The Luxury of Time

At the Sudbury School of Atlanta, I've found that one of the most impactful elements of the Sudbury model is the luxury of time for a student to choose and explore and reflect.

If we want our students to become independent thinkers, they must have the time and space to think independently.  If we want them to be reflective, they must have time to be reflective.  If we want them to dive deep into their passions, they need the time to find out what those passions are and then time to dive into them.

At any traditional school, students are shuffled from one classroom to another and one activity to another without an opportunity to choose or explore or reflect.  They are told that whatever the teacher says or does is more important than their interests.  No wonder students in the traditional system are not motivated.  How can students follow their passions if they are not given the time or choice?  How can they learn to be good decision makers if they have no time and no opportunity to make decisions?  How can they learn to communicate, mediate and negotiate if they have no time and no opportunity to practice those skills?

As a staff member at SSA, I am often approached by students who seek help with reading or writing.  At the moment a student requests help, staff can drop everything and help that student for as long as the student feels the need for help.  It may take 30 seconds or an hour.  It doesn't matter.  What is most critical is that students at SSA get the help they request immediately, for as long as the student feels they want assistance.  That's the luxury of time.

No other school model or even the experience of a parent has this luxury.  Schools punch the time clock.  If you can't keep up, you are labeled as "behind" and sent to an after school tutoring program.  As a parent, when your child seeks help, you may be off to soccer practice, buying groceries, on the phone, filling the gas tank, etc.

What more could a parent want for their child than when, at the moment their child seeks help, there is a supportive caring person ready to help, right away, for as long as they need it?

A few months ago, a student said to me, "Can we talk?"
"Sure!" I said.
We sat down right there and talked about life... and nothing in particular.  Ten minutes later, when the student said what she had to say, "Thanks!  I'm going outside now."

What does a student learn from that?  They learn that they matter.  They learn that they are an independent person who is respected.  They learn that no matter how busy life gets outside of school with parents, friends and activities, that school is a safe space where they can be who they are without judgment or evaluation or postponement.

As I tell our parents:

Any environment can teach math but not every environment can teach self-worth.

That is the luxury of time.  Only Sudbury offers this and it is an honor to be part of a school that puts students first, foremost and always.

-Dave Soleil

Individualized Learning and Trusting Young People

At the Sudbury School of Atlanta, we regularly hear parents talk about "the factory model" of traditional K-12 education.  In a factory model, every student is fit into the same educational mold in an attempt to produce the same results for every child.  It is like growing a field of sunflowers.  Every flower is the same height, the same size, the same shape, the same color and judged by the strict sunflower standards.  But what is the cost of this educational conformity?

Individuality is lost.  So is independent thinking, communication skills and good decision making.    Controlling students and the environment becomes paramount because if we do not control every factor, then we might get students who think differently and act differently and they might be interested in things that aren't being taught.  They might learn things and develop skills that are not measured by the standards.  So, the controls get tighter on students, teachers, performance, standardized tests and public funding because any deviation might result in a flower that looks different from the rest. 

At SSA, we prefer an educational environment that creates a field of wild flowers.  Every flower is a different size, a different shape, a different color, a different height and blooms at a different time.  Flowers don't have to be taught to bloom.  Put them in a rich environment and they bloom by themselves, if...

If?

If what?

There is a critical component here of individualized education that polarizes people like oil and water.  It causes many people who fled the factory system to go running back.  It is also deeply embraced by many and strikes at the heart of these two different models of education.  That "if" is:

Trusting young people.  

If you believe that every young person is unique and has beliefs, values, thoughts and ideas that should be given a voice and developed, then you will trust young people and embrace individualized education.

If you believe that the beliefs, values, thoughts and ideas of young people have little value, then you will usher them into a system where the predominant message is "don't talk" and "do what you are told."  Young people are simply vessels to be filled up with "academic rigor" and they need to be controlled because we don't want to let them think independent thoughts, communicate something outside the curriculum or practice making decisions because that would create wildflowers and not sunflowers.  Letting a child choose what they want to do and think is nothing more than glorified babysitting.  Why?  Because you don't trust that they have beliefs, values, thoughts and ideas that have worth.  Education is all input and regurgitation of that input.  Save independent thinking for college.  Better yet, graduate school.

