Summerhill Revisited
A Summerhill – a large Victorian mansion stands as an unlikely
monument to a revolutionary idea in education in eastern England. It was founded by A. S.
Neill in the 1920’s as the first modern “free school,” where classes were
not compulsory and key decisions were made by an assembly of pupils and teachers. The objective was even more
unorthodox: children should be happy at school. In the 1960’s, Summerhill
became a role model for alternative education in the United States.
B Yet, 26 years after Neill’s death, the school is largely forgotten
in Britain.
Or it was until when the British government threatened to close it after
inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education concluded that “Summerhill
is not providing an adequate education for its pupils.” The school has
drifted into confusing educational freedom with the negative right not to be
taught,” the report said. Ofsted inspectors have been dissatisfied since at
least 1990. A
spokeswoman for Britain’s
Department for Education and Employment said that the Secretary of State, David
Blunkett, had a duty to ensure that children were safe and being educated. She
added: “He has said that he cannot allow what is happening at Summerhill to
continue.”
C Ms. Zoe Readhead, Neill’s daughter, as the proprietor warned that
Summerhill might be struck off the
official register if her appeal is rejected and she fails to carry out the “remedies” – improved accommodation and “efficient
and suitable instruction” – that have been demanded by the government.
D Luckily today daily school life flows peacefully again. The
pupils, in their baggy jeans and loose sweaters, are doing what they normally do:
hammering in the woodworking room, playing with computers, even going to
class. Set in four acres of woodland a few miles from the North
Sea, the school has a main building surrounded by cabins and one
mobile home, which are used as classrooms and sleeping quarters, and
which the inspectors complained were “very basic.”
E Despite the somewhat crude
conditions, the children seemed cheerful enough. “I hated state school,” said
Alexander Coad, a 14-year-old whose home is in Ipswich
nearby. “At first, I was really scared here. But once you get settled, it’s
very friendly. ”His sentiment was echoed by John Benneworth, 11, who came here
last year after he received a diagnosis of dyslexia. “In primary school, they
did things I didn’t want to do, like tests,” he said softly. “Here they don’t
make you do things. I like that.”
Adjusted to
(1)
assembly – shromáždění
strike off – odebrat licenci, vyškrtnout
remedy – náprava, řešení
crude – hrubý, drsný
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to
a paragraph.
1 The school was threatened to be closed
2 Summerhill might be excluded from the register
3 Children’s reactions
4 Summerhill – free school
5 Description of the school today
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What is Summerhill?
2 What problems did it have? Why?
3 Who is Zoe
Readhead? Why was she
frightened?
4 What does the school look like today?
5 What do the students say?
3) Explain the following words and phrases.
1 classes were not compulsory
2 adequate education
3 hammering in the
woodworking room
4 sleeping quarters
5 child cannot meet the required criteria naturally
4) Answer the following questions.
What is democratic school? What are other types of
alternative education? What is their program like? What are their positives and
negatives? Would you like to work in an alternative kindergarten? Why?
Video:
Tips, sources of information:
Source:
(1)
RIDING,
Alan. Summerhill Revisited. The New
York Times [online]. 1999 [cit. 2015-09-21]. Available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/07/education/summerhill-revisited.html
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