Summerhill protects your right to be how you want to be. You choose; the Meeting does not. The purpose of the Meeting is to sort out the inevitable boundary disputes in a community of nearly one hundred people who are all trying to live vibrantly individual lives.
We create a first Teachers Wanted page, and a Personal letter. We list questions we will discuss on the Wednesday blog.
We make notes summarising the Wednesday Hiring a Teacher podcast and add a bit more.
Qualities of Teachers : Personality of Teachers and Schools Clara was an experienced but frustrated state school Science teacher and very much wanted to find a better situation for herself. One Friday evening, over drinks, a friend told her about Summerhill. The philosophy interested her and she bought the book, Summerhill, and then visited…
What should democratic schools expect from their teachers beyond the classroom. This short post considers the qualities of democratic school teachers outside the main area of their activity: teaching.
Equality in a community can be hard for teachers and other adults to accept and understand. What does it mean? You might need some training.
Qualities of Teachers- Understanding Qualities of teachers are important: understanding is one of these qualities. This is as true in the local comprehensive as it is at Summerhill. However, when a school has a unique philosophy the teacher must make an extra effort to understand. This is the first of a series on qualities of…
Introduction to the reduced curriculum in Summerhill-style schools.
Giving Choices: the Invisible Teacher It doesn’t matter how nice you are, how exciting you are, or how well-meaning you are, if your basic instinct is to reduce choices you shouldn’t be working in a democratic school. This is a tricky issue. You might be a real believer, for example, convinced that you have the…
Do you know what is good for children? You are wrong! I have heard people say things like, “children love structure” or “routine is good for children” or, on the other side, “children need to be left alone” and “freedom is the best tonic for children.” I don’t believe any of this because I don’t…
