A. S. NeillRhonda

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Alexander Sutherland Neill

• October 17, 1883 - September 23, 1973

• Parents were both school teachers

• Served as headmaster and taught algebra, geometry and metalworking

Alexander Sutherland Neill• Wrote over 20 works

including:– The Problem Child

(1926)– That Dreadful School

(1937)– The Free Child (1953)– Neil! Neil! Orange Peel!

(1972)– Summerhill: a Radical

Approach to Childhood (1960)• U.S. number one non-

fictional best seller

Alexander Sutherland Neill

• Philosophy– Happiness of the child

is important in the child’s development and happiness comes from a sense of personal freedom

– Externally imposed discipline prevents internal self-discipline from developing

– “Freedom, not license”

Alexander Sutherland Neill

• “The function of the child is to live his own life – not the life that his anxious parents think he should live, nor a life according to the purpose of the educator who thinks he knows best”

• Neill developed the Summerhill School to implement his ideas about school being for the children

Summerhill School

• Established in 1921• Presently located in

Leiston, Sutfolk, England

• Students are allowed to choose the classes they attend, if any– Neill thought

children learned better when they are not forced to attend classes

Summerhill School

• Run as a democratic community–Meetings are held

to decide how the school should run

– Staff and students can attend meetings

– Everyone has an equal vote

Summerhill School

• The student body often consists of problematic backgrounds

• Often suffering from parental conflict of neglect

• Summerhill has a therapeutic value• Majority of students who had been rejected

at conventional schools flourish at Summerhill

• A.S. Neill served as headmaster and after his death his wife took over

• His daughter Zoe Neill Readhead is the current headmaster.

Criticism

• Often called the “Do as you please School”

• The right to stay away from lessons, forever if desired, were much more frightening for the mainstream education system.

Useful Websites

• www.wikipedia.com• www.summerhillschool.co.uk