Play is mostly what the little kids do. And I have no problem with that. These are the most poplular activities, as far as I can tell:
Fort building-The construction of the indoor forts has become more complex. they aren't just throwing a couple of blankets over folding chairs. This past week the playroom was totally transformed. There were two secret passages, stairs, a tunnel and a theoretical drawbridge. I was impressed.
Littlest Pet Shop-This is a toy that is very popular with the girls. I hate it and part of the reason that I hate it is because I screwed up and didn't realize how important it was to Amelia. She kept asking me for it and started saving up and I kept trying to talk her into other stuff until it finally came out that she really was the only girl who didn't have any pet shop stuff and she really felt left out. It reminded me that I need to respect the fact that fitting in is really important to Amelia. I was also kind of pissed because I thought "Hey this is exactly the sort of thing I was trying to avoid by sending them to this school!" but Sudbury does not exist in a vacuum. Anyway, they will play with that stuff for hours and they also trade their pets and accessories. Why couldn't they all be really into Playmobil? We looove playmobil.
YuGiOh/Pokemon-The game involves having battles with the cards and each card has different point values. What I love is that the school has a morgue of old cards that kids have grown out of so the little kids can buy 5 or 10 for a quarter. Sweet!
Chasing/Tag- I haven't bothered to ask the kids about the rules. I just like the names of the games:
Werewolf
Vegan Zombies
Ninja XX
Bionicles and Legos-There are huge bins in the playroom.
Board games are in the library. My kids like Clue.
I often see kids in the art room and lately the mom in charge of the craft fair has been holding workshops for kids to make stuff to sell.
People really start to hyperventilate at the thought of young children doing nothing but playing all day at school but I say, let them play. You know why? Because I have seen many young adults work work work through school, go to college, graduate and then basically do nothing for a few years. Because for the first time in their life, nobody is telling them what to do. And they are either burnt out or can't make a decision for themselves. I do not want a 26 year old living in my house, ruminating on what they are going to be when they grow up. No thank you.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Just throw us a bone, would ya
Ray and I were talking the other night and he admitted to having mixed feelings about Sudbury. We know that the kids are thriving and yet there is still this little voice whispering "But are they learning?" Ray said "Would it kill them to have a class? A half hour with someone organizing them...and doing..something." I suggested they hang a poster of a giant apple with a worm, wearing a mortarboard, poking out of it . He countered with the idea of hanging a cursive alphabet border around the tops of the mirrors in the dance room. He wants a visual cue, something that can connect their experience to his school experience. We had a good laugh about it.
I bet they could stick three desks in a closet and call it "the classroom" and it would make some detractors feel better.
I was trying to explain this conversation when chatting with a mom in the parking lot. I did a poor job of it because she looked horrified when I suggested the alphabet. I should have explained that it was our goofy way of dealing with a situation that takes us out of our comfort zone but I think she took me more seriously than I had intended and probably thinks that we don't "get" Sudbury. Oh well. When you are as talkative as I am with almost no internal censor these things are bound to happen. I don't know if it's the fourth kid or what but I have become a total rambler. It's so odd to hear oneself do it and be powerless to stop. See, here I go. Actually, that ramble took place mostly in my head because I can't type that fast.
Good night.
I bet they could stick three desks in a closet and call it "the classroom" and it would make some detractors feel better.
I was trying to explain this conversation when chatting with a mom in the parking lot. I did a poor job of it because she looked horrified when I suggested the alphabet. I should have explained that it was our goofy way of dealing with a situation that takes us out of our comfort zone but I think she took me more seriously than I had intended and probably thinks that we don't "get" Sudbury. Oh well. When you are as talkative as I am with almost no internal censor these things are bound to happen. I don't know if it's the fourth kid or what but I have become a total rambler. It's so odd to hear oneself do it and be powerless to stop. See, here I go. Actually, that ramble took place mostly in my head because I can't type that fast.
Good night.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Yet another great thing about this school
Its great for Amelia because she doesn't have to time manage her play. So, if she's in the mood to play Littlest Pet Shop with the other girls she can and if she feels like playing rough with Des and his friends she can do that too. The girls aren't going anywhere. If she were in a public school where the playtime is rigidly defined everyday would require a choice.
I also think Sudbury is great for siblings. I've probably said this before but it has allowed Des and Amelia, who are twins, to separate on their own terms. I don't think they force separation for multiples in the public schools anymore but it would have been something to discuss and worry about and it just isn't an issue at HVSS. I think this is nice for other sibling groups too. I went to the same elementary schools as my sister and the same high school and most days we barely saw eachother even though we were in the same building because we were two years apart in age. I know that she always resented coming after me because I got good grades(although I was not necessarily a good student) and teachers expected her to be just like me. I resented it when people asked me why she was so different from me. We're very close now but I wonder if we would have been closer during our school years if we had spent time with each other instead of defending or discussing one another.
So far,at HVSS, I have noticed some siblings hang out together and some seem to go their own ways. So I guess it's just pretty regular.
I also think Sudbury is great for siblings. I've probably said this before but it has allowed Des and Amelia, who are twins, to separate on their own terms. I don't think they force separation for multiples in the public schools anymore but it would have been something to discuss and worry about and it just isn't an issue at HVSS. I think this is nice for other sibling groups too. I went to the same elementary schools as my sister and the same high school and most days we barely saw eachother even though we were in the same building because we were two years apart in age. I know that she always resented coming after me because I got good grades(although I was not necessarily a good student) and teachers expected her to be just like me. I resented it when people asked me why she was so different from me. We're very close now but I wonder if we would have been closer during our school years if we had spent time with each other instead of defending or discussing one another.
So far,at HVSS, I have noticed some siblings hang out together and some seem to go their own ways. So I guess it's just pretty regular.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Odds and Ends
We've been a little tied up so here are some odd notes and observations.
A sign posted in the hallway-
Computer co-op meeting
1 PM
to discuss the intense nature of the room
(Note-There are different co-ops for different areas of interest. There is a library co-op, a kitchen co-op, sports co-op and art co-op and probably a couple of others. They set up rules for certfication, maintain the equipment/space, fund raise for supplies, etc. The computer co-op fought very hard for the money to buy 5 really good computers. They also have a very complicated sign up process to use them which I know has frustrated Amelia in the past.)
The little kids have a new game called JC. Des explained it to me "Somebody does something bad and they get written up. Then they say they're not guilty but they are guilty so we have a trial." Hmm, I think they are missing a key concept of our justice system.
Amelia called me to ask if I knew where her friend's lunch box was.
Amelia had a bad week at JC. I know this because she gave me a long lecture about how the big kids don't get written up for anything but little kids get written up for "every single little thing we do!!".
When the kids were asked about their school by a neighbor they explained that Sudbury doesn't have classes or grades. Then they added "Who wants to sit at a desk all day and just be bossed around?" Amen to that.
A sign posted in the hallway-
Computer co-op meeting
1 PM
to discuss the intense nature of the room
(Note-There are different co-ops for different areas of interest. There is a library co-op, a kitchen co-op, sports co-op and art co-op and probably a couple of others. They set up rules for certfication, maintain the equipment/space, fund raise for supplies, etc. The computer co-op fought very hard for the money to buy 5 really good computers. They also have a very complicated sign up process to use them which I know has frustrated Amelia in the past.)
The little kids have a new game called JC. Des explained it to me "Somebody does something bad and they get written up. Then they say they're not guilty but they are guilty so we have a trial." Hmm, I think they are missing a key concept of our justice system.
Amelia called me to ask if I knew where her friend's lunch box was.
Amelia had a bad week at JC. I know this because she gave me a long lecture about how the big kids don't get written up for anything but little kids get written up for "every single little thing we do!!".
