We learned last Monday about the tragic accidental death of David Hepner, one of our 2009 graduates. He was riding in a truck with two other graduates, passing the home of yet another graduate. The news and suddenness has shocked and rocked our community, but the unique fabric of a Sudbury school has already begun…
From the top of the outdoor steps, behind the swing set, you can look down into the forest and see Mt. Nebo Creek passing through the school’s property on its way to the Patuxent River, the Chesapeake Bay, and, ultimately, the Atlantic Ocean. Housing its fossils, naming our first book, the stream (as we call…
Whereas traditional school environments rely on stability, predictability and routine, a Sudbury school environment like Fairhaven is characterized by change and variability. To be sure, we do have our routines and structures here: just today we convened our first School Meeting of the year, where we elected students to run the meeting and record the…
There’s a buzz on the internet this summer about New York high school valedictorian Erica Goldson’s thoughtful speech criticizing the educational system she’s just completed. One highlight: School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon…
(Fairhaven School has just graduated five students. As a way to celebrate the class of 2010, over the next month, we will be posting the theses that they successfully defended. In italics below is a brief description outlining how somebody earns a Fairhaven diploma, followed by the seventh and final thesis. Enjoy! Students who have…
(Fairhaven School has just graduated five students. As a way to celebrate the class of 2010, over the next month, we will be posting the theses that they successfully defended. In italics below is a brief description outlining how somebody earns a Fairhaven diploma, followed by the seventh and final thesis. Enjoy! Students who have…
(Fairhaven School has just graduated five students. As a way to celebrate the class of 2010, over the next month, we will be posting the theses that they successfully defended. In italics below is a brief description outlining how somebody earns a Fairhaven diploma, followed by the seventh and final thesis. Enjoy! Students who have…
(Fairhaven School has just graduated five students. As a way to celebrate the class of 2010, over the next month, we will be posting the theses that they successfully defended. In italics below is a brief description outlining how somebody earns a Fairhaven diploma, followed by the seventh and final thesis. Enjoy! Students who have…
For fifteen years , we at Fairhaven School have relied on the voluminous writings and videos from the Sudbury Press. For forty-two years, students at Sudbury Valley School (SVS) have been free to spend their time as they choose, and have had to take responsibility for their choices and lives. Just like at Fairhaven, the…
Recently the idea of “Unschooling” has come up in the news, raising suspicions of the education those who are “unschooled” receive. There was an article in the news with George Stephanopolous about this idea of non-traditional schooling. (http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-15749655/parents-defend-unschooling-19235564) People have been confusing this concept with Fairhaven’s model of schooling, so I’m here to explain the…
Down the hall, young students are playing in the Kid Nook like they have been for weeks, animating piles of dolls big and small for hours . In the old building, teens are continuing their latest Dungeons and Dragons campaign. People are swinging on the playground; computer gamers are playing League of Legends. Packs of…
We often think in terms of “growing up at Fairhaven.” This month we’ve hosted and enrolled a number of younger students, and each one reminds me of what the arc of a Fairhaven career might feel like. To our youngest students, the school must seem big in every way. We have twelve acres, with a…
