Hi Peter, I was unable to attend the May Zoom call after the reschedule so it would be great to receive the recording of that meeting. Thanks!
My preference for the topics listed here are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
On a related note - I have a mom friend who has set up impromptu unstructured free play hours at a local park once a week for two hours all summer. She basically just emailed all the parents she knows and said, come if you can! I'm happy to be a part of it and think it's just a great example of a parent putting some of your recommendations into action.
Cat, I'd love to hear more about what your friend is doing and how it is working out. Would you or she (or both) be willing to tell me more about how this is working out. I'm looking for examples to include in some of my writing, including a new book I'm working on.
Hi Dr. Gray, I would like to know more about how we encourage more play with teens and pree teens now even if they dont have the foundation of play in the early years.
I would also want to know more about self directed learning. Ive been advocating play for my children in the early years but now yhat my child is in school he is struggling to grasp on concepts such as reading or numeracy. I am at a crossroads wheather to help him myself learn to read and count or to let him be.
This may not necessarily be a topic per se but a question I have been pondering.
At Sudbury Valley School, I am told, kids are respected for their choices they make and their personhood. Kids are not to made to do things they don’t want to do and each and have a deep sense of self. This comes with its own responsibilities in the social group.
How does this jive with medical decision making. And capacity to make informed decisions for one’s own care.
Typically, parents take their kids to the doctor and the parent dictates what procedures will be done. Kids may cry and refuse but parents hold them down or bribe them.
Adults assume kids don’t have the capacity to understand what’s good for them and must be told what to do.
Then there is the controversy surrounding children’s capacity to know their gender and whether they should be taken seriously.
Is it that body autonomy only apply to walking around campus and using the toilet without needing to ask permission? Does it extend to refusing medical checkups? Can a child make decisions on altering their body?
Takako, this is a great question. There are certainly differences of opinions on such issues among people involved with Sudbury schooling and with Self-Directed Education more generally. This would be a great question to raise when we have an "Ask me anything about Self-Directed Education" meeting.
On a separate note, I have restructed my elementary/middle school group cello classes to be adult-absent classes. I go to my basement to teach my classes, and then ask them if they want me to lead the class the way I traditionally do, or if they want me to leave. They usually want half and half. When I leave, the only rule is that they should involve cello somehow. The vibe is so much calmer and they wander the room so freely that it's beautiful to see when I come down to tell them their time is over. When I have a concert during class time, they come to my house with my husband upstairs and just hang out freely with their cellos. The parents are all on board with this, which truly surprised me when I started all of this.
I am pretty sure it's the only regular hour they have every week when there aren't adults around a group of kids.
Peter, thank you for your research, writing, communication, education, patience, and willingness to interact with your readers. It's largely you that has inspired me to make these changes, and I'm so grateful. I'm now involving all of the ideas I've learned from you and other sources into my teacher training. It's changing the lives of many children, because there is a large group of private teachers who are interested in making changes to the way that things are done. As private teachers, we can do a great deal that classroom teachers can't.
In terms of interest as an organization (South Shore Digital Wellness) and what we are getting for feedback from local families from kindergarten to high school: 2,5,4,1,3
In terms of parent experience: 1,2,4,3,5 (my kids are 1 and 4)
Excited to see what final discussion is! Looking forward to joining!
Hi Peter, I was unable to attend the May Zoom call after the reschedule so it would be great to receive the recording of that meeting. Thanks!
My preference for the topics listed here are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
On a related note - I have a mom friend who has set up impromptu unstructured free play hours at a local park once a week for two hours all summer. She basically just emailed all the parents she knows and said, come if you can! I'm happy to be a part of it and think it's just a great example of a parent putting some of your recommendations into action.
Cat, I'd love to hear more about what your friend is doing and how it is working out. Would you or she (or both) be willing to tell me more about how this is working out. I'm looking for examples to include in some of my writing, including a new book I'm working on.