When the kids were asked about their school by a neighbor they explained that Sudbury doesn't have classes or grades. Then they added "Who wants to sit at a desk all day and just be bossed around?" Amen to that.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
It ain't paradise.
Here are a few things that I don't like about HVSS:
There is no defined eating space. They have a big kitchen but half of it is given over to a pool table. That's what democracy gets you-a pool table in a kitchen! Actually I don't know how it wound up there. There is also a mobile work table that kids eat at but it is too tall for the little kids, if they don't get a stool they stand on a folding chair and eat. Or they eat underneath it. There is also a large conference table in the lounge that is used for different purposes, I don't know if eating is one of them. There is something to be said for defined eating spaces and mealtimes. It makes the meal more pleasant if you share it with someone and I think gathering to eat is one of the great human social experiences. If I was on staff there I would eat lunch at the same place and at the same time every day and invite people to join me until there was an unwritten lunchtime because you find out a lot of interesting things about people when you eat with them.
The cursing. I have to check the handbook but I don't know if there is an actual rule prohibiting foul language but I think there should be. We are having a real problem with Des and Amelia right now because the teenagers curse and they think they should be able to as well. Contrary to what the user might think, profanity waters down a message, it doesn't strengthen it. Your listener becomes so focused on the epithet that they stop listening to what you are saying. It also opens you up to judgement and criticism if you can't use self control or imagination and need to resort to cursing. I understand when you curse because you are angry or stub your toe its the everyday use as adjectives that I object to.
Raymond had a funny take on why its ok for adults to curse and not children. Since adults have the stress and pressure of going to work and maintaining a home and raising their kids, cursing is an outlet for all of that buildup, a waste product. He referred to it as the "poop of adult life". Well, the way he explained it was funny.
I guess I think they should give the little kids more of a hand but maybe they do and I don't know. Or maybe that is a conflict that I have with the philosophy itself. I am still a mom so its hard for me to watch my kids or kids the same age as my kids struggle.
Hmm, this isn't as long a list as I thought it would be. Not bad.
There is no defined eating space. They have a big kitchen but half of it is given over to a pool table. That's what democracy gets you-a pool table in a kitchen! Actually I don't know how it wound up there. There is also a mobile work table that kids eat at but it is too tall for the little kids, if they don't get a stool they stand on a folding chair and eat. Or they eat underneath it. There is also a large conference table in the lounge that is used for different purposes, I don't know if eating is one of them. There is something to be said for defined eating spaces and mealtimes. It makes the meal more pleasant if you share it with someone and I think gathering to eat is one of the great human social experiences. If I was on staff there I would eat lunch at the same place and at the same time every day and invite people to join me until there was an unwritten lunchtime because you find out a lot of interesting things about people when you eat with them.
The cursing. I have to check the handbook but I don't know if there is an actual rule prohibiting foul language but I think there should be. We are having a real problem with Des and Amelia right now because the teenagers curse and they think they should be able to as well. Contrary to what the user might think, profanity waters down a message, it doesn't strengthen it. Your listener becomes so focused on the epithet that they stop listening to what you are saying. It also opens you up to judgement and criticism if you can't use self control or imagination and need to resort to cursing. I understand when you curse because you are angry or stub your toe its the everyday use as adjectives that I object to.
Raymond had a funny take on why its ok for adults to curse and not children. Since adults have the stress and pressure of going to work and maintaining a home and raising their kids, cursing is an outlet for all of that buildup, a waste product. He referred to it as the "poop of adult life". Well, the way he explained it was funny.
I guess I think they should give the little kids more of a hand but maybe they do and I don't know. Or maybe that is a conflict that I have with the philosophy itself. I am still a mom so its hard for me to watch my kids or kids the same age as my kids struggle.
Hmm, this isn't as long a list as I thought it would be. Not bad.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
What does it mean to live in a democracy?
What does it mean to live in a democracy? I started to write more about little kids being suspended because on the face of it it seems so harsh, and so early in the year. However the situation has to be examined in context. This happens less and less in our culture because television does not lend itself to a nuanced examination of issues. The teaser might be "Kindergarteners kicked out of school" and people will form an opinion before even hearing the two minute treatment that it might get on the news. That doesn't help anybody. Unfortunately this way of thinking or rather, not thinking is seeping up through every level of our society. We are all dumbing down. We use brand names as a shorthand for description. I've heard people, adults, who describe themselves in terms of the brands they identify with. Not their religion or ethnic heritage but where they shop. And politics is not immune to this phenomenon. I'm surprised the Clinton's haven't tried to trademark their name. "Clinton-a brand of governing you can trust! New and improved with 2 X chromosomes, that's twice as many as last time!"
Oh dear I think that was a rant. Let me get back on topic.
Democracy. Let's compare Sudbury to a typical public school. Sudbury is a true democracy where all members have a say in how their community is run. Everyone is expected to work together to maintain it and to abide by its rules. The children are trusted and given the responsibility of making decisions about their school in a meaningful way. Power is shared.
Our public schools are authoritarian dictatorships. A system where a few people at the top are telling everybody else what to do and controlling every aspect of their members lives, while they are a part of that system, is a dictatorship. It doesn't matter how pretty they make it or how fun it seems, that's what it is. Children are not trusted to make good decisions. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few people.
Now let's look at discipline against the background of these two systems.
When a child enrolls at Sudbury they sign a contract that says I want to go to school here and I agree to abide by the rules. Children entering public school usually go because their parents tell them to. At Sudbury everyone is expected to follow the same rules and to aid in their enforcement. At public school students learn the rules and follow them and if they break them and get caught they get punished by a teacher or other authority figure. When you get written up at Sudbury you have to answer to the staff and the students.
There is a difference in behavior when people feel invested in the process, when they feel that they have a say. And when they feel like they will be listened to. It's huge. Look at our own society. A complaint by African Americans is that there are two sets of rules, one for whites and one for everyone else. Now, I'm not going to explore the validity of that argument right now but I will say that historically, people of color have not a large formal role in the shaping of our country and its laws, so is it any wonder that they might still have an Us vs. Them mentality? Taking it back to the public schools, for some kids doing the wrong thing becomes more of a risk-reward calculation than a consideration of the merits of the act itself and this comes about because they have fewer options for reaching their goals.
At Sudbury, if you don't like something you can try to change it. It might not work but people will listen to your ideas and debate the merits of it. If you break the rules you have to answer to the community.
Back to the five year olds. These kids had been written up numerous times for not doing their cleaning jobs and I think some other rowdy behavior, I think the general complaint was that they didn't respect the school. They aren't mean, they weren't bullying anyone or lighting fires or anything like that so my instinct is to say "Give them a break, they're still little." But they are not so little to take advantage of the freedom that Sudbury affords them so maybe a one day suspension after repeated write ups is not so harsh. They are saying "hey, if you like it here so much, respect the customs and rules that make this place possible. Contribute to its upkeep." Maybe they won't fully understand the why of it all right now but it may help them get into the habit of being a responsible member of a community.
So, what does all of this have to do with living in a democracy again (I remember the words of a social studies teacher :"It is not a true democracy, it is a representative republic!")? The whole idea of a democracy is that people can govern themselves but that is not what is being taught in the public schools. They are not being taught to make their own decisions,or to experiment with different ways of doing things to find out what works best. Often times questioning the status quo earns you the label of trouble maker (just like questioning the school budget earns one the label of "anti-education"). Sending my kids to Sudbury has made me realize that democracy is messy and groups can definitely make mistakes but you have to trust people and people have to trust themselves to make it work.
Oh dear I think that was a rant. Let me get back on topic.
