Are you an Ape or an Ant? In my last post I said that I feel like an Ape, but social policy treats me like an Ant. In this post I want to extend that idea. But I warn you first that this might lead to some deep thoughts. Deep Thoughts I mentioned my concerns…
Family and kinship are a part of our mammal nature. How do they relate to our choices in education? Is it right for the state to work against our primal instincts.
Public schools or private schools? What do you think? Here I argue that paying for education yourself gives you freedoms the state would never allow.
Schools are expensive. It is not just the buildings. The staffing, maintenance and resourcing all cost money and, if you do not have the financial clout of the state, you have to pass that cost along to the parents of the children you serve. This means that a decent alternative school is always out of…
There is a new law in Europe about digital privacy. We have looked at it. Here is some information for you so that you can decide what you want to do. We do not keep files on our followers, either here or on Facebook. We do not collect any personal information. When you follow us,…
Do you think we should teach difference between right and wrong? I don’t. Here’s why.
A good enough reason? If Summerhill matters, it is not because of what happens in one school in one hidden corner of England. If it matters it is because it responds to our feeling that there is something wrong with the world. It seems to offer a way out. Your definition of what is wrong…
Is Summerhill an African idea? My flatmates in Edinburgh certainly thought so. They didn’t think it could work in the UK, but it was just the way they had grown up.
Free speech is a pillar of a modern democracy. What do you feel about varieties of outlook?
Big Little or In Between Here There and Everywhere We’ve been talking about democracy and scale … size of the school and the building and the finances and the student population and the number of staff and so on. Can a democratic free school environment work regardless of scale; how does scale change delivery?…
“This is a much needed project. There is a wide gap between what people WANT our kind of schools to be and the reality. It is so important that people with on-the-ground experience keep the knowledge of real Summerhill ideals alive. Jason and Leonard have that experience.”
-Zoe Readhead,
Principal of Summerhill