John Holt hit the nail on the head when he said:

"To trust children, we must first learn to trust ourselves... and most of us were taught as children that we could not be trusted."

Let's look beyond school for a moment.  Imagine the same factory-style environment in the workplace where your boss does not trust you, empower you or give you a voice.  Your boss dictates every minute of every day for you, what you do, how you do it and if you did it exactly to the standard.  Then, if you do not comply, you are punished or given "quiet lunch" where you can't talk to your co-workers or maybe you have to go to a remedial skills after-work program.  This is a micro-managing nightmare in a professional workforce situation.  Let's set aside the life-and-death scenarios of military combat and brain surgery.  On the whole, dysfunctional and ineffective teams in the workforce come from management that is distrustful, controlling, hierarchical and tone-deaf to interpersonal and team dynamics.  In fact, a 2011 study on behalf of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools found that that top skills desired by employers across sectors are:

1.  Interpersonal skills
2.  Teamwork
3.  Problem solving
4.  Job-specific knowledge
5.  Written communication skills
6.  Work experience
7.  Technical ability
8.  Education
9.  Personal references
10.  Business savvy
11. Math capability

The top three skills sought by employers have nothing to do with "academics" and cannot be taught well in a traditional educational system because they require trusting young people.

Traditional notions of rigor, like education and math skills, are #8 and #11 - not even close to the top.  It is a false assumption by parents that "academic rigor" and "advanced math" lead to students becoming competitive in the workforce after they graduate.  Parents wrap themselves in the cozy blanket of "rigor" because the thing that produces the top skills employers want requires trust, which produces situations that are unpredictable, unfamiliar, and downright frightening for parents and teachers alike.  It forces you to see a young person as a fully capable human being with independent thoughts, independent values and beliefs that are not your own.

Trusting children not only means giving them a voice, it means giving up much of your power and authority as an "adult."  It means giving up control to let their intellectual DNA determine what kind of wildflower they are to become.  It means giving them the same respect that others give you and letting them make choices even when you don't agree with them or understand them.  It means letting your child pursue their own passions and define their own standards for success.

For many parents trying to make life decisions about their child, trust is REALLY scary.  There is a lot at stake as we try to give our child the best shot at a success, however we define that success.  So, many parents want to control rather than empower.  They want others to control their child when they are not present.  Hence, it is no mystery why our predominant educational model is based on control.

However, there are those like me and others who want their child to be an independent thinker, good communicator and good decision maker.  We respect and trust that young people can find their best path to learning if we simply give them the freedom.  Is there any more important message that we can give to a child than, "You are worthy?"  "You are trusted and respected."  "What you say has meaning and value."

Albert Einstein said, "Everybody is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."      

Any environment can teach math, but not every environment can teach self-worth.  Trusting and respecting young people speaks volumes to them that can never be communicated through textbooks and five-paragraph essays.  Trust is the fertile soil, warm sun and gentle rain that gives rise to the beautiful wildflowers that are our children.

-Dave Soleil

Sudbury Assignment: Learn Math, Reading, Writing and More

Many parents want to know what their child is learning at the Sudbury School of Atlanta.  "Sudbury Assignment:" is a series of articles that help parents recognize what sorts of things their children are learning and the depth of experience their child gets at our Sudbury school. 

Sudbury Assignment #4: Learn Math, Reading, Writing and More

In understanding how students learn "the basics" at Sudbury, like reading, writing and math, let's begin with an analogy.

If your child wants to learn Spanish, you might sign her up for a traditional class in Spanish.  A Spanish teacher guides children through a text book and workbook in Spanish.  They conjugate verbs, learn vocabulary and do graded worksheets and quizzes.  In the end, you hope that a good report card means that your child can speak, read and write Spanish.

Or, you take your daughter to Spain where every interaction of daily life teaches her another component of the Spanish language.  In addition, she learns the culture, customs and expectations of a person growing up in Spain.  She may learn other languages too by playing with a child who speaks Spanish but whose family is from Portugal or France.  Your child might also learn about the politics, monetary system, art, music, cuisine and architecture of Spain.  Living in Spain provides a much richer and deeper learning experience that goes far beyond the simple goal of "learning Spanish."