Democracy. Let's compare Sudbury to a typical public school. Sudbury is a true democracy where all members have a say in how their community is run. Everyone is expected to work together to maintain it and to abide by its rules. The children are trusted and given the responsibility of making decisions about their school in a meaningful way. Power is shared.
Our public schools are authoritarian dictatorships. A system where a few people at the top are telling everybody else what to do and controlling every aspect of their members lives, while they are a part of that system, is a dictatorship. It doesn't matter how pretty they make it or how fun it seems, that's what it is. Children are not trusted to make good decisions. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few people.
Now let's look at discipline against the background of these two systems.
When a child enrolls at Sudbury they sign a contract that says I want to go to school here and I agree to abide by the rules. Children entering public school usually go because their parents tell them to. At Sudbury everyone is expected to follow the same rules and to aid in their enforcement. At public school students learn the rules and follow them and if they break them and get caught they get punished by a teacher or other authority figure. When you get written up at Sudbury you have to answer to the staff and the students.
There is a difference in behavior when people feel invested in the process, when they feel that they have a say. And when they feel like they will be listened to. It's huge. Look at our own society. A complaint by African Americans is that there are two sets of rules, one for whites and one for everyone else. Now, I'm not going to explore the validity of that argument right now but I will say that historically, people of color have not a large formal role in the shaping of our country and its laws, so is it any wonder that they might still have an Us vs. Them mentality? Taking it back to the public schools, for some kids doing the wrong thing becomes more of a risk-reward calculation than a consideration of the merits of the act itself and this comes about because they have fewer options for reaching their goals.
At Sudbury, if you don't like something you can try to change it. It might not work but people will listen to your ideas and debate the merits of it. If you break the rules you have to answer to the community.
Back to the five year olds. These kids had been written up numerous times for not doing their cleaning jobs and I think some other rowdy behavior, I think the general complaint was that they didn't respect the school. They aren't mean, they weren't bullying anyone or lighting fires or anything like that so my instinct is to say "Give them a break, they're still little." But they are not so little to take advantage of the freedom that Sudbury affords them so maybe a one day suspension after repeated write ups is not so harsh. They are saying "hey, if you like it here so much, respect the customs and rules that make this place possible. Contribute to its upkeep." Maybe they won't fully understand the why of it all right now but it may help them get into the habit of being a responsible member of a community.
So, what does all of this have to do with living in a democracy again (I remember the words of a social studies teacher :"It is not a true democracy, it is a representative republic!")? The whole idea of a democracy is that people can govern themselves but that is not what is being taught in the public schools. They are not being taught to make their own decisions,or to experiment with different ways of doing things to find out what works best. Often times questioning the status quo earns you the label of trouble maker (just like questioning the school budget earns one the label of "anti-education"). Sending my kids to Sudbury has made me realize that democracy is messy and groups can definitely make mistakes but you have to trust people and people have to trust themselves to make it work.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sudbury's AARP
It looks like the 5 year olds are making their mark. Desmond and a friend made a motion to allow fort building indoors(it passed) and when a subsequent motion to ban fort building from the quiet areas was made, it failed. A staff member told me she had to go tell them that the vote was happening though. Amelia said she was going to make a motion to allow eating in the playroom.
Of the 45 or so students at Sudbury at least 10 are 7 and under. They can attend the school meeting, where the business of running the school takes place, serve on JC and pretty much take on as much responsibility as they want. However, they are also held to the same standards as everyone else. Two 5 year olds have already been suspended this year.
A digression-There are two forms of suspension at Sudbury definite and indefinite. And while it carries a tremendous amount of weight, I don't think it has the same lasting social stigma as it might in a public school. It's also done for different reasons and more quickly. Defined suspensions(lasting a couple of days or less) seem to be for specific incidents(I think one was for overturning a table and shouting at someone,remember my information comes from Amelia so it could've been for a completely different reason that I will find out about three months from now) or repeated similar offenses(the two five year olds really hate to do their cleaning jobs and may have been breaking some other rules). Indefinite suspensions(and I only know of one this year so far) have to do more with patterns of behavior especially if it is abusive to other members of the community and if it involves breaking major rules. Basically what they say is-you can't be here if you act this way, if you can change, you can come back. When they are ready to come back, they have to explain themselves and ask to be let back in and it gets voted on. Can you imagine how hard that must be?
So where was I? Oh yes, two five year olds have been suspended. I do wonder if they take age into account as they go through disciplinary procedures. Des has had two dollars in fines for not signing in and out. He got one warning and after that he was fined. The mom in me sees her little guy and thinks he should have gotten a few more chances because at this age they forget all kinds of stuff. The other part of me thinks, well, the earlier he gets into the habit the better it will be in the long run. I don't know. Sometimes I think they don't get the little ones into JC fast enough. Usually write ups are addressed the next day and I think for little kids, when that much time has elapsed its almost like it didn't happen. I don't know if they still associate the punishment with the infraction. They seem to take an "if you say so" attitude. I don't know, the staff probably sees more progress day to day but it would be interesting to do a study of recidivism among the different age groups.
Of the 45 or so students at Sudbury at least 10 are 7 and under. They can attend the school meeting, where the business of running the school takes place, serve on JC and pretty much take on as much responsibility as they want. However, they are also held to the same standards as everyone else. Two 5 year olds have already been suspended this year.
A digression-There are two forms of suspension at Sudbury definite and indefinite. And while it carries a tremendous amount of weight, I don't think it has the same lasting social stigma as it might in a public school. It's also done for different reasons and more quickly. Defined suspensions(lasting a couple of days or less) seem to be for specific incidents(I think one was for overturning a table and shouting at someone,remember my information comes from Amelia so it could've been for a completely different reason that I will find out about three months from now) or repeated similar offenses(the two five year olds really hate to do their cleaning jobs and may have been breaking some other rules). Indefinite suspensions(and I only know of one this year so far) have to do more with patterns of behavior especially if it is abusive to other members of the community and if it involves breaking major rules. Basically what they say is-you can't be here if you act this way, if you can change, you can come back. When they are ready to come back, they have to explain themselves and ask to be let back in and it gets voted on. Can you imagine how hard that must be?
So where was I? Oh yes, two five year olds have been suspended. I do wonder if they take age into account as they go through disciplinary procedures. Des has had two dollars in fines for not signing in and out. He got one warning and after that he was fined. The mom in me sees her little guy and thinks he should have gotten a few more chances because at this age they forget all kinds of stuff. The other part of me thinks, well, the earlier he gets into the habit the better it will be in the long run. I don't know. Sometimes I think they don't get the little ones into JC fast enough. Usually write ups are addressed the next day and I think for little kids, when that much time has elapsed its almost like it didn't happen. I don't know if they still associate the punishment with the infraction. They seem to take an "if you say so" attitude. I don't know, the staff probably sees more progress day to day but it would be interesting to do a study of recidivism among the different age groups.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Lighten up Francis!
When I reread my post from yesterday I realized that I was starting to sound a bit hysterical. Its kind of silly to think that I'm the only person in the world who can disseminate information to my children. It isn't even something I believe. The staff is there to answer their questions or to help them find the answers. And from what I've seen of them they seem like smart approachable people.
It is hard to totally trust children because sometimes they do stupid stuff and don't make the best decisions. I take my responsibilities as a parent very seriously and one of those responsibilities is that my children are not ignorant dopes who can't tell you how many senators New York has or identify their own country on a map.
I just want to raise an army of eggheads to rule the world!! (cue maniacal laughter)
It is hard to totally trust children because sometimes they do stupid stuff and don't make the best decisions. I take my responsibilities as a parent very seriously and one of those responsibilities is that my children are not ignorant dopes who can't tell you how many senators New York has or identify their own country on a map.
