Sudbury or Public School?

How would you feel if you got to grow up going to a sudbury school?

We should start with, what is a Sudbury school? A Sudbury school is a school in which the children choose exactly what they’re learning, and when they want to learn it. This may seem tedious to someone who’s never heard of it before, but I promise it’s worth looking into.

One of the most prominent things, is the fear of students deciding not to learn or learning things that aren’t going to help them in the “real”world. When in most cases children and teens at Sudbury schools tend to strive for more learning and learning things of a higher difficulty at a young age. In a video about the Brooklyn Sudbury school, a boy that was about age 12-13 had decided he wanted to learn physics and chemistry for his next classes, and was explaining how he had just learned Greek mythology and algebra. Now, kids at an average American school system would never have the opportunity to learn further into what they are interested in, they would have to follow the curriculum that was already laid out for them. You also might be thinking that kids aren’t going to take classes they aren’t interested in or that they think are too difficult, but that’s not the case. When students have a feeling of success in their class that encourages them to reach out and try harder or more advanced classes and know that they can succeed because of the healthy cycle of learning where they don’t feel like failures.

Another unique thing about Sudbury schools is that the kids have an opportunity to sit out or not participate in an activity or class if the decide not to, this is giving them a sense of self  independency to decide what to do with themselves. It also allows for them to take care of their mind if they are feeling overwhelmed, have mental health, or home issues.

Classes are decided on by the students, by which I mean if someone has an interest in say, astrophysics, and a few other kids would also like to learn about it then it becomes a class. The school is set up to be democracy and is run that way, the students take a vote on what they would like to have/happen and the teachers help them make it happen. This encourages speaking up for what you want and cooperation with others so everyone can have what they want, this also prepares them for the workplace in a very different way than a public school would.

This is something new that hippies created, right? Well, in actuality we have one right here in Washington called The Clearwater School in Bothell Washington est. 1996. So yes, there is still a possibility of hippies starting it but it is most definitely not a new concept.

I asked a few students from Gig Harbor High School how they would feel if they grew up going to a Sudbury school and this is what they had to say:

Maddy Hale (12): “If I grew up in a Sudbury school I think I’d be better prepared for my work field than I am now, before going to college. Since I’d be free to study only what I wanted, I’d likely perform better in school and feel like what I’m learning actually has meaning to my life. However I also think I’d have gaps in my learning that could prevent me from having what others may consider common knowledge.”

Grace Tanksley (12): “I’d love to have grown up in a Sudbury school. Taking classes I’m interested in would have kept me interested in school. I feel like the overall happiness of students would increase. Everything I’ve learned so far has not helped me prepare for my future career. Learning around people with the same interests would have helped with hard to understand topics.”

Overall I think that most students would enjoy and perform better at a school where their needs are being met and their education is being fitted to them rather than them fitting to the education.