My Sudbury Library
updated October 1, 2022

My oldest daughter attended the Fairhaven School, one of the few Sudbury schools in the United States, for her first year of middle school. Unfortunately, we moved out of Maryland and she was unable to continue. I absolutely loved the model, however... particularly for the adolescent years.


Like Water:
The Extraordinary Approach to Education at Fairhaven School

by Mark McCaig
2008


Free to Learn:
Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life

by Peter Gray
2015


Raising Free People:
Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work

by Akilah Richards
2020

What Is Unschooling? blog post

Fare of the Free Child podcast


The American Journal of Play, a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary publication of The Strong, occasionally carries articles about the Sudbury / democratic school model. Peter Gray (Boston College) and Jay Feldman (Center for the Study of Culture and Education) wrote my favorite:

You may also like these articles:



How to Grow a School:
Starting and Sustaining Schools that Work

by Chris Mercogliano
2006


More information on democratic schools available online:


Movie & Documentary Film list from the European Democratic Education Community (EUDEC):


Interesting Self-Directed Initiatives: Flying Squads & Junk Playgrounds


More links:


Something Else to Think About, Part I & Part II

    Part I

    The Paradox of Choice TED talk by Barry Schwartz
    TEDGlobal 2005

    My first thought upon watching Schwartz's talk was that unschooling is perhaps the worst thing we can do to a child.


    Part II

    On the other hand, it struck me recently that three of the key people who saved the lives of the Thai Soccer Team were self-taught. Thanet Natisri is a self-taught groundwater expert. Rick Stanton and John Volanthen do cave diving as a hobby yet are widely considered some of the best in the world. Being able to have the time to go deeply into what you're interested in, instead of marching to the unaltering beat of a prescribed curriculum, is a precious gift.


    All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team

    by Christina Soontornvat



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