I just want to raise an army of eggheads to rule the world!! (cue maniacal laughter)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Crisis of Faith
I've been reading Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch. Terrific book. The main point of it is that background knowledge is key to reading and communicating with each other. It's what you bring to the table and really facilitates comprehension. It's what makes an inside joke "inside". His point is that people can not just be taught reading skills, you need literature and history and a sort of working knowledge of a bunch of different topics to be able to read well. Let's use our country's history as an example- Do you have to have read the complete federalist papers, no but should you know what they are and who wrote them and what their significance is? Yeah. Do you need to know about every battle fought in the Civil War? No. Should you know what a civil war is, that we had one and have an idea of when it occurred and who the major players were? Definitely.
My worry is that as much as I love HVSS and think that the kids are thriving there, will the inevitable gaps in their knowledge hinder them? I compare the Sudbury experience to me homeschooling them. If I were to homeschool them I would definitely have a plan and a curriculum. I wouldn't be rigid about when and how they had to learn it but I would have definite objectives in mind. At Sudbury the idea is to trust that the child will learn what they need to know. I'm not there yet.
At the same time, I am still their mom. I'm the answer girl for a lot of people. Except my dad(it's actually a family rule that we are not allowed on the same team for trivia games). So, living with me is going to expose them to a lot of stuff that they might not even hear about in regular school. Oof I know that sounds like I'm bragging but, well, I like to know things, its my hobby. The joke in our house when they ask me a question is "Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" because I am happy to expound...on anything. :) I'm also often admonished by Desmond to "please use some words that I understand" because I don't dumb down when I'm talking to kids. Unless they ask me to.
I've also thought of just tutoring them outside of school in whatever areas I think are essential. To sort of cover my bases. But is that violating the spirit of Sudbury or defeating the purpose of sending them to this type of school in the first place?
I think I'm falling prey to the "Just what the hell do they do all day there anyway?" syndrome.
My worry is that as much as I love HVSS and think that the kids are thriving there, will the inevitable gaps in their knowledge hinder them? I compare the Sudbury experience to me homeschooling them. If I were to homeschool them I would definitely have a plan and a curriculum. I wouldn't be rigid about when and how they had to learn it but I would have definite objectives in mind. At Sudbury the idea is to trust that the child will learn what they need to know. I'm not there yet.
At the same time, I am still their mom. I'm the answer girl for a lot of people. Except my dad(it's actually a family rule that we are not allowed on the same team for trivia games). So, living with me is going to expose them to a lot of stuff that they might not even hear about in regular school. Oof I know that sounds like I'm bragging but, well, I like to know things, its my hobby. The joke in our house when they ask me a question is "Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" because I am happy to expound...on anything. :) I'm also often admonished by Desmond to "please use some words that I understand" because I don't dumb down when I'm talking to kids. Unless they ask me to.
I've also thought of just tutoring them outside of school in whatever areas I think are essential. To sort of cover my bases. But is that violating the spirit of Sudbury or defeating the purpose of sending them to this type of school in the first place?
I think I'm falling prey to the "Just what the hell do they do all day there anyway?" syndrome.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Age mixing
The ages of the students at HVSS range from 5-18. Like anything else, there are pros and cons to this.
I like that they are mixing with kids of different ages because it means they are coming across people with more varied perspectives on a daily basis and it is truer to real life. I don't hang out with a bunch of 36 year olds every day and I never saw the benefit of grouping kids strictly by age or ability. I was in a lot of honors classes in school but sometimes that just meant that we were doing the material of a grade ahead of us and it wasn't necessarily more challenging. Also you don't learn patience or tolerance or get practice at explaining yourself. When the spartans arranged their fighting units they believed in using both "the reed and the staff", they paired the weaker fighters with the better warriors. It prevented over confidence and everybody would work to the benefit of the whole group rather than competing with each other.
People ask me if I worry about my kids being around 18 year olds(they always focus on that...like it isn't age 5 thru 18 just kids age 5 or 18). My answer is I probably worry less than if they were going to a traditional school and here's why-
1)There is very little privacy or expectation of privacy at the school. People are always poking their heads into rooms, walking around, and checking things out. In a traditional school setting there are very defined times and places where people, including the adults, are expected to be and thus there are plenty of empty places to hide.
2)JC works. It really does, so if you pick on someone they are going to write you up and they are going to be listened to and it's going to be other students who do the listening. Even if you are a staff member or a big kid. In a traditional school its a he said/she said situation with an adult in charge. The defined power structure can be used as a weapon. It is a lot easier to fool a teacher than it is to fool the other kids. There is more room to threaten(nobody will believe you, the other kids will hate you) or be dismissive(don't be such a tattletale, don't be so sensitive).
3)Spending time with people and getting to know them fosters empathy and respect for who they are.
Is it possible that some burgeoning pedophile ends up going to school there or getting on staff? Well of course there is but that really can happen anywhere. Life is not without risks. I think the way sudbury is set up actually makes it safer though. Not totally 100% safe but reasonably so.
The main con that I have observed so far is my children's crash course in profanity. In one week I have had to explain ass, bitch, shit and freakin'. It's not like I've never used an expletive in front of my kids but this was getting to be a bit much so I mentioned something to a staff member.
One concrete example of how well age mixing can work: Last week dodgeball was all the rage. Des and Amelia were loving it! And everyone was playing together- 17 year olds, 10 year olds and the little kids. This, in a time when public schools are banning the game and games like tag because they get too competitive and mean spirited, was a joy to watch.
I like that they are mixing with kids of different ages because it means they are coming across people with more varied perspectives on a daily basis and it is truer to real life. I don't hang out with a bunch of 36 year olds every day and I never saw the benefit of grouping kids strictly by age or ability. I was in a lot of honors classes in school but sometimes that just meant that we were doing the material of a grade ahead of us and it wasn't necessarily more challenging. Also you don't learn patience or tolerance or get practice at explaining yourself. When the spartans arranged their fighting units they believed in using both "the reed and the staff", they paired the weaker fighters with the better warriors. It prevented over confidence and everybody would work to the benefit of the whole group rather than competing with each other.
People ask me if I worry about my kids being around 18 year olds(they always focus on that...like it isn't age 5 thru 18 just kids age 5 or 18). My answer is I probably worry less than if they were going to a traditional school and here's why-
1)There is very little privacy or expectation of privacy at the school. People are always poking their heads into rooms, walking around, and checking things out. In a traditional school setting there are very defined times and places where people, including the adults, are expected to be and thus there are plenty of empty places to hide.
2)JC works. It really does, so if you pick on someone they are going to write you up and they are going to be listened to and it's going to be other students who do the listening. Even if you are a staff member or a big kid. In a traditional school its a he said/she said situation with an adult in charge. The defined power structure can be used as a weapon. It is a lot easier to fool a teacher than it is to fool the other kids. There is more room to threaten(nobody will believe you, the other kids will hate you) or be dismissive(don't be such a tattletale, don't be so sensitive).
3)Spending time with people and getting to know them fosters empathy and respect for who they are.
Is it possible that some burgeoning pedophile ends up going to school there or getting on staff? Well of course there is but that really can happen anywhere. Life is not without risks. I think the way sudbury is set up actually makes it safer though. Not totally 100% safe but reasonably so.
The main con that I have observed so far is my children's crash course in profanity. In one week I have had to explain ass, bitch, shit and freakin'. It's not like I've never used an expletive in front of my kids but this was getting to be a bit much so I mentioned something to a staff member.