Sure! I will talk to her about it tomorrow when I see her. Tomorrow is just the second week, but we'll see how it goes throughout the summer.
Hi Dr. Gray, I would like to know more about how we encourage more play with teens and pree teens now even if they dont have the foundation of play in the early years.
I would also want to know more about self directed learning. Ive been advocating play for my children in the early years but now yhat my child is in school he is struggling to grasp on concepts such as reading or numeracy. I am at a crossroads wheather to help him myself learn to read and count or to let him be.
Peter,
My order of preference for July 12.
4, 1, 5, 2, 3.
Looking forward to our meeting.
Linda Qbq Russell, 909-949-4930 Cell Pacific Time
This may not necessarily be a topic per se but a question I have been pondering.
At Sudbury Valley School, I am told, kids are respected for their choices they make and their personhood. Kids are not to made to do things they don’t want to do and each and have a deep sense of self. This comes with its own responsibilities in the social group.
How does this jive with medical decision making. And capacity to make informed decisions for one’s own care.
Typically, parents take their kids to the doctor and the parent dictates what procedures will be done. Kids may cry and refuse but parents hold them down or bribe them.
Adults assume kids don’t have the capacity to understand what’s good for them and must be told what to do.
Then there is the controversy surrounding children’s capacity to know their gender and whether they should be taken seriously.
Is it that body autonomy only apply to walking around campus and using the toilet without needing to ask permission? Does it extend to refusing medical checkups? Can a child make decisions on altering their body?
Takako, this is a great question. There are certainly differences of opinions on such issues among people involved with Sudbury schooling and with Self-Directed Education more generally. This would be a great question to raise when we have an "Ask me anything about Self-Directed Education" meeting.
Hello, my preferences are 5.4.3.1.2. Hope I will be present.
Petr
My preferences for the topics listed here are: 1,4,3,2
Thank you Peter. Just subscribed today.
I'm interested in 1 and 4. Also interested in recordings as I most likely wont be able to make the meetings live.
Hi Peter,
I would love to get recordings of previous meetings. Thank you so much for the option.
I'm looking forward to July 12. My topic preferences are:
5, 2, 1, 4, 3
On a separate note, I have restructed my elementary/middle school group cello classes to be adult-absent classes. I go to my basement to teach my classes, and then ask them if they want me to lead the class the way I traditionally do, or if they want me to leave. They usually want half and half. When I leave, the only rule is that they should involve cello somehow. The vibe is so much calmer and they wander the room so freely that it's beautiful to see when I come down to tell them their time is over. When I have a concert during class time, they come to my house with my husband upstairs and just hang out freely with their cellos. The parents are all on board with this, which truly surprised me when I started all of this.
I am pretty sure it's the only regular hour they have every week when there aren't adults around a group of kids.
Peter, thank you for your research, writing, communication, education, patience, and willingness to interact with your readers. It's largely you that has inspired me to make these changes, and I'm so grateful. I'm now involving all of the ideas I've learned from you and other sources into my teacher training. It's changing the lives of many children, because there is a large group of private teachers who are interested in making changes to the way that things are done. As private teachers, we can do a great deal that classroom teachers can't.
In terms of interest as an organization (South Shore Digital Wellness) and what we are getting for feedback from local families from kindergarten to high school: 2,5,4,1,3
In terms of parent experience: 1,2,4,3,5 (my kids are 1 and 4)
Excited to see what final discussion is! Looking forward to joining!
order preference: 3 4 1 2 5
I would interested in listening to all of the past meetings as I had technical issues for 2 of them - thank you!
Hi Peter,
My order is 1 2 5 3 4
Many thanks.
Hello Peter, here is my order of preference:
5, 4, 3, 1, 2
Thank you very much!
53412
Here is my ranking: 1,2,5,3,4
Looking forward to it!
2, 1, 5, 3, 4 Former public school teacher and longtime homeschooling parent here, very interested in conversations about school reform!
12453
Also interested in accessing previous meetings