The best introduction to the model

• Since 1968 those involved with SVS have written a great deal about the model - in theory and in practice. On the school's website is an online library, where you can read about how the school actually works, which principles lie behind the model, and get an idea of the daily life of its students.

   

Responses to the most commons objections to the model

• Here is a list of the most common criticisms that arise when beginning to describe the model - and of course a defense against each one; plus a few paragraphs at the end as to some of the benefits a Sudbury school would have, in Sweden specifically.

   

Jim's correspondence with the Swedish Dept of Education

• Before this charity was founded, Jim opened communications with the Swedish DofE and the Schools Inspectorate. He wanted to explain what the model was all about, and find out whether there was any political will to drive it forward here in Sweden. Fairly quickly he realised that, according to the Department, there was nothing to discuss. Here you can read Jim's first letter of proposal to the Inspectorate, copied to Minister for Education Jan Björklund. Soon after, Jim sent another letter, refelecting on the nature of a National Curriculum and the goals of a school system. You can read this here.

   

If you're interested in all the letters, emails and repsonses, you can browse a PDF portfolio here. This probably requires Acrobat Reader 9 or later.

The history of Swedish compulsory schooling

• When it became clear that the door to a Sudbury school in Sweden was firmly closed, Jim took a couse in Pedagogy at Gothenburg University. He was the primary author of a paper that compares democratic schooling to standard schooling - and how and why Swedish compulsary schooling came into being. Read it here.

The difference between the Sudbury model and other progressive schools

• This is probably the best answer I've read to a comment one often hears when beginning to explain the model to someone: "Oh, so it's sort of like..." Furthermore, the article clarifies other aspects of how the model works in practice.

Maths

• Our society has a tendency to prioritise the sciences over other subjects. Now with all the talk of Swedish schools' poor results in the PISA studies, and the government's Upper Secondary School reforms, in which the creative subjects have become even less significant, it's hard to escape the rhetoric. Maths has received a particular focus in the debate - there is discussion about practical Maths, about renewing the approch to teaching Maths in particular and so on. This article was written in the late 60s, by one of SVS's founders, who was himself involved in the USA's attempts to renew Maths' teaching in the 50s. The message is simple - those who want to learn, will; and no amount of pushing is going to make it easier for anyone else.