But what's the point of all this?

So re-reading my last post I wondered, will people get how this is beneficial to a student? In a set up like Sudbury nothing is handed to you. You have to work to get it-you have to work with people, you have to work within a certain framework and you need to understand the mechanics of that framework. You have to prioritize, not just to accomplish your goal but the goals themselves. You have to be able to speak up and sometimes you have to be able to sit still. this can't be taught with a textbook or as an abstract what-if situation. It has to be a habit.

How do you learn to be a self starter when your whole day is mapped out for you, year after year? I hate to harp on the inadequacies of traditional schools(not true! I love to harp on them!) but while they may pay a lot of lip service to encouraging students to be self motivated and learning critical thinking, the habits they teach are quite the opposite. The lack of freedom and autonomy(even down to the control of bodily functions like eating and using the bathroom) become so ingrained that they start to look to others to always tell them what to do. And when you do that you never have to take ownership of your failures and may feel insecure about the validity of your successes.