One concrete example of how well age mixing can work: Last week dodgeball was all the rage. Des and Amelia were loving it! And everyone was playing together- 17 year olds, 10 year olds and the little kids. This, in a time when public schools are banning the game and games like tag because they get too competitive and mean spirited, was a joy to watch.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Play day
Tuesdays are play day at Sudbury. Playday is when kids 2-5 come to school with their parents and play for a couple of hours. Cady and Finn and I go so I can spy on Des and Amelia. No, I jest.
Playday is actually not true to the sudbury experience because there is some structure to it. You can't let three year olds run around unsupervised and then hold them responsible for the havoc they would create. I'd love to see them try to call Cady to JC for something that happened 15 minutes ago, much less the day before. It is a nice way to get them acquainted with the school though and the older kids are so great with them.
It's hard for me because I do want to spy on D and A but I don't want them to act differently just because I'm there. The first time they kept asking my permission to do things and I had to kep reminding them that I was not there in any official mommy capacity. Today when they wanted me to spend time with them away from the playday group I had to keep reminding them that I was there with Cady and she isn't a student there. I also got suckered into buying junk for Des because he was restricted to the lounge and had eaten all of his lunch by 11:30 and I felt bad for him.
I think of them as my little electrons. You can't tell the position and velocity of an electron at the same time so when you fix one you theoretically change the outcome of the other. I want to see what life is like for Des and Amelia at Sudbury but my very presence as an observer changes their behavior. There's something wrong with this analogy but hopefully you understand what I'm saying.
How the hell do people blog every single day?
Playday is actually not true to the sudbury experience because there is some structure to it. You can't let three year olds run around unsupervised and then hold them responsible for the havoc they would create. I'd love to see them try to call Cady to JC for something that happened 15 minutes ago, much less the day before. It is a nice way to get them acquainted with the school though and the older kids are so great with them.
It's hard for me because I do want to spy on D and A but I don't want them to act differently just because I'm there. The first time they kept asking my permission to do things and I had to kep reminding them that I was not there in any official mommy capacity. Today when they wanted me to spend time with them away from the playday group I had to keep reminding them that I was there with Cady and she isn't a student there. I also got suckered into buying junk for Des because he was restricted to the lounge and had eaten all of his lunch by 11:30 and I felt bad for him.
I think of them as my little electrons. You can't tell the position and velocity of an electron at the same time so when you fix one you theoretically change the outcome of the other. I want to see what life is like for Des and Amelia at Sudbury but my very presence as an observer changes their behavior. There's something wrong with this analogy but hopefully you understand what I'm saying.
How the hell do people blog every single day?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Law and Order:HVSS
Sudbury has its own justice system, run by the Judicial Committee or JC for short. As I may have said before, I'm too lazy to check previous posts, anybody can write anybody else up for breaking the rules. Staff can write up students, the students can write up staff or eachother. I believe everybody is expected to serve on JC at some point, even the five year olds.
When you are brought up before JC you have the option of pleading guilty or not guilty. If you plead not guilty they have a trial.
Amelia loves, I mean really loves, JC. Everyday she reports on how many JC's she'll be a part of the following day. Who she wrote up, why she was written up, if she was just a witness. She also lets me know about other people's cases and fines they have had to pay. Ray was worried that she was going to get a reputation for being a tattletale or I don't know, rat?, or just someone who is a pain in the ass but I don't think it works that way. I suspect that the kids like having a central place to work their problems out. Especially because the rules are the same for the staff and the students. It makes it a more legitimate process.
Conflict came home the first time Amelia wrote Des up. She didn't single him out, it was part of a larger girls vs. boys complaint and Des wasn't mad at her but he got upset when she started to tell me because he didn't want me to know about it. They concocted a story, they basically told me what happened but left Des out of it, and when they were done I said "Are you telling me the whole story ?" Amelia immediately said no and Des got upset again. I guessed out loud that he had been involved but I told him that I wasn't going to do anything about it. I said "Des, Sudbury has a very good way of handling these things and I will leave it up to them. You can tell me or not tell me what goes on at school but you can't lie to me about it." We also talked about how if they wanted to talk about each other getting in trouble at school that was fine as long as they weren't coming to me for justice.
It's working out pretty well. They tell me when they get written up and what the consequence was. If they want, we talk about where they went wrong or how they could avoid the situation next time. This is probably good practice for the teenage years. I'm trying to train myself to listen and keep my comments neutral unless they ask for my opinion but it is soooo hard sometimes!
When you are brought up before JC you have the option of pleading guilty or not guilty. If you plead not guilty they have a trial.
Amelia loves, I mean really loves, JC. Everyday she reports on how many JC's she'll be a part of the following day. Who she wrote up, why she was written up, if she was just a witness. She also lets me know about other people's cases and fines they have had to pay. Ray was worried that she was going to get a reputation for being a tattletale or I don't know, rat?, or just someone who is a pain in the ass but I don't think it works that way. I suspect that the kids like having a central place to work their problems out. Especially because the rules are the same for the staff and the students. It makes it a more legitimate process.
Conflict came home the first time Amelia wrote Des up. She didn't single him out, it was part of a larger girls vs. boys complaint and Des wasn't mad at her but he got upset when she started to tell me because he didn't want me to know about it. They concocted a story, they basically told me what happened but left Des out of it, and when they were done I said "Are you telling me the whole story ?" Amelia immediately said no and Des got upset again. I guessed out loud that he had been involved but I told him that I wasn't going to do anything about it. I said "Des, Sudbury has a very good way of handling these things and I will leave it up to them. You can tell me or not tell me what goes on at school but you can't lie to me about it." We also talked about how if they wanted to talk about each other getting in trouble at school that was fine as long as they weren't coming to me for justice.
It's working out pretty well. They tell me when they get written up and what the consequence was. If they want, we talk about where they went wrong or how they could avoid the situation next time. This is probably good practice for the teenage years. I'm trying to train myself to listen and keep my comments neutral unless they ask for my opinion but it is soooo hard sometimes!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Money Pt. 2
Where was I? Ah yes, my evil genius son had figured out before my very eyes that if I am not with him, I don't know if he's following the rules or not.
We had a long talk about trust and character. I said I wanted him to grow up to be a person who always does the right thing even if he knows he can't get caught doing the wrong thing. Amelia got in to it also and now they are allowed to chew gum at school and they won't try to sneak it home.
The chore chart is working marvelously. I suspect in a week or two they will start campaigning for a raise.
Amelia found someone at school to teach her to play chess. She is also trying to start a business that involves making paper bags but she keeps stapling the tops closed.
We had a long talk about trust and character. I said I wanted him to grow up to be a person who always does the right thing even if he knows he can't get caught doing the wrong thing. Amelia got in to it also and now they are allowed to chew gum at school and they won't try to sneak it home.
The chore chart is working marvelously. I suspect in a week or two they will start campaigning for a raise.
Amelia found someone at school to teach her to play chess. She is also trying to start a business that involves making paper bags but she keeps stapling the tops closed.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Money,Money,Money
The kids have discovered the school store.
I hate school stores. All they sell is crap so I'm a double bad guy-one for not giving the kids money and two for not giving the kids money to buy junk food. I understand they are often fund raisers but like all the other shit schools sell to fundraise I wish they would just ask me for a check.
Anyway,not only is there a school store but sometimes the kids have to pay fines for certain infractions, I think not signing in is one. Each student can open a discretionary account that they can draw from. We haven't gotten to that point yet. After a few days of being nagged for money we instituted a set of chores that they can do to earn cash. They have chores already that they have to do because they live in the house but this is extra stuff. We pay slave wages-filling or emptying the dishwasher for 5 cents,straightening up little areas for 10 cents,etc. The money they earn is what they have to spend at Sudbury. Amelia earned 2.25, Des 1.75.