For learning the basics of reading, writing and math, the Sudbury experience is like the immersion experience of living in Spain.  We don't break subjects down into worksheets, quizzes and vocab lists because deep learning is multi-disciplinary.  It spans many "subjects" and we want students to follow their interests wherever they may lead.  Here's a real-life example from our school:   

A Tale of Two Gerbils
The students loved the idea of having a school pet from the first day of school.  What kind of pet?  Big or small?  And how much care would it need?  How much would it cost to buy?  How much would it cost to continue to buy the supplies for it?  What is our budget and what is a budget and what is the procedure to appropriate funds within the school?  They wanted to form a School Pet Committee but first needed to learn parliamentary procedure to propose the motion and vote the committee into existence.  They started discussing what is an agenda for a meeting and how to get an item on it for the School Meeting.  How many people have to be present for a quorum and what is a quorum?     

Once voted into existence, the committee began a six-week negotiation about what kind of animal to get.

Students talked to each other and to their parents about what sorts of animals they all would be willing to care for, even on weekends away from the school.  Some students and staff were allergic to some animals.  This started discussions about what is an allergy?  What happens if a person has an allergic reaction?  What animals cause allergies for people and why?  Physiology, biology and medical discussions ensued.  Students submitted a motion for the School Meeting agenda, "No frogs, lizards or cats due to allergies."  The motion passed.  Progress had been made.

So what kind of animals might be feasible for the school?  The School Pet Committee had to schedule meetings to negotiate the next steps.  Gerbils were proposed but who knew about gerbils?  What kind of habitat do they need?  What kind of food?  What kind of bedding?  How much does it cost?  Can they be picked up?  How do you pick them up?  How do you build trust with animals so they are friendly?  One student had experience with gerbils as did one staff member.  They shared their experiences but had to negotiate with others to persuade them that gerbils would be a worthwhile pet.  And what about the parents that just see gerbils as rodents and don't want them in their home?  And what about the cats people have at home?  How can we ensure that the gerbils are safe from cats at home?

Older students on the School Pet Committee did research at home on the internet about gerbil care, wrote it down and presented it to the other students.  Note here that active reading and writing happened for students, unprompted.  It was not an assignment.  It was not a suggestion.  Younger students who did not have the ability to read and write, looked at what the older students had written and picked out words they knew.  They also wanted to write words just like the older students.  All students progressed in reading and writing.

The School Pet Committee voted to buy two gerbils but they had to get the School Meeting to vote to approve the funds.  Students and staff consulted the budget... about two-hundred dollars for that month.  What would the gerbils need?  How much would it cost?  What would be the ongoing costs?  Multiply everything by two for two gerbils.  Or do we?  And how do you multiply?  What non-gerbil-related items would the school want to purchase with that two-hundred dollars?  How do we prioritize?  What is a priority?  How do we persuade others that buying gerbils is worth it?  Math ensued to see what it might all cost.  Reading ensued to figure out what equipment was needed for gerbils.  Writing ensued to remember the results of the research.  Again, older students showed younger students the results bringing them along on the reading, writing and arithmetic bandwagon.

The School Meeting approved up to $100 for initial supplies and $40 for each month after.  Any funds not spent would revert back to the general School Meeting fund.  Students then spent the better part of a week negotiating with other students, parents and staff about when and where the gerbils would be purchased.

At the pet store, students had not anticipated a choice of habitat colors and different food choices.  Do we have enough people for a vote to count?  Motions were presented and votes were taken smack in the middle of the gerbil supply aisle.  Students furiously read labels, added figures so as not to exceed the budget and wrote down notes so as not to forget what information they had gathered.

Students eventually walked out of the store with two gerbils and all the needed equipment, all within budget.  Then the ongoing care negotiations began.  Who can hold the gerbils and for how long?  How should they be held and who should be the ones to hold them?  Who will clean the habitat, refill food and water?  How much food and water?  Who will care for them on weekends?

More reading.  More writing.  More math.  More negotiating.  More questions.  More motions.  More votes.  More decisions.  More progress leading to more questions, more reading, more writing and more math.

