Joe Jackson (shoeless@jazztbone.com)
Mon, 12 Mar 2001 16:05:17 -0500
> It may be that the SV model also is not a democracy, I do not
> know as I have
> never read any of the charters such schools have.
The Sudbury Model school is a democratic school.
> It may be some variant off of a democracy with a constitution, bylaws, or
> something that limits the power of the people to change the
> governing process
The bylaws can be changed through the democratic process within the school.
> or it may simply be a model that attracts individuals who are not
> tolerant of
> others who do not share their views, as some web pages of "SV
> model" schools
> clearly state.
I have no idea what that means. Perhaps if you post some links I can get a
clue.
> It may also be that the real SV model has little to do with
> democracy and that
> individual freedom does not really exist
This is not the case, the model begins with individual freedom.
> as one post recently stated some
> students did not want to share their feelings/opinions, (Which is
> the freedom
> not to share based on fear of sharing
That someone's decision not to participate in a conversation based on fear
is your assumption and not the fact of the matter, correct?
> - so I am not sure there is
> really much
> "freedom" in that kind of environment as much as non adult coerced peer
> pressure.)
Once again, I have no idea what that means.
> It may be that the most confusing point of the discussion of the
> SV model is
> the use of the word "democratic" or "democracy". As Bruce said it
> is not so
> much the process as the content of a proposal that would change the school
> from a SV model to a non SV model thus "democracy" may have
> little to do with
> the SV model except for describing the process that is used to
> reach decisions
> within the SV model.
Is there something called "democracy" that is something other than a
process?
> Now we may be moving forward on understanding what the model is,
> or at least
> is not - an implementation of the "democratic" concept.
Not to make light, but every statement I hear from you is moving me away
from understanding what you are talking about, John. How is the Sudbury
*not* an implementation of democracy? And if it is not an implementation of
democracy, what form of governance best describes what is taking place in
the schools?
Help!
-Joe Jackson
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