[cage433]

I sent my three children to Summerhill - the youngest is still there. I think your impressions were correct - I certainly consider it to have been a great success. One of the kids was of an academic bent, she studied hard and now seems happily set on an academic career. The other two boys are obsessed with music, and got/are getting the minimum number of qualifications to allow them to go to music college. That seems to be a common pattern at the school - kids figure out what they want to do, the qualifications needed (if any) and get them. Of course, being teenagers, they're perfectly capable of screwing up - but I think, if anything, putting responsibility for their lives in their own hands makes that _less_ likely, rather than more.

One other data point I have concerns bullying. On my first visit we attended one of the meetings where there was a case about some young boys, around 12, who had been picking on one of the kids. On older boy, maybe 14/15 at the time, tore into them. His outrage was something to behold. I remember thinking that if I was 12, and a teacher had disciplined me for bullying, my attitude would have been 'yeah whatever' - but to have an older boy do the same would certainly have had an effect.

I'm lucky to have been able to afford this - if I couldn't I'd probably opt for unschooling, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling. Having had experience of democratic education, I now view mainstream schools as as somewhat bizarre, unpleasant institutions, and certainly wouldn't want to send my kids to one.

[geden]

Thank you for sharing that. Could I ask how you and your children cope with the boarding aspect of Summerhill. This was something my wife and I fundamentally disagreed on. (Un)Fortunately the cost of Summerhill made this a moot point.

The unschooling link looks helpful.

My three children all go to highly regarded UK state schools which are frustratingly conservative, inflexible and very focused on teaching for tests rather than life.

However breaking out and homeschooling seems wildly risky and frankly not possible without me abandoning my business.

Moreover I think that education should be a social and collective action so am pulled in both directions.

I'd love to see people with influence and funds (pg!) apply themselves more in this area. I'd be willing to throw myself behind that.

There's a keen and pressing need for humans to grow up happier, more self and environmentally aware and I doubt the current dominant educational paradigms and systems are going to provide this.

Automated systems are replacing 'rote' jobs at increasing speed, so educational systems that cater for developing creativity (Summerhill, Steiner etc) are likely to have an increasing economic advantage.

[cage433]

The boarding aspect was what held us back from sending them there earlier - that was a mistake I now regret.

TBH I don't think daily contact with parents is _that_ important to children, certainly not mine, as long as they're in a happy environment.

[mjklin]

I've visited Summerhill, but as an American it would be impractical to send my daughter there for all her schooling. I'm wondering if you think one or two years would do her much good, assuming we could get her to go back to normal schooling in the States.

Neill said he only wanted the child up until he was seven (the classic Jesuit model of education). Do you agree that before seven is the critical age?

[cage433]

Mine were all older than that when they went, IIRC they were 8, 11 and 13. I don't think there are many kids under 7 there right now. I'm surprised by that Neill quote tbh, I'd have thought that the worst part of schooling occurs when you're older.

As for going for just a year or two - not sure I can give advice on that. Zoe Readhead, the principal, is very approachable - she could help you there.

If you've any questions you want to ask me offline, I'm at <hn user name>@gmail.com.

[mjklin]

Hmm, it seems the quote I'm thinking of must have been in an extended edition of Summerhill that I've since given away. I remember Neill saying in an aside that he never had luck forming children's characters after they were about seven, and he compared it to the Jesuit assertion "give me the boy until he is seven and I will give you the man."

My daughter is nearing two so we're trying to make plans for her, but as others have said in this thread it's hard to know without knowing her personality. She might do great at a Summerhill-type school or she might need more structure.