In a supportive immersion environment where students are given great freedom and great responsibility, "the basics" come naturally in much the same way that Spanish comes naturally to students living in Spain yet never taking a Spanish class.

The question is, which form of learning math is going to be more exciting, useful and memorable for students?  Worksheets with math drills?  Or collectively working toward a common goal and applying math principles to real-life situations?

Perhaps we should ask the two gerbils who live at the Sudbury School of Atlanta.     

      

      
 

     

Sudbury Assignment: Negotiate, Mediate, Communicate

Many parents want to know what their child is learning at the Sudbury School of Atlanta.  "Sudbury Assignment:" is a series of articles that help parents recognize what sorts of things their children are learning and the depth of experience their child gets at our Sudbury school. 

Sudbury Assignment #3: Negotiate, Mediate, Communicate

A 2012 study of 225 U.S. companies showed that 98% of employers say that communication skills are important or very important skills they consider when hiring.  A 2010 study on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) found that 89% of companies feel that colleges and universities should place greater emphasis on "the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing."   A 2011 study on behalf of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) found that the top three skills desired by employers are:

1. Interpersonal skills
2. Teamwork
3. Problem solving

These skills are placed even above "job-specific knowledge!"

 If communication skills are seen as critical for nearly all companies in hiring, why is the predominant message of traditional K-12 education, "Don't talk."

Shhhhh.  Don't talk in class.  Don't talk at lunch.  Don't talk in the halls.  Don't talk when going to the bathroom.  Hold your finger over your mouth to remember.  If you talk, you might not get a candy reward or you might get a demerit or even detention.  If you continue to talk in class, you might even get sent to the principal's office to talk about your talking problem.

Does spending 13 years in a system that punishes communication develop strong communication skills in students?  No.  It simply does not.

Previously, I was the Associate Director of the Center for Global Leadership and Team Development at the business school at the University of California, Irvine, a top 50 MBA program.  My job was to provide leadership skills trainings for MBA students and corporate clients.  What were our training priorities?

1.  Communication skills
2.  Teamwork
3.  Problem solving

Sound familiar?  There is no escaping that these skills are essential in the workplace and there is no escaping that the traditional K-12 system actively discourages the development of these skills.   I have also worked for twenty years organizing and facilitating leadership programs for high school students.  High school leadership programs are popular because they focus on these important skills that are discouraged in traditional K-12.

At the Sudbury School of Atlanta, student communication is a priority.  Part of the students' responsibilities at SSA are to build a democracy, create a fair and equitable judicial process and manage the affairs of the school.  How could they possibly take on such large responsibilities if they were not allowed to talk?  What other instances in life do people have to accomplish important tasks without communicating?  The scenario is absurd. 

Students practice negotiation, mediation and communication skills every day at Sudbury.  They learn to work together as they build their democracy.  The must think critically and creatively and communicate through every decision and every vote because they agree to live by what the group decides.   Early on at our school, students spent six weeks negotiating with each other the conditions, rules and expectations for getting two gerbils for the school.  They mediate conflicts with each other every day and if they are not successful, they mediate further as part of the judicial committee until a resolution is achieved.  And if their judicial system or democracy falls short of their needs, they communicate, mediate and negotiate further to create the necessary changes.      

And what about when students choose not to talk?  What should they be doing?  Listening.  At Sudbury, students listen to the perspective of others, discuss personal and community values and priorities and negotiate decisions accordingly.  Negotiation and mediation not only require communicating but also receiving communication, thoughtfully considering another person's ideas and responding appropriately.  Students practice these skills every day at SSA.

Bottom line: If communication skills are a number one priority for hiring employers, shouldn't they be a number one priority for schools?  At the Sudbury School of Atlanta, communication skills are a top priority which is why we build them into the structure of our school.

   

Sudbury Assignment: Prepare for College

Many parents want to know what their child is learning at the Sudbury School of Atlanta.  "Sudbury Assignment:" is a series of articles that help parents recognize what sorts of things their children are learning and the depth of experience their child gets at our Sudbury school. 

Sudbury Assignment #2: Prepare for College

How does the Sudbury School of Atlanta prepare students for college?  SSA immerses students in a college-like environment where personal responsibility and self-direction are of primary importance.

