Summerhill

One of the most interesting books related to alternative learning is Summerhill. I encourage you to read it. You may not agree with all the ideas in the book, but it will open your mind to a new concept in learning. This is especially important for parents considering homeschooling that have never experienced alternative educational ideas. If you do not start to stretch your mind to the possibilities in learning, you will find that you just repeat traditional schooling methods at home.

Some of you may find the premises of Summerhill appalling or too permisive, but you will be impressed by the results. Summerhill is an actual school that still exists today in England. Students, age 5 -18, have been attending this school since 1921. It was founded by A.S. Neill on the premise that children are autonomous units and as so deserve respect and rights. Neither the state nor parents should oversee a child’s learning. A child should be responsible for their own education both in direction and content. While as a homeschooling family, your goal may not be this radical, some of A.S. Neill’s may cause you to think differently about education and thereby how you plan to shape your day.

This is a book which you may wish to purchase, because I will bet that you will dog ear the pages and highlight passages. You will put it down in disgust, but return to it to review the ideas that it presents.

“I would rather Summerhill produce a happy street sweeper rather than a neurotic Prime Minister.” A.S. Neill
Let us know what you think of Summerhill. Would you send your child there? What ideas might you implement from this school into your own life?