This has led to a couple of interesting discussions. Amelia quickly realised that she was not going to have money to spend every single day so she decided to have one day to spend a dollar and she put the rest in her piggy bank. Des was a littled miffed that he wasn't getting as much as Amelia but since it was equated with how much work he did he couldn't blame it on me being unfair(a favorite pasttime). He decided that he would spend some money on gum and save the rest.
Now, I don't let my kids chew gum. It's bad for their teeth and, even though I hated teachers for saying this, it's a really unattractive habit. I don't chew gum anymore because I'm sensitive to some of the ingredients and it gives me canker sores. I told Des that he's not allowed to chew gum and he said "But mom, you won't be there so you can't stop me, right?" Not in an obnoxious way, more like he was reasoning out loud. Now, dear reader, how would you have responded to this?
I hate to end on a cliffhanger but I'm being paged by a wailing baby. Adieu.
I hate school stores. All they sell is crap so I'm a double bad guy-one for not giving the kids money and two for not giving the kids money to buy junk food. I understand they are often fund raisers but like all the other shit schools sell to fundraise I wish they would just ask me for a check.
Anyway,not only is there a school store but sometimes the kids have to pay fines for certain infractions, I think not signing in is one. Each student can open a discretionary account that they can draw from. We haven't gotten to that point yet. After a few days of being nagged for money we instituted a set of chores that they can do to earn cash. They have chores already that they have to do because they live in the house but this is extra stuff. We pay slave wages-filling or emptying the dishwasher for 5 cents,straightening up little areas for 10 cents,etc. The money they earn is what they have to spend at Sudbury. Amelia earned 2.25, Des 1.75.
This has led to a couple of interesting discussions. Amelia quickly realised that she was not going to have money to spend every single day so she decided to have one day to spend a dollar and she put the rest in her piggy bank. Des was a littled miffed that he wasn't getting as much as Amelia but since it was equated with how much work he did he couldn't blame it on me being unfair(a favorite pasttime). He decided that he would spend some money on gum and save the rest.
Now, I don't let my kids chew gum. It's bad for their teeth and, even though I hated teachers for saying this, it's a really unattractive habit. I don't chew gum anymore because I'm sensitive to some of the ingredients and it gives me canker sores. I told Des that he's not allowed to chew gum and he said "But mom, you won't be there so you can't stop me, right?" Not in an obnoxious way, more like he was reasoning out loud. Now, dear reader, how would you have responded to this?
I hate to end on a cliffhanger but I'm being paged by a wailing baby. Adieu.
Monday, September 10, 2007
A typical day
Someone asked me what a typical day is like at Sudbury.
the school is open from 8:30 to 4:30. My kids usually get there by 10. Every kid has to sign in as soon as they get there. There is a large refigerator in the near the entrance where lunches are stored. There are also cubbies where the kids can keep other stuff, coats, backpacks,etc. Once they are there, the day is theirs to spend. There is a playroom, a computer room, a library, an art room, a kitchen, a music room, and a couple of other rooms and lounges that are multipurpose.
Everydayat 11:00 is JC. The Judicial Committee meets, looks at the write ups from the day before and calls people in to discuss them and mete out justice. Both staff and students serve on the committee and both staff and students can be written up.
At some point in the afternoon cleaning assignments are handed out. They involve sweeping, vacuuming, emptying out garbages,stuff like that. The staff cleans the bathrooms.
Every thursday at 1:00 is the school meeting. This is democracy in action! An agenda is posted and during the meeting votes are taken on various motions that are brought before the group. A staff member told me that at the first meeting of this year, the staff was outnumbered by the five year olds.
When the kids leave for the day they have to sign out.
When is lunch? When they are hungry.
When do they spend time on academics? When and if they feel like it.
What do they do all day? Whatever they want. That's not exactly true. Sudbury is very unstructured in terms of content. The kids are encouraged to follow their own interests. However it is highly structured in terms of what behavior is expected and allowed. They hold the kids responsible for their choices but not with abstract threats like "how will you get into a good college or how do you expect to get a good job if you don't do your homework?" but in a very concrete way by having immediate consequences for their actions. It can be as harsh as getting suspended or as simple as missing out on an activity because they didn't sign up or having to do a cleaning job when they littered. Its really funny when you walk into this school that is basically set up like a house with no bedrooms and has the reputation of "the kids can do whatever they want" and one of the first things I noticed were all the signs and lists and rules that are posted everywhere.
What does the staff do? I'm not sure. the administrative stuff definitely. I think their role is to help the kids achieve their goals. So if a kid comes and says, I want to play the guitar, they might show them where the music room is. If a kid comes and says "i'm bored" they will probably say "Well, you should try and think of something to do. Would you like a suggestion?"
I'll tell ya, its not easy to send your kid to a sudbury school. It takes a real leap of faith.
the school is open from 8:30 to 4:30. My kids usually get there by 10. Every kid has to sign in as soon as they get there. There is a large refigerator in the near the entrance where lunches are stored. There are also cubbies where the kids can keep other stuff, coats, backpacks,etc. Once they are there, the day is theirs to spend. There is a playroom, a computer room, a library, an art room, a kitchen, a music room, and a couple of other rooms and lounges that are multipurpose.
Everydayat 11:00 is JC. The Judicial Committee meets, looks at the write ups from the day before and calls people in to discuss them and mete out justice. Both staff and students serve on the committee and both staff and students can be written up.
At some point in the afternoon cleaning assignments are handed out. They involve sweeping, vacuuming, emptying out garbages,stuff like that. The staff cleans the bathrooms.
Every thursday at 1:00 is the school meeting. This is democracy in action! An agenda is posted and during the meeting votes are taken on various motions that are brought before the group. A staff member told me that at the first meeting of this year, the staff was outnumbered by the five year olds.
When the kids leave for the day they have to sign out.
When is lunch? When they are hungry.
When do they spend time on academics? When and if they feel like it.
What do they do all day? Whatever they want. That's not exactly true. Sudbury is very unstructured in terms of content. The kids are encouraged to follow their own interests. However it is highly structured in terms of what behavior is expected and allowed. They hold the kids responsible for their choices but not with abstract threats like "how will you get into a good college or how do you expect to get a good job if you don't do your homework?" but in a very concrete way by having immediate consequences for their actions. It can be as harsh as getting suspended or as simple as missing out on an activity because they didn't sign up or having to do a cleaning job when they littered. Its really funny when you walk into this school that is basically set up like a house with no bedrooms and has the reputation of "the kids can do whatever they want" and one of the first things I noticed were all the signs and lists and rules that are posted everywhere.
What does the staff do? I'm not sure. the administrative stuff definitely. I think their role is to help the kids achieve their goals. So if a kid comes and says, I want to play the guitar, they might show them where the music room is. If a kid comes and says "i'm bored" they will probably say "Well, you should try and think of something to do. Would you like a suggestion?"
I'll tell ya, its not easy to send your kid to a sudbury school. It takes a real leap of faith.
Leting Go
Each morning the kids and I negotiate their pick-up time from school. I'm always trying to get them to stay later, they always want me to come earlier. When I drop them off, we negotiate the amount of time that i'm going to stay with them before leaving. They refuse to just get out of the car and let me drive off. I have found myself getting a little impatient with them sometimes and thinking, aren't they a little old to be this clingy?,before coming to my senses and remembering that they are only 5 and in a new situation.
