A School With No Schedule

Newsletter #2 – A School With No Schedule

That headline isn’t fake. This school has no bells, no itinerary on the chalkboard, no Google Classroom, no buzzers, and no student has an individual schedule, because no student, teacher or volunteer has a schedule.

Students just show up and do whatever they please…all day long.

Sound crazy?  Sound like a joke?  Sound like a school where students play video games or basketball all day long?  That’s what it sounded like to me too.  Then I looked into it.  It’s called the Sudbury Valley School, and they have an amazingly successful track record.  Students not only do well in the classic school subjects – they do well on whatever Standardized exams they decide to take.

It sounded a little off even to someone like me at first.  Then I watched the welcome video, and I found out that when young people are left to their own devices, they take deep dives into things that interest them – and learn great things along the way.  One student played video games for AN ENTIRE YEAR.  That’s what he did for 9^thgrade. Then he got tired of that and learned how to play guitar.  Then he spent the third-year crafting essays about the things he’d learned speaking with the students and teachers in the common area.  Deciding, at year four, that music wasn’t going to be his career, he went into neuroscience because he was intensely curious about now music is perceived by the senses.  He then prepared for a successful entrance into a traditional college setting that would focus on science.   

Is that how things are at your high school?  It isn’t where I work. 

I recommend you watch the intro video.  I was skeptical as well, but I’ve found out that young people in the High School are capable and determined – when it matters.  Things that take EFFORT have VALUE to teenagers, as they do for everyone. I’ve been trying to get teenagers to unleash their potential for 25 years.  There are many ways to do that.  My online courses are only one way.  This unbelievable and contrarian place destroys the Acceptable Opinion ™ when it comes to school, education, and learning.

I have shown this place to students for over 10 years. Now it’s your turn to take a look…

Look at the homepage: https://sudburyvalley.org/

Here is their introductory video from their YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxPnvJE0V2E