The University of Delaware's Office of Academic Enrichment actively tries to educate parents and students that the environment of college is very different from the traditional K-12 environment.  Their article "Not Grade 13... What's the Difference?" says "Many students begin their freshman year in college carrying with them old habits that may not be useful in this new environment.  If you don't recognize the differences, you may receive an unpleasant surprise when your first exams roll around."  U. Delaware is not the only one.  Other universities like Purdue, Boston College, Southern Methodist University and the University of California all have similar lists. 

The "old habits" are the expectations and structures of a traditional K-12 environment.  U. Delaware and others have identified a fundamental disconnect between traditional K-12 and college that leads to difficulty and potential failure of students in higher education.  Students coming from traditional educational systems are like fish out of water struggling to survive because the two environments are so different.  Let's look at key differences that U. Delware identifies along side the Sudbury model: 

In high school, your time is planned by others, your classes are planned by others and your priorities are set by parents and teachers.  In college and at Sudbury, you manage your own time, you choose your own course of study and you set your own priorities.

Which environment is going to prepare your child better for college?

The one like college or the one unlike college?

In high school, teachers lead you through the thinking process and make connections for you.  In college and Sudbury, you are expected to think for yourself and make connections on your own.

Which environment is going to prepare your child better for college?

The one like college or the one unlike college? 

In high school, if you need help, someone gives it to you, whether you want it or not.  In college and at Sudbury, you have to reach out for help and even if someone sees you need it, they respect your choice not to seek it.

Which environment is going to prepare your child better for college?

The one like college or the one unlike college? 

In addition to these key differences, in traditional K-12, most students do not have the freedom to choose the areas of study that interest them.  There are endless common subject matters that are majors in college and careers afterward that are never addressed in high school classes:

Business 

Engineering

Computer science

Journalism

Sociology

Psychology

Philosophy

Leadership

Architecture

Anthropology

At best, these areas are relegated to an after-school club.  In college and at Sudbury, students have the freedom to pursue any chosen area of interest.  

Which environment is going to prepare your child better for college?  

The one like college or the one unlike college?  

Students at SSA spend every day of their K-12 years in an environment much like college.  So, when students get to college, they are very comfortable and already successful living in an environment of personal responsibility and self-direction.  They also may have been studying subjects in their major for years prior because they had the freedom to pursue their interests, just like college.

At the Sudbury School of Atlanta, preparing for college is not something you do when you turn 17 or 18.  It is part of the structure of the school and students prepare for college every day starting at age 5. 

  

Sudbury Assignment: Build a Democracy

Many parents want to know what their child is learning at the Sudbury School of Atlanta.  This is the start of a series of articles called "Sudbury Assignment" that help parents recognize what sorts of things their children are learning and the depth of experience their child gets at our Sudbury school.  Imagine receiving this assignment when you were a student:

Sudbury Assignment #1: Build a Democracy... from scratch.

Then, live by it and refine it daily.  Run meetings by parliamentary procedure.  Negotiate with others on a code of conduct.  Create and maintain a fair judicial process.  Engage in due process and peer-evaluate rule infractions in an impartial manner.  Discuss freedom, equality, and fairness in every aspect of your democracy.  Appropriate the budget as necessary to maintain your democracy.  Evaluate the staff and whether they support you in your democracy.  Vote.  Research what you don't know how to do to keep your democracy thriving.  Create and empower committees to oversee special activities in your democracy.  Create quorum regulations and other processes and procedures to govern the decision making in your democracy.  Create partnerships with outside people and organizations to support your group in areas you might need.  Communicate and negotiate with every other student on each element of your democracy.

Remember, this is a team project.  There is no end date and you will not receive a grade.  There will be no  homework and no teacher to tell you what to do.  The only evaluation of your democracy is your team answering the question, "does our democracy work?"  If not, brainstorm how to refine your democracy and put your ideas into action.  You and your team are responsible for the success of your democracy. 

Key vocabulary: democracy, democratic, equality, fairness, respect, responsibility, rights, reasonable, motion, second, committee, rules, code of conduct, table a rule, lease, contract, accountability, appropriate, adjourn, freedom, consequence.  

