Alan Klein (Alan@klein.net)
Fri, 23 Mar 2001 07:31:05 -0500
Marko,
I congratulate you for sticking with us and continuing to put forth and
clarify your views, even in the face of suggestions that you either don't
understand democratic schooling and/or that your ideas don't belong on this
list.
My comments on the two paragraphs of yours that I quote below:
1. I do believe that democracy is a vital element of democratic schooling.
That said, the SM can (and do) certainly decide to handle various matters in
particular ways, whether that be consensus, delegation to a committee, etc.
I believe, however, that the final power must be held in the hands of
EVERYONE (i.e., the SM).
The JC happens to be the particular procedure which SVS has come up with to
handle enforcement of the SM's decisions. I am sure that there are many
others which any particular SM could devise to handle this enforcement, but
that would look very different from the JC.
2. The only problem I have with your second paragraph is that you single out
the staff, as versus placing the onus on ALL members of the community. Do
you believe that rules should be passed which require staff members (but not
students) to ""fight the norms they find irrational"? Do you believe that
rules should be passed that requires EVERYONE to ""fight the norms they find
irrational"? Or are you simply suggesting that fighting norms which one
finds irrational is one criteria you would use (and maybe encourage others
to use) in your private evaluation of others' behaviors?
Please keep with us and keep posting,
~Alan Klein
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marko Koskinen" <marko@vapaus.net>
>
> I'm not sure if I understand you right here. Are you saying that what
> I'm suggesting has nothing to do with Sudbury Model and thus shouldn't
> be discuessed here? If so, I'm very puzzled that what people here (IYO)
> _should_ be discussing... And I still argue that what I've proposed all
> can be implemented in a Sudbury Model School without braking the
> underlying philosophy, unless people see democratic decision making and
> the JC as essential parts of a Sudbury Model School. But in that case I
> really have to re-evaluate my thinking about Sudbury Model.
<snip>
> The phrases don't have anything to do with the Sudbury
> Model, but they have a lot to do with people working as staff members
> and with students there. Sudbury Model schools aren't isolated from the
> bigger society and the norms of the bigger society find their ways to
> the Sudbury Model schools. And if the staff doesn't "fight the norms they
> find irrational, then one aspect of freedom is missing (IMO). And with
> this I don't mean that the staff members of current Sudbury Model
> Schools don't fight the norms, of course they do, but I just want to
> emphasize this aspect because I think it needs to be emphasized.
>
> Marko
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