大家久等了!我們把精彩的座談內容整理成文字,分篇陸續於每週五刊登。
六位與談人,每一位都有獨到的經歷與見解,是什麼帶領他們來到瑟谷?當他們選擇遠遠離開主流,站在教育光譜的極端上,瑟谷人又是如何看待這個世界?
系列文章連載從美國麻州瑟谷創辦人Mimsy Sadofsky開始,Mimsy在這次座談為我們示範了瑟谷人的仁慈親切,溫暖的話語讓我們如沐春風。年事已高的Mimsy說她在不久的將來要退休了,這次能邀到她與談實在很榮幸也很難得啊!
跟我們一起來重溫Mimsy的智慧話語吧
- - -
Mimsy Sadofsky (明西.薩朵夫斯基) Part 1
【自我介紹與辦學歷程】
我從1968年瑟谷學校開始之前就參與其中了。之所以會參加辦學團隊,是因為我當時很擔心上一年級的老大,他從出生起就是一個很有主見的人,我先生和我開始思考什麼樣的學校適合他。
當時有一大群人在想著更激進的事,由丹尼爾(Daniel Greenberg)與漢娜.格林伯格(Hanna Greenberg)領頭的一群人,包含家長、親友,以及聽說他們正在追求什麼的陌生人們——他們遍尋不著能夠滿足需求的學校:一個允許孩子做自己喜歡的事、不用被強迫上別人認為重要課程的地方。
到了某個程度他們開始找地點,花了超過一年的時間、錯過好幾個地方,最後決定買下現在這個位址。 有兩棟主建物,一間很大的老屋、一個漂亮的穀倉、池塘、田野、森林,以及高低起伏的地勢。
這棟建築物後來成為一間完美的學校,學生能夠自由選擇他們想跟誰在什麼地方。它擁有各種不同大小的空間,有適合藝術活動的房間、可以玩音樂的房間,也有可以進行稍微激烈體能活動的空間。我們非常幸運。
然而換個角度來說也許沒那麼幸運,我們位於波士頓的郊區,人口不十分密集,也沒有公共交通系統。如果位置靠近市中心的話,招生應該會快一些。
在創建瑟谷學校時,工作人員們超過十五年沒領薪水,收到的學費都投入經營學校了。職員們必須另外找支撐經濟的辦法,那是一群奉獻精神十足的人,他們為了成就此事毫不猶豫地改變生活方式。
有些瑟谷模式的學校座落於城市中,但大多數有方便使用的戶外空間,完全沒有戶外空間是相當困難的。我們的學生一直都覺得,這樣的校園是生命中非常特別的禮物。
我常說每個小孩在這裡無論如何都會學到兩件事:一件是道德準則,這是處於民主環境中的直接結果,所有的問題都透過司法系統與校務會議解決,大小事都倚賴投票。另一件是對戶外/大自然的愛。
(未完待續)
I am Mimsy, and I have been part of Sudbury Valley School since well before its opening in 1968. My association with the group starting the school began when I worried about my oldest child in first grade. He was a self-starter from the moment he was born. My husband and I started trying to figure out what kind of school would be good for him.
At the same time a larger group of people were thinking along even more radical lines. Led by Daniel and Hanna Greenberg, this group, composed of parents, acquaintances, and strangers who had heard about their quest, looked for a school everywhere and found none that satisfied their need to allow their children to grow up doing the activities that fascinated them and not being forced to do those lessons that others thought were important.
At some point they began to search for a location. The search took more than a year and there were locations that were almost purchased, but in the end the property that the school now occupies was bought. It has two main buildings, one very large old house, and a very beautiful barn; a pond, fields, woods and rolling land.
The building turns out to be a perfect place for a school that allows students to be wherever they want and with whomever they want. It has large rooms, small rooms, medium rooms, rooms where art activities have a good place, and rooms where music can go on, and rooms where physical activity can be a little boisterous. We are extremely lucky.
However, in another way, maybe we are not so lucky. We are in the suburbs of Boston, where the population is not very dense. There is no public transportation here, and a location more in the heart of the city might have made it easier to attract a bigger population faster.
As it was, and this is actually an important part of the founding story, there were no staff salaries for more than fifteen years. Any money that we collected for tuition went to running the school. Staff members had to have other means of support. It was a very dedicated group of people, and people who were not put off by changing their standard of living.
Some Sudbury schools are located in cities, but most have outdoor spaces that can be used easily. It is extremely difficult for a Sudbury school not to have any outdoor spaces at all. Our students have always felt that the campus is an extraordinary gift for their lives.
I sometimes say that there are two things that each child learns here no matter what: one is ethics, which is a direct result of being in a democratic environment, where all problem solving is through a justice system and a school meeting, and the school depends upon voting for all sorts of purposes. The other thing is to love the outdoors.
(To be continued)
Comments