Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Penguin Books
Description
Originally published in 1960,Summerhillbecame an instant bestseller and a classic volume of education for an entire generation. Now, this thoroughly expanded and revised version of the originalSummerhillreinstates the revolutionary "free school" traditions begun by Summerhill's founder A.S. Neill. As American education lags behind the rest of the world, this new edition is more timely than ever. The children of today face struggles far greater than any previous generation and we, as parents and teachers, must teach them now to make choices for themselves and to learn from the outcome of their decisions. This classic work yet again invites a new view of childhood and presents an essential treatise that challenges us to rethink our approach to education.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member carterchristian1
I purchased this book as a textbook for Dr. Thompson's philosophy of education class summer 1973 at Georgia State Universitiy. After Plato's Republic, the Rousseau and Dewey he finished with Neill. The basic idea of the school was that children would learn when they were ready and would plan what
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they wanted to learn. Of course this is yet another experiment with a very few students, not a large public high school. Show Less
LibraryThing member Thomas_Burwell
Public education cannot hope to replicate Summerhill's system of allowing children to go to class only when they want to. However, the message that could be applied to public education is that children do not need to be pressured into learning. Summerhill shows that, if you show children caring
My vision of public education is one that does not use grades, evaluations and rewards to pressure students into learning. Education should not just be about preparing children to plug the open jobs in the economy; it should enable students to excel in all aspects of life within society: how to stay healthy, how to be a caring person, etc. These issues arise naturally out of studying subjects like biology and literature, but only if the emphasis is taken away from grading and rewards, which often overshadow the true benefits that education has to offer.
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support, they will eventually come around and listen to your advice and respect the caring expectations (as opposed to demanding expectations) you have for their lives. My vision of public education is one that does not use grades, evaluations and rewards to pressure students into learning. Education should not just be about preparing children to plug the open jobs in the economy; it should enable students to excel in all aspects of life within society: how to stay healthy, how to be a caring person, etc. These issues arise naturally out of studying subjects like biology and literature, but only if the emphasis is taken away from grading and rewards, which often overshadow the true benefits that education has to offer.
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LibraryThing member shikari
Neill's idealistic views of education took their toll on the generations of victims who attended - and I believe still attend - his school, my mother and uncle among them. A book that has had a toxic effect on education far outside the confines of his school. Evidence that complete failure of an
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educational technique is no barrier to it becoming paradigmatic. Show Less
LibraryThing member jon1lambert
This was all the rage when it came out - an alternative, liberated form of education. Looking back I have no idea what impact it really had. I certainly found it thought-provoking in the early 1970s.
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Summerhill is not only the story of the school, Summerhill, but also a book of psychology, sociology and biology (human). The author is the manager of Summerhill and describes it and its inhabitants in great detail. However, he seems to have an abnormal preoccupation with masturbation and uses
Summerhill is in Leiston, Suffolk, England. Everybody is awake at eight and lessons begin at 9:30 and go on until one. No-one is forced to attend classes. Afternoon is free for any activities the children desire. Monday and Thursday nights the children attend movies in the nearby town; Tuesday nights Neill gives a talk on psychology; Wednesday night dances are held; Friday night is for rehearsing plays; and Saturday is the night of the General School Meeting. Most of the children are between the ages of four and sixteen.
This book interested me very much because I had been hearing about free schools a great deal and previous to reading this book I had only read a few articles about Everdale. The concept is fascinating and Neill's methods of bringing up children are very interesting. If I ever have children I would want them raised with no inhibitions the Neillian way. This book should be standard highschool reading instead of university. What better time to read abook about proper attitudes towards sex and self-discipline than when students whole lives are governed by wrong sexual attitudes and adult discipline?
I wrote this review when I was in high school (if you didn't guess). I believe my sister had taken the book in university and brought it home. I was always keen to read anything I found in our house and my parents never tried to restrict my reading. So I read a wide variety of literature and non-fiction. Although I probably don't remember most of the books I read back then this book did make an impression on me. I never did have children so I never got to try out the Neillian approach to child-rearing. Probably just as well.!
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every opportunity to mention it. He devotes one whole chapter to it and implies that the reason people stammer is because the have a guilt complex about masturbating.Summerhill is in Leiston, Suffolk, England. Everybody is awake at eight and lessons begin at 9:30 and go on until one. No-one is forced to attend classes. Afternoon is free for any activities the children desire. Monday and Thursday nights the children attend movies in the nearby town; Tuesday nights Neill gives a talk on psychology; Wednesday night dances are held; Friday night is for rehearsing plays; and Saturday is the night of the General School Meeting. Most of the children are between the ages of four and sixteen.
This book interested me very much because I had been hearing about free schools a great deal and previous to reading this book I had only read a few articles about Everdale. The concept is fascinating and Neill's methods of bringing up children are very interesting. If I ever have children I would want them raised with no inhibitions the Neillian way. This book should be standard highschool reading instead of university. What better time to read abook about proper attitudes towards sex and self-discipline than when students whole lives are governed by wrong sexual attitudes and adult discipline?
I wrote this review when I was in high school (if you didn't guess). I believe my sister had taken the book in university and brought it home. I was always keen to read anything I found in our house and my parents never tried to restrict my reading. So I read a wide variety of literature and non-fiction. Although I probably don't remember most of the books I read back then this book did make an impression on me. I never did have children so I never got to try out the Neillian approach to child-rearing. Probably just as well.!
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Buxtehuder Bulle (1971)
Original publication date
1960
ISBN
0312141378 / 9780312141370