Hi Linda,
I just returned from Germany, where in addition to visiting Sudbury
model schools in Netherlands and Denmark, I met with some folks in
Berlin who are planning a Sudbury model school.
You might want to contact them directly and discuss your offer.
You can find them at:
http://www.demokratische-schule.de
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sudbury_Germany/
Mike Sadofsky
Sudbury Valley School
On Thu, 21 Nov 2002 09:05:49 +0000, "Linda Siska" <siskal_at_hotmail.com>
wrote:
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><P>When I was in high school, back in the sixties, I was one of the shy, quiet types who sat in the back of the class and was rarely noticed -- not by teachers, and not by my peers. I studied hard and did extremely well; my grades were my self-esteem. But I was enough of a rebel to resent a system which gave me so few choices. My time, my life, were not my own and I hated it.</P></DIV>
><P>I knew there had to be a better way. I resolved to someday open a school of my own -- a school where children would want to be -- a school that empowered instead of imprisoned. I went off to college and majored in education, reading _Summerhill_ and John Holt on the side. The plan was to teach a few years in public school -- just to gain experience -- and then strike out on my own.</P></DIV>
><P>Life has a way of altering our plans. I married young, had children, and moved to Germany with my husband. Through all of the changes, my desire for a 'someday school' never abated. I studied Montessori, Waldorf and alternative schools looking for the right model. When I answered an ad in _New Age Magazine_ for a school called Sudbury Valley, I knew I had found what I'd been looking for. The problem was, I was still in Germany, living in a military community and never knowing from one year to the next if we would stay or 'go home.'</P>
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><P>Eventually, I took my teenage son, a high-school drop-out, and moved temporarily to Framingham. Sean was still a minor, so I lived with him for the first of his two years at SVS before returning to my life in Germany. </P>
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><P>I am now 53 years old. My husband will be retiring in another year, and we will at last be returning to the states. For my dream of a school, it is too late. I no longer have the energy or determination it takes to get a Sudbury model school up and running, nor do I have the desire it takes to keep one going.</P>
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><P>Surprisingly, I have no regrets. Looking back on my life, I believe my dream was not really about founding a school but about finding SVS. It was at SVS that my son regained a sense of dignity and self-worth, and it was there that he met the beautiful young woman whom he will marry this coming June. And it was in Framingham that I met some of the most incredible women it has ever been my privilege to know. Life is good, and I am blessed!</P>
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><P>What I do have is a full set of 'start your own school' materials from SVS. If there is someone out there who could use the books, tapes and videos, please let me know. I will gladly donate them to your cause and know that my goal is being fulfilled, though not by myself.</P>
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><P>Yours in common spirit -- Linda<BR><BR></P>
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><DIV></DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.</html>
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Received on Thu Nov 21 2002 - 08:58:22 EST
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