Summerhill School, Sussex, UK
Summerhill School is an independent British boarding school founded in 1921 by Alexander Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than the other way around.
It is run as a democratic community; the running of the school is conducted in the school meetings, which anyone, staff or pupil, may attend, and at which everyone has an equal vote. These meetings serve as both a legislative and judicial body.
All lessons are optional, and pupils are free to choose what to do with their time. Neill founded Summerhill with the belief that "the function of a child is to live his own life — not the life that his anxious parents think he should live, not a life according to the purpose of an educator who thinks he knows best
The school is more concerned with the social development of children than their academic development. There is no concept of a "year" or "form" at Summerhill. Instead, children are placed according to their ability in a given subject. It is not uncommon for a single class to have pupils of widely varying ages, or for pupils as young as 13 or 14 to take GCSE examinations. This structure reflects a belief that children should progress at their own pace, rather than having to meet a set standard by a certain age.
"I would rather Summerhill produced a happy street sweeper than a neurotic prime minister." - A.S Neill
No comments:
Post a Comment