Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood

I was not expecting this. My children are 6 years old, I have been reading parenting books since before I was pregnant. This is the greatest parenting book I have ever read. I’m an unschooling parent so many of my practices are already in alignment with his teachings but I feel less crazy now given the fact that this book was written before my mother was born!

I read the original "Summerhill" in 1980 when I was in high school. I was completely blown away by the concepts, despite the fact that I grew up in Sudbury, MA, where there was a similar school. I was lucky enough to be exposed to this environment of freedom and flourished in it. I would not have traded it for anything.But I must disagree with the characterization of A.S. Neill as a socialist. He may have had socialist tendencies, but he was more a Paul Goodman-style anarchist. Socialism is the regulation and limiting of actions by certain parties; anarchism is the opposite -- the deregulation of everything. And this is the environment that A.S. Neill fostered at Summerhill, to his credit.It's really sad that the trend in the United States is towards the very opposite: the complete regulation of children's lives, scheduled down to the minute with safety the being the top priority. This tendency is creating a generation of children who lack spontaneity and creativity.We need more free schools like Summerhill.

A friend of mine gave me this book, and, after reading it, I remarked to him that, if it weren't against Neill's "principles of freedom," Summerhill should be mandatory reading for everyone who wants to become a parent, before they can have children! This was one of the best books I've ever read. I instantly recognized many elements in Neill's teachings, and realized my parents had used some of them in my upbringing. I have bought this book for all of my friends who have or plan to have children, and I plan to read my own copy over and over, as I raise my own. If more people knew about and studied Neill's teachings, the recent violence in schools would not exist, and our current society would be a much healthier and happier place.

This book was given to me by a well meaning friend, who brought up her kids this way. I loved it and think that the titel should be revised "a sensible approach to child rearing". The book might be a little old but has not lost any of its appeal today. It is a valid, reassuring and very helpful guide to viewing child rearing from a new perspective for many - even today. It took me a while to track down some more copies of this book, but the chase was well worth it. I think I will keep this book for another 20 years and will return to it many times over, whilst raising my daughter...

This and the excellent Sudbury School book are a MUST read for any parent who sees their child as an individual who was born with a natural curiosity which in itself amongst equals who come from similar homes and lifestyles will cause the child to want to learn new things, and certain things more than others.The naysayers are those who see kids as cookie cutters. Sudbury and Summerhill see children as one of a kind cookies. Stop and think about it... where else in society do we put one group based on age i.e. 7 year olds in a single group? To date I have found that only newborns are the ones who are separated and none others. Ever see all 70 year olds singled out and separated from the younger or older humans? Sadly most American parents are either to lazy or have been brainwashed by those taking their tax dollars for the white elephant public schools to believe that there is only ONE right way. Personally I believe only the best and brightest will get the message of this book. But then I am reminded that we do have more followers than we do leaders.

I am in college and in the process of reading this book for a book review for my parenting class. My mother recommended it to me because it was the book that she based her methods of child rearing after. I am 20 years old and number 7 out of the 8 children in my family. None of us are psychopaths, all of us are quite happy. My parents did give us a lot of freedom when we were being raised and am grateful to them for it. I love life and I love my family dearly. As I prepare for marraige and raising children, I am sure I will look to this book frequently for inspiration.