Today, Desmond brought a backpack to school but he had no cubby to put it in because when a staff member was helping them to choose cubbies and put their name on it, Des didn't feel like doing it. I reminded him to make a sign and find a cubby as we were walking in and told him he could ask the staff. One staff member was there and I told her what was going on. I told Des he could ask her and he said he was shy. She said "I can't make him ask me for help." I said I understood that, I was just trying to get him to take care of it before he got sick of carrying around his backpack. She said to me, very gently, "Well, when he gets tired of carrying it he'll leave it somewhere and then he'll get written up and then he'll get himself a cubby." I had an "aha" moment and thanked her for reminding me of one of the reasons why I had picked Sudbury for my kids in the first place:because they respect the fact that making mistakes is a part of the learning process. This little interaction also reminded me that I'm having some trouble letting go myself.
Today, Desmond brought a backpack to school but he had no cubby to put it in because when a staff member was helping them to choose cubbies and put their name on it, Des didn't feel like doing it. I reminded him to make a sign and find a cubby as we were walking in and told him he could ask the staff. One staff member was there and I told her what was going on. I told Des he could ask her and he said he was shy. She said "I can't make him ask me for help." I said I understood that, I was just trying to get him to take care of it before he got sick of carrying around his backpack. She said to me, very gently, "Well, when he gets tired of carrying it he'll leave it somewhere and then he'll get written up and then he'll get himself a cubby." I had an "aha" moment and thanked her for reminding me of one of the reasons why I had picked Sudbury for my kids in the first place:because they respect the fact that making mistakes is a part of the learning process. This little interaction also reminded me that I'm having some trouble letting go myself.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Week one
The kids have finished their first week. Amelia is having a great time. On wednesday she was certified to use the vacuum cleaner, on thursday she was certified to use scissors and pencils and on friday she was certified to use watercolors. She went to her first school meeting on thursday and was excited to learn that next week she can make a motion to go to the yellow boundary(the school has three levels of boundaries outside, orange, yellow and blue. Orange is for new students and visitors, yellow is about 30 feet past orange and you have to be attending the school for at least two weeks,or attend two meetings,I'm not sure, for blue you have to be able to tell time and you have to be with another person who is certified for blue). She voted on something, we're not sure what, and made a sign for her cubby. She also played on the computer, which she was happily surprised to discover that you don't need to be certified to use. She did call twice, once because she fell and hurt her knee and once because I had changed the pick up time and she wanted to know why. The school is open from 8:30 to 4:30 and the only attendance requirement is that at age 6 they have to go for 5 hours a day and at age 12 they have to be there for 51/2 hours a day. It's great.
If I didn't ask more questions and if Amelia didn't happily fill in the gaps, the only thing I would know about Desmond's day is that he often forgets to eat. He pretty much has had the same experiences as Amelia but he approached his first cleaning assignment with considerably less gusto. I had a hard time figuring out the story but apparently he was either supposed to sweep the porch or he thought he was supposed to sweep the porch but he wasn't sure how, so he hid for anywhere from 1 to 6 hours before someone either told him it wasn't his job or that he should do the best he could. We had a talk about how if he had asked for help in the first place it would have been cleared up but I suspect that this will be a regular problem for Des because he doesn't like to help. and he freely admits this. One of my hopes for Des at sudbury was that he would come to accept that he is going to have to contribute to the welfare of whatever community he is a part of, that it's not just mommy and daddy who expect that of him.
We'll see.
If I didn't ask more questions and if Amelia didn't happily fill in the gaps, the only thing I would know about Desmond's day is that he often forgets to eat. He pretty much has had the same experiences as Amelia but he approached his first cleaning assignment with considerably less gusto. I had a hard time figuring out the story but apparently he was either supposed to sweep the porch or he thought he was supposed to sweep the porch but he wasn't sure how, so he hid for anywhere from 1 to 6 hours before someone either told him it wasn't his job or that he should do the best he could. We had a talk about how if he had asked for help in the first place it would have been cleared up but I suspect that this will be a regular problem for Des because he doesn't like to help. and he freely admits this. One of my hopes for Des at sudbury was that he would come to accept that he is going to have to contribute to the welfare of whatever community he is a part of, that it's not just mommy and daddy who expect that of him.
We'll see.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Day one at Sudbury
My kids started at a Sudbury school today, since a few people were interested in the experience I've decided to devote my blog to their year at school. I don't really have enough time to follow my original path for the EBC anyway.
So, a little background. I had intended to homeschool my kids and only heard about Sudbury when I wanted to take my younger daughter to a playgroup there. I had to go to an information session before we could sign up and as the school's founder explained the philosophy and the structure it was like hearing my own thoughts on education echoed and taken even further than I had imagined. Google sudbury and you'll find a bunch of websites that will explain what they are about better than I can. My focus will be on my family's experience as we see theory put into practice.
My 5 year old twins have two very different learning styles. Desmond is a little sponge. He loves facts, he asks a million questions and isn't always concerned with the practical application of what he's learning. Amelia, on the other hand is a doer. We call her our eager beaver. Whatever is going on, she wants to be a part of it. She asks one question, over and over-"Can I try?" Despite their different temperaments, they are very close and for the most part supportive of one another. We chose a Sudbury school because we felt it could meet both of their needs and they could stay together or separate on their own terms. I wasn't surprised, when I picked them up and Amelia came rushing up to me exclaiming "Mom, I had my first cleaning job today and I got certified to use the vacuum cleaner and I'm going to have to go to JC (judicial comittee) tomorrow because I found somebody's soda bottle when they littered".
All Des said was, "I'm hungry. I was too busy to eat." When I asked what he had been doing he said"Playing."
Rereading this paragraph I see that there are a few terms I'm going to have to define. Before you can do pretty much anything at a Sudbury school, you have to be certified. For example: To be certified to use markers you have to show that you know how to put the top back on and where to put them away when you're finished and that you know what you can and can't write on. It's a pretty useful tool because the kids have to demonstrate that they can handle whatever level of responsibility is needed to participate in various activities.
At a Sudbury school, students are not only expected to follow the rules but to help enforce them. Anybody can write anybody up for breaking the rules at a sudbury school, that includes students writing up staff. The judicial committee is the body within the school that handles discipline and everybody serves on it at some point, including the 5 year olds. During their visiting week Des and Amelia were called into JC for running in the halls and throwing sticks. Des summed up the experience by saying "Oh man, when you break the rules they take you into this room and talk forever !"
I will have to end here, because its quite late. I know this post is all over the place, please bear with me as I figure out how best to present our experience
So, a little background. I had intended to homeschool my kids and only heard about Sudbury when I wanted to take my younger daughter to a playgroup there. I had to go to an information session before we could sign up and as the school's founder explained the philosophy and the structure it was like hearing my own thoughts on education echoed and taken even further than I had imagined. Google sudbury and you'll find a bunch of websites that will explain what they are about better than I can. My focus will be on my family's experience as we see theory put into practice.
My 5 year old twins have two very different learning styles. Desmond is a little sponge. He loves facts, he asks a million questions and isn't always concerned with the practical application of what he's learning. Amelia, on the other hand is a doer. We call her our eager beaver. Whatever is going on, she wants to be a part of it. She asks one question, over and over-"Can I try?" Despite their different temperaments, they are very close and for the most part supportive of one another. We chose a Sudbury school because we felt it could meet both of their needs and they could stay together or separate on their own terms. I wasn't surprised, when I picked them up and Amelia came rushing up to me exclaiming "Mom, I had my first cleaning job today and I got certified to use the vacuum cleaner and I'm going to have to go to JC (judicial comittee) tomorrow because I found somebody's soda bottle when they littered".
All Des said was, "I'm hungry. I was too busy to eat." When I asked what he had been doing he said"Playing."
