Books on Sale

The following books are published by the Sudbury Valley Press and are very informative and useful in describing the Sudbury Model. The links will take you to the Amazon.com web site where each book is described and reviewed.

Free at Last: The Sudbury Valley School by Daniel Greenberg. Photographs by Carol Palmer, Michael Greenburg, and Andrew Brilliant. This book gives a flavor of what a Sudbury school is like through anecdotal stories. The stories include: "Fishing"; "Persistence"; "Age Mixing"; "Play"; "The Sporting Scene"; "The School Meeting"; and "The Miracle Budget". This is the book most often recommended to parents who want to know more about the school.

Starting a Sudbury School: A Summary of the Experiences of Fifteen Start-up Groups by Daniel Greenberg and Mimsy Sadofsky. A simple guide summarizing the various steps that have to be taken in order to found a Sudbury school and to enable it to thrive in the early years. Includes dozens of quotes describing the triumphs and pitfalls encountered along the way. An essential introduction to a complex process. This book is not available from Amazon, but is available from Sudbury Valley Press.

Here are some other interesting books on Education:

Learning All the Time by John Holt. John Holt, in this his last book, clearly demonstrates how children begin to read, write, count, and investigate the world without being taught. Learning cannot be coerced, he maintains; indeed, it is "as natural as breathing."

How Children Fail by John Holt. Since its first publication in 1964, this book has helped two generations of parents and teachers understand what actually happens in the classroom. Holt's astute observation of children, his clear simple style, and his lifelong conviction that we can do better by our children make How Children Fail an enduring classic.

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto.Gatto reveals the deadening heart of compulsory state schooling: assumptions and structures that stamp out the self-knowledge, curiosity, concentration, and solitude essential to learning.

A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling by John Taylor Gatto. John Taylor Gatto analyzes the roots of the modern American education system, detailing how it was designed to foster economic interests and facilitate management of the labor force. He then outlines ways to revitalize the system, advocating greater emphasis on critical analysis, creativity, practicality, and real-world exposure in the curriculum. He also calls on educators and administrators to acknowledge young people's need for a spiritual and ethical framework upon which to build a good life.

Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools by Jonathon Kozol. In 1988, Kozol visited schools in over 30 neighborhoods, including East St. Louis, Harlem, the Bronx, Chicago, Jersey City, and San Antonio. In this account, he concludes that real integration has seriously declined and education for minorities and the poor has moved backwards by at least several decades.

Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood by A. S. Neill. Originally published in 1960, Summerhill became an instant bestseller and a classic volume of education for an entire generation. This thoroughly expanded and revised version of the original Summerhill reinstates the revolutionary Free school traditions begun by Summerhill's founder A.S. Neill.

Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce. Right from the instant of birth, says Joseph Pearce, the human child has only one concern--to learn all that there is to learn about the world. But in the West we tend to thwart this concern from the very start. Magical Child shows how to restore this amazing capacity for creative intelligence that is innate in every human.

Making It Up As We Go Along: The Story of the (Albany) Free School by Chris Mercogliano. Making It Up as We Go Along is the story of the Albany Free School, a school based on real freedom, real community, real democratic principles, and real affection between teachers and students.

Deschooling Our Lives: Education that Matters by Matt Hern (editor). A provocative, practical response to the crisis in our schools, this book argues boldly for replacing compulsory schooling with a wide variety of home, neighborhood, and community based educational efforts. Hern exams how the day to day experience of school teaches subservience, deadens childrens natural love of learning, undercuts their self-esteem, and limits independent thought.

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	Learning All the Time by John Holt. John Holt, in this his last book, clearly demonstrates how children begin to read, write, count, and investigate the world without being taught. Learning cannot be coerced, he maintains; indeed, it is "as natural as breathing."
	How Children Fail by John Holt. Since its first publication in 1964, this book has helped two generations of parents and teachers understand what actually happens in the classroom. Holt's astute observation of children, his clear simple style, and his lifelong conviction that we can do better by our children make How Children Fail an enduring classic.
	Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto.Gatto reveals the deadening heart of compulsory state schooling: assumptions and structures that stamp out the self-knowledge, curiosity, concentration, and solitude essential to learning.
	A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling by John Taylor Gatto. John Taylor Gatto analyzes the roots of the modern American education system, detailing how it was designed to foster economic interests and facilitate management of the labor force. He then outlines ways to revitalize the system, advocating greater emphasis on critical analysis, creativity, practicality, and real-world exposure in the curriculum. He also calls on educators and administrators to acknowledge young people's need for a spiritual and ethical framework upon which to build a good life.
	Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools by Jonathon Kozol. In 1988, Kozol visited schools in over 30 neighborhoods, including East St. Louis, Harlem, the Bronx, Chicago, Jersey City, and San Antonio. In this account, he concludes that real integration has seriously declined and education for minorities and the poor has moved backwards by at least several decades.
	Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood by A. S. Neill. Originally published in 1960, Summerhill became an instant bestseller and a classic volume of education for an entire generation. This thoroughly expanded and revised version of the original Summerhill reinstates the revolutionary Free school traditions begun by Summerhill's founder A.S. Neill.
	Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce. Right from the instant of birth, says Joseph Pearce, the human child has only one concern--to learn all that there is to learn about the world. But in the West we tend to thwart this concern from the very start. Magical Child shows how to restore this amazing capacity for creative intelligence that is innate in every human.
	Making It Up As We Go Along: The Story of the (Albany) Free School by Chris Mercogliano. Making It Up as We Go Along is the story of the Albany Free School, a school based on real freedom, real community, real democratic principles, and real affection between teachers and students.
	Deschooling Our Lives: Education that Matters by Matt Hern (editor). A provocative, practical response to the crisis in our schools, this book argues boldly for replacing compulsory schooling with a wide variety of home, neighborhood, and community based educational efforts. Hern exams how the day to day experience of school teaches subservience, deadens childrens natural love of learning, undercuts their self-esteem, and limits independent thought.

The Hudson Valley Sudbury School

Books on Sale