a checklist

I asked myself a bunch of questions about the sudbury model and now I feel much better. Here it is.

School Meeting:
Are the students capable of running the day to day business of the school, including developing and voting on policies as well as electing staff?
Yes

Judicial Committee:
Are the students capable of enforcing the rules of the school? Can they hold themselves and their peers accountable for their actions?
Yes

Do I trust the students to be completely in charge of their time each and every day?
Yes

Do I believe that there is a core body of knowledge that every person must learn in order to be a successful adult?
No

Can I accept that my children will make choices that I do not agree with?
Yes

Do I feel that parents are an impediment to their children's development?
No

I'm pretty much on board with everything they do except the discouragement of parents being involved in their children's lives. Although after the debate at HVSS this week I understand how some parents understand "involvement" to mean "teach" and hence the distrust. At the same time it is very hard to hear "Trust the process. Trust the children. Even though we don't trust you not to come in and mess it all up." At any rate, I am once again at peace with my decision to send my kids to a sudbury school so now i can get back to charming anecdotes and further explorations of those aspects of the philosophy palatable to me. :)