Q&A
■ 校方如何看待如covid疫情或戰爭這樣的巨變？
我們體會到瑟谷很難在大家提到的防疫措施中進行，學校去年春季時關閉了一陣子。我們發現沒辦法全面做到那些防疫措施，而且也沒有意願那麼做。我們無法想像在小孩之間放置屏障並強制社交距離，所以我們重新開啟學校，學生自由決定是否戴口罩，想戴的人戴，不想戴的人就不戴，瑟谷可能是美國境內唯一這麼做的學校。
社交距離當然是可行的，因為我們有一棟大房子，而且學生人數少了一半——有一半的學生家庭因為我們不強制戴口罩與社交距離，就不讓孩子來學校。我們還沒從這個情況中恢復。就像我剛剛說的，至少有一半家庭不讓孩子來學校，如果家裡有人生病或是有人接觸過感染者，他們也會很謹慎地讓孩子不要進學校一週。第一年（2021）是這樣，今年人們擔心的程度已經降低許多，但我們還沒恢復到流失學生前的人數。
我們沒有計畫要應對戰爭。不是說我們當作在開玩笑。我的意思是，這對你們（臺灣、香港）在世界上的局勢當然是得嚴肅思考的事情，其實在世界上任何地方都是。像日本大海嘯，當有那樣的大事件發生，小孩會談論與思考。對這些事情，我們認為每一個家庭都應該要先於學校做出反應，而形塑家庭文化並非學校的責任，學校僅是提供孩子一個他們可以來的地方，當他們想來的時候。
■ 通勤時間？
各家從不同方向來，平均的交通時間大約是25、30分鐘，意思是你花25、30分鐘帶小孩上學，然後過一會兒就要接小孩放學，在這中間你可能去別的地方工作之類的。最近幾年，大概有8到10個家庭考量到油價等因素搬到法明漢（瑟谷所在地），總之法明漢是個好地方。但我們有一個家庭從麻州很遠的南邊過來，他們一趟要花一個半小時。
■ 學生家庭的文化樣貌大概是如何？社會階級會帶來問題嗎？
我想這是我們一直預期的，多元文化一直存在於我們學校，現在甚至更勝過往，它就是我們預期的環境。當每個人都以獨立的個體被接納，多元就不是個問題，在各個家庭裡發生的事對別的孩子而言就只是一些趣事。
說社會階級不存在不是真的，一些活動像滑雪旅行就不是每個人都負擔得起，所以你會看到有些人可以去，有些人很想去但無法。但我想孩子們對於能夠來瑟谷上學也已經很感恩了，他們不用很快就去比較那些。這不太是社會階級差異，有時候是收入差異。
■ 宣傳影片對於消除家長疑慮會有效果嗎？有沒有考慮拍攝影片讓大家更了解瑟谷？
我們的網站是：sudburyvalley.org ，大多數影片放在Rumble這個平台，Youtube也有。有些從Youtube上拿下來了，但我們最近正在重新上架，很快就可以再看到。很多很棒的影片，看孩子們互動很有趣。
■ 辦校以來遇到最大的困難是什麼？如何度過？
我認為我們在做的是相當嚴肅的工作，但有時被當成是給被寵壞的小孩去的可愛小學校。
我是這樣告訴大家：如果你有可能搬到有瑟谷學校的地方，搬吧！不要自己開一家，太難了。
■給大家的鼓勵
瑟谷學校培養出的學生是世界上最棒的一群人，他們強壯、美麗、無所畏懼，他們創造自己想要的生活，做自己想要的決定。我無法形容我有多麼欣賞我們的畢業生，包括我自己的孩子。最後我只想說：瑟谷學生會成為很棒的父母，真正理解小孩的那種。
（全文完）
We realized that there was nothing we could do to have a Sudbury school and have all the things people were talking about in the fall of 2020 because we’ve been close for the spring. So we realized we couldn’t do all the things and we didn’t have the will either. We couldn’t imagine putting up barriers between children and enforcing social distancing. So we open our school with discretionary masking which means those people who ever wanted to wear masks wore them. And those who didn’t did not wear them. We were probably the only school in the country that did that.
Social distancing of course is possible because we have a big building and it was very easy because we lost half of our students. Half of our students’ families did not want them to come to school in the situation that we have was discretionary masking and not forced social distancing. So, we have not recovered from that. As I said at least a half of the parents did not send their children and if anybody was sick in their house or anybody was exposed in their home, they were careful to keep their children out of school for a week. The first year. This year people were much less worried about it but we still have not regained the students that we lost or anything like that.
We don’t have any plans for a war. And that’s not a joke, I mean, that’s totally a serious thing to think about certainly in your part of the world. but it’s totally a serious thing to think about in any part of the world. When there are big events like the tsunami in Japan, when that happens, children talk about it and think about it. We think every family should react to these things first at home and it’s not the school’s business to decide what the family culture should be. But only to provide a place for the children to come when they want to be here.
The average commute is probably 25, 30 minutes each way, that means you bring your children 25 or 30 minutes to school, then you have to pick them up later. And meanwhile you go somewhere in between maybe to work maybe not. In the last few years, maybe 8 or 10, quite a few families have moved to Framingham area which right now considering what gasoline prices are it’s a very nice place to live. It’s a nice place anyway. But we have one family who commutes about an hour and a half now each way from some place very far south in Massachusetts.
It’s expected I think. We’ve always had multiculturalism in our school and probably more now than ever before. But it’s sort of expected in our environment. I think each person is accepted as an individual so it’s not a problem. What happens at home is just interesting to other kids.
I’m sure that to say no would not be true because things come up like ski trips and not everyone can afford to go on a ski trip. So you see that some people can and some people wish they could. But I think they are also grateful to be in this school that they are not so quick to compare those things. It’s not the social level. It’s sometimes about the income level.
Our website is Sudburyvalley.org. Most of our videos are on Rumble but they are also on Youtube. Some of them are taken off from YouTube but they’re being put back as we speak, so they’ll all be on soon. There are a lot of good videos. It’s very interesting to see, and it’s interesting to see the kids interacting.
I think that we do very, very serious work and it’s sometimes taken as a cute little school for children who are spoiled.
What I tell people is the following: if it’s possible for you to move to some place that has a Sudbury School. Do it. Don’t start one. It’s too hard.
Students that are educated in Sudbury Schools are the most amazing people in the world. They’re strong and they’re beautiful and they’re fearless. And they make wonderful lives and wonderful decisions. I cannot tell you how admiring I’m of our graduates including my own children. The only other thing I want to say about Sudbury students is they make wonderful parents. They understand children.
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