SUMMERHILL SCHOOL

Summerhill is one of the most amazing schools in the world. It was founded by a great philosopher, A. S. Neill. I think it must be a model school for most of the schools today and everyone should read Neill’s works in order to understand him. He knows how to deal with children because he knows children’s nature and interests. For this reason, anyone who wants to be an effective and successful teacher or a self-dependent student should start thinking about education after meeting with Neill’s ideas. Summerhill School is the living proof of possibility that the opinions such as Neill’s can bring success and happiness.

There are classes for the age groups from 5 to 15 in Summerhill. However, there is no obligation to attend these classes. In addition, there are no class examinations. If a student wants to play, he or she plays instead of going to classes. If he or she wants to see what is going on in the classes, he or she attends the class without wearing a school uniform. Everyone is totally free. Both teachers and students have equal rights. No one can interfere with the others’ free zones. If you are a student of Summerhill, you are responsible for yourself because you take the responsibility of your choices. If you do not attend the classes, it is your decision. On the other hand, it is a truth that the child will eventually feel bored of playing games and be curious about the classes. This is the policy of Summerhill. They let children be children when they are children. They make the school fit the child. Hence, children have a much more healthy process of growing and learning. They learn what the freedom means, what the democracy is and how to be themselves.

Teachers in Summerhill do not steal the joy of life, discovery and dealing with problems from children. They do not help them all the time. Instead, they expect children to find solutions on their own. They create a kingdom of children. Nothing is more important than them. They respect children’s individuality and personality. They believe in children and are always on their sides.

After all these, it is not hard to guess that Summerhill School is the happiest school in the world. I hope it will be there for a long time to make more children happy and free. You can watch the short documentary of Summerhill above and see happy faces. I really like this video because it shows me my dreamland. All in all, Summerhill School and A. S. Neill still affect education and educational theories.