and is misapplied. Sudbury Valley has nothing to do with self-directed learning. In the twenty-first century, the word "learning", unfortunately, has lost much of its meaning. It is presently used as a synonym for "study" or "being taught". But at Sudbury Valley, learning is not distinct or separate. It is not a pastime. It is, rather, a side effect of living. Think about the words. The phrase "self-directed learning" implicitly claims ..read more

Would you actually turn back the hands of time and be a kid again if you had the ‘sus’ power to shape shift or time travel? Or would you want to just simply go back to the ‘kid’ version of who you have become and re-live it, feel it all again, one long day at a time? If you could go back what would you change if you could? The first time I watched the SVS video that came along with the informational packet after initial inquiry, my thoughts sat most in the ‘selfish’ category. I am certain I am not alone in this feeling. Meaning, I wish I had the opportunity to go to school there myself ..read more

If I had to choose one topic to place at the very core of every child's educational experience, I would have no trouble identifying it: how to deal with failure. Yet this is a subject carefully avoided in traditional mainstream schools. On the contrary, the motto of our schools might just as well be the joking maxim of one of my old friends at work. Every morning he would say to the entire office crew: Never do anything wrong! Always do everything right! When Niels Bohr, one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, was asked what accounted for his creative success, he answered without ..read more

One of the prevalent myths about the evil wrought upon today’s young generation by “screen time” is that computers discourage their users from social interactions. The claim is that when people use computers, they cut themselves off from direct personal interaction with their fellow humans, and become instead solitary islands separated from the world around them. This position is usually maintained by adults who, themselves not really at home in the Information Age, have engraved in their minds images of a child sitting alone – in front of a monitor, or hunched over a smartphone or notepad, o ..read more

We have a lot to muse about as we struggle to make ourselves comfortable in a world that seems to be mainly for people whose brains are more advanced than ours. Who is we? Well, it is my generation, for sure. It is in no sense today's generation, and the fact that my children (that middle generation; my kids are now middle-aged people) can manage to actually fit their limited brains into the 21st century reality, and make it their own, is impressive to me. Because they were not, as my son said once that his child was, born with a computer (you remember, silver spoon) in their mouths. Some of ..read more

A broken leg is no fun. However, since at SVS almost any new situation can become a window into what is going on in the minds of the kids, my broken leg led to many unexpected insights for me. My mobility was seriously curtailed by my inability to walk. So when I came to school I would spend my time parked for hours on the sofa talking to people. My crutches became a great attraction. No matter what size he or she was, every student had to experiment with their usage. It was amazing to see how kids managed to learn to use them even when the crutches were twice as tall as them. One day, Peter ..read more

Eli Katzoff talks about his experience as a Sudbury Valley student and how his time at Sudbury Valley School prepared him for life.   ..read more