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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