Including the Larger Community

The general theme of this month's walk-and-talks is a look at the edges of a Sudbury-model population. We've looked at how the Sudbury model could be expanded to include even younger people (less than 4 years old), even older people (over 19 years old), and part-time students. This month, we'll look at how our school might connect with the larger Kingston community.

Sudbury-model schools each have some form of a policy dealing with students leaving campus during the school day. This open-campus policy might describe, for example, limits that depend on the student's age, what supervision is required, and when parental approval is required.

One advantage of a more-open policy is that students can take more advantage of Kingston's resources - people, places, things. Another advantage is that it means more freedom. Freedom is an abstract value that can have concrete consequences, one consequence being that students get more experience and skills in living with freedom.

One advantage of a more-closed policy is that it might be safer. Another advantage of being more closed is that students are more present on campus, possibly enriching the school.

We'll discuss these issues and anything else that comes up regarding our school's open-campus policy.

I personally won't be at this week's walk-and-talk, or the next few. I'm in England caring for my granny. If you'd like to discuss this topic with me when I'm back, please leave a comment below.