Jacques Ranciere speaks of learning without a teacher. What then is next? Schools without a curriculum? Yes, if you ask the inventors of Sudbury Schooling, who formed the first school in a line of many in 1968, that allows students to learn of their own accord; the Sudbury Valley School.
The first time I read about Sudbury schooling was after watching a documentary by Danny Mydlack about a school called Fairhaven in Washington. At that point I presumed that it would be limited to only one or two schools in the world. Perhaps when you read on you’ll think the same. Imagine then my surprise when I discovered that there are more than 30 schools based on these principles, and one even exists in Naestved in my home country, Denmark.
The concept of the school’s are simple. Students decide how to best spend their time and all important decisions are made in democratic meetings that take place once a month. Meetings in which the vote of newly accepted students of any age equals that of teachers that have been at the school for years.
“Fairhaven students grow up in a working democracy in which they are responsible for their own educational development and free to follow their individual interests. At Fairhaven School we prioritize people not test scores.” – from Fairhaven’s website
“Trust and respect are the keys to the school’s success. Students enjoy total intellectual freedom, and unfettered interaction with other students and adults. Through being responsible for themselves and for the school’s operation, they gain the internal resources needed to lead effective lives.” – from Sudbury Valley School’s website
Sudbury schooling is an interesting example of just how far school’s can stray from conventional ideas of education, and they ask important questions such as “what is a school?” and “what is an educated individual?”.
“… Fairhaven (…) is an educational anomaly in the super-competitive Washington area: The school day here is unscripted. Seventy-two students ages 5 to 20 run the school with a staff of eight adults. Students follow no curriculum other than curiosity and whim. Sometimes they seek out a class or workshop, but they are not compelled to take English, geometry or any other subject. Often they just hang…” – Learning on Their Own, by Nick Andersen. April 24th, 2006, the Washington Post.
Visit Fairhaven’s website or see which other schools have been founded on the principles of Sudbury schooling.
And if your curiosity has been aroused, either click here to start watching Danny Mydlack’s documentary “Voices from the New American School House” about Fairhaven, or watch the ten minute trailer below.