Rereading this paragraph I see that there are a few terms I'm going to have to define. Before you can do pretty much anything at a Sudbury school, you have to be certified. For example: To be certified to use markers you have to show that you know how to put the top back on and where to put them away when you're finished and that you know what you can and can't write on. It's a pretty useful tool because the kids have to demonstrate that they can handle whatever level of responsibility is needed to participate in various activities.
At a Sudbury school, students are not only expected to follow the rules but to help enforce them. Anybody can write anybody up for breaking the rules at a sudbury school, that includes students writing up staff. The judicial committee is the body within the school that handles discipline and everybody serves on it at some point, including the 5 year olds. During their visiting week Des and Amelia were called into JC for running in the halls and throwing sticks. Des summed up the experience by saying "Oh man, when you break the rules they take you into this room and talk forever !"
I will have to end here, because its quite late. I know this post is all over the place, please bear with me as I figure out how best to present our experience
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Pluots Rock!
A pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot and is quite scrumptious because the apricot part of it takes away the plum's natural mushiness without sacrificing sweetness. Its like eating an unripened plum but instead of being disappointed, you are pleasantly surprised.
The name is idiotic though. English is a language that prefers its o's before the u's, thank you very much. I believe I'll write someone a letter about that.
A quick search informed me that the man to write to is Floyd Zaiger of Zaiger's Genetics. Not only did he coin the name he actually trademarked it and I think he may have a patent on all the different types of fruits that he develops(this patenting of life forms gives me the creeps but that's an article for a different post...hmm is that a mixed blogging metaphor?). I can't seem to find his email so I'm going to have to actually, gulp, write the letter before I can post it.
The name is idiotic though. English is a language that prefers its o's before the u's, thank you very much. I believe I'll write someone a letter about that.
A quick search informed me that the man to write to is Floyd Zaiger of Zaiger's Genetics. Not only did he coin the name he actually trademarked it and I think he may have a patent on all the different types of fruits that he develops(this patenting of life forms gives me the creeps but that's an article for a different post...hmm is that a mixed blogging metaphor?). I can't seem to find his email so I'm going to have to actually, gulp, write the letter before I can post it.
One last word on retail and then I'm moving on
After a few more exchanges with Target and Land's End where they gave me variations of the "It's not us, it's them" argument(meaning that they only send out their catalogs so early, bring merchandise out 4 months in advance etc. because schools, teachers and parents requested that they do so) and I got pretty discouraged. I'm giving up for now but will probably start again when they crank up the christmas machine.
I would just implore you, dear reader,only reader,in other words my friend Jen, to vote with your pocketbooks and shop by your own calendar and not rush to the stores like one of pavlov's dogs just because they decide that the season has changed. I know I'm ranting and maybe using iffy grammar but dammit, this whole back to school thing really burned my ass.
I would just implore you, dear reader,only reader,in other words my friend Jen, to vote with your pocketbooks and shop by your own calendar and not rush to the stores like one of pavlov's dogs just because they decide that the season has changed. I know I'm ranting and maybe using iffy grammar but dammit, this whole back to school thing really burned my ass.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
More thoughts on the retail calendar
Since I started talking about my crusade against the retail calendar (see www.letterwritingcrank.blogspot.com ) a few people have offered possible reasons for the trend-
Many schools in other parts of the country start sooner than they do in the Northeast(where I live). Well, then I would suggest that the stores tailor their mailings geographically. And I bet those kids that do go back to school earlier don't need a month to buy loose leaf paper and pencils.
A woman in my knitting group said that she has to mail her christmas presents around the country so she usually tries to get her shopping done before thanksgiving. She said that the ads are probably geared to people like her. But I have noticed stores putting things out as early as september. Unless your stuff is going to Kashmir I don't know anyone who needs to be done this early. Also, not everyone celebrates christmas, imagine if there were dreidls and menorahs plastered everywhere for months before you saw a christmas tree.
As I have thought about this quite a bit over the past few weeks I think that I have two chief objections:the first is that it gets people to spend more money on crap they don't need(and may not be able to afford) and two it makes us all hyperaware of the passage of time. I'm trying to retrain myself to savor the moment that I'm in rather than constantly looking ahead and then complaining about how fast time flies.
Many schools in other parts of the country start sooner than they do in the Northeast(where I live). Well, then I would suggest that the stores tailor their mailings geographically. And I bet those kids that do go back to school earlier don't need a month to buy loose leaf paper and pencils.
A woman in my knitting group said that she has to mail her christmas presents around the country so she usually tries to get her shopping done before thanksgiving. She said that the ads are probably geared to people like her. But I have noticed stores putting things out as early as september. Unless your stuff is going to Kashmir I don't know anyone who needs to be done this early. Also, not everyone celebrates christmas, imagine if there were dreidls and menorahs plastered everywhere for months before you saw a christmas tree.
As I have thought about this quite a bit over the past few weeks I think that I have two chief objections:the first is that it gets people to spend more money on crap they don't need(and may not be able to afford) and two it makes us all hyperaware of the passage of time. I'm trying to retrain myself to savor the moment that I'm in rather than constantly looking ahead and then complaining about how fast time flies.
Friday, July 27, 2007
The letter writing crank
If you are interested in reading my ongoing dialogue with retail stores and some of their policies check out my other blog- the letter writing crank.
It's OK...
...to throw pictures of your children in the garbage. My husband doesn't agree with me but seriously, how many pictures of them sleeping do you really need?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Conundrum
So, I noticed last week that a number of stores and catalogs have been sending out "back to school" fliers and inviting me to celebrate the end of summer with them...in the middle of July!! Kids just finished school three weeks ago. Retailers are pushing the calendar so far back that I'm surprised they aren't trying to get us to do our Christmas shopping a year in advance.
The worst offender and the leader of the pack is CVS. ON Jan. 2nd they are ready for Valentine's day, on FEb. 15th they bring out the shamrocks, I think they are waging a secret campaign to eradicate thanksgiving because they can't figure out a way to make money off of it.
I complain about this annually,usually in october, but the back to school crap in the middle of July really stuck in my craw so this year I decided to go a little bit further and start complaining to the companies themselves. I don't think I'm making any headway but I'll save that for another post.
Here is my quandry-I needed a top and I scored some amazing buys at an end of season sale. Is it wrong for me to take advantage of the very thing that I have been railing against for the past week? Am I just encouraging them?
The worst offender and the leader of the pack is CVS. ON Jan. 2nd they are ready for Valentine's day, on FEb. 15th they bring out the shamrocks, I think they are waging a secret campaign to eradicate thanksgiving because they can't figure out a way to make money off of it.
I complain about this annually,usually in october, but the back to school crap in the middle of July really stuck in my craw so this year I decided to go a little bit further and start complaining to the companies themselves. I don't think I'm making any headway but I'll save that for another post.
Here is my quandry-I needed a top and I scored some amazing buys at an end of season sale. Is it wrong for me to take advantage of the very thing that I have been railing against for the past week? Am I just encouraging them?
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Welcome!
Well, you know blogging is totally over if I, major technophobe now have one.
I felt the time had come to share my crackpot ideas in a more organized manner than randomly spewing then out, tourette's like, to whomever is around when I have them.
My original idea for the egghead brainiac club was a group dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, just the sheer pleasure of broadening one's own intellectual base. However, as my husband accurately predicted , the only person I could ever interest in such a group was my dad.
So a blog is born!
I felt the time had come to share my crackpot ideas in a more organized manner than randomly spewing then out, tourette's like, to whomever is around when I have them.
My original idea for the egghead brainiac club was a group dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, just the sheer pleasure of broadening one's own intellectual base. However, as my husband accurately predicted , the only person I could ever interest in such a group was my dad.
So a blog is born!
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