Sounds like an innovative year-long curriculum for high school seniors.  Or maybe it is a masters thesis in college?  This is what Sudbury students do every single day starting at age 5 and students love it.

Can you imagine a more powerful experience for students to truly understand how a democracy works or what being a thoughtful, engaged citizen looks like? 

Or should we return to a person standing at the front of the room reviewing the timeline of American wars and politics?  

Your student is part of this empowering and creative "assignment" every day at the Sudbury School of Atlanta.  We look forward to sharing future "Sudbury Assignments" with you.  

Sudbury Parenting: Relationships

As parents, we all want to support our children and encourage them along their educational journey.  However, a Sudbury school is likely very different than anything your child has been to previously.

What can you expect to hear from your child at home?  How should you respond?  What should worry you?  What is normal? 

In a more traditional educational setting, students are not allowed to talk freely in school except at passing periods and break times.  Social interaction is shut down to what is minimally necessary to operate a traditional school.  At home, students may talk about homework, tests, classes, rules, grades and other topics.  When we remove these lightning rods from the educational environment, the student focus changes.

Self-Directed Learning is the Easy Part

Learning comes naturally for young people.  So, pursuing their own learning may not seem particularly notable for your child.  Trying to have a conversation about what they are learning can be similar to asking, "how is the air you are breathing?" or "how was your blinking today?"  "Fine" and "good" are common responses you will hear.  In reality, your child is engaged in non-stop creativity and social interaction.  They are soaking up information like a sponge even if they don't verbalize it.  Because this is a natural process, they likely won't talk about it much.      

Focus on Relationships  

What they will talk about quite regularly are the relationships at school.  Sometimes, it may be the only thing your child talks about.  They will talk about high points and low points.  You will hear about giggles, arguments and accomplishments.  You will hear about every push on the playground, every tear that was cried and every knee that was scraped.  Should you be alarmed as a parent?  No.

When you can't talk in a traditional school, there is little opportunity to develop interpersonal skills.  At Sudbury, students are constantly discussing, negotiating, mediating, role-playing, creating friendships, creating conflicts, resolving conflicts, testing boundaries and processing their experience.  They are vibrant social scientists conducting social experiments all day long in the laboratory of life.  What is notable for the students is that their experiments have emotional outcomes: happy, sad, angry, funny and indifferent.  Because of the emotional component, their conversations at home are going to focus far more on the relationships at school than on the non-emotional ant hill they watched, the book they read or the Lego ship they constructed.

Your child is on a steep social learning curve.  Remember, if you are coming from a traditional educational model, your child has had restrictions on their social interactions.  At Sudbury, their freedom to interact has been restored and they are wobbling through social situations much like learning to ride a bike.  

So, as a parent, know that you will hear a lot about relationships from your child and that is normal.  

What Do I Do as a Parent?

As parents, we spend many years kissing booboo's and "making everything better."  We cringe when our child skins their knee because we weren't there to catch them or hold the seat of their bicycle.  We want to fix things.  We want to make things better.  When your child says they were upset or hurt at school, you will have the incredible urge to call the school and try to fix things.  This too is natural. 

Pause and breathe.

What your child is telling you is likely a 30-second episode from a six hour day of exploration, play, creativity and involvement.  They are processing their experience.  They are talking through the data of the social experiment that didn't turn out the way they expected, good or bad.  Most of the time, the situation was resolved even though they don't mention it.  Most of the time, they just want someone to listen.

So listen.  Reflect back to them what you are hearing.  "It sounds like that was an (exciting, frustrating, confusing) time for you."  Ask how they might address the situation next time.  Then support them.  "I know you can figure it out."

And if they ask for your help?  Share your personal experience and how you deal with situations like that.  Invite your child to keep trying or talk to the staff at the school.  As staff, we talk with students regularly about the many tools they have to solve problems at school.  Empower your child to solve the problem on their own.  "I know you can figure it out."  That is the only way they will learn to navigate the social waters they are encountering.  

If you find that your child is complaining repeatedly about the same interpersonal issue for multiple weeks and things aren't changing, even with your child talking to the staff regularly, feel free to contact us.  We are happy to sit down with you and your child to talk about the experience and new ideas and solutions.  

-Dave Soleil