In six months they are happy, healthy children who do no evil. Children come to my school, little devils, hating the world, destructive, unmannerly, lying, thieving, bad-tempered. Our attempts to mold the child will turn the god into a devil. Summerhill is an independent British boarding school run as a democratic community based on the principle that school should be made to fit the child, rather than the other way around. Neill (1883-1973), founded an experimental school called Summerhill which, a hundred years later, is still thriving. It leads the individual todeliberately seek to live at peace with others by conceding something to theirpoint of view.' - Summerhill (1960).The great Scottish educator, A.

Itconsiders the rights and happiness of others. True self-discipline does not involve repression or acceptance. Toooften it means discipline of self that has been instilled by the moral ideas ofadults. 'As for self-discipline, it is an indefinite thing. Thus,Neill's (1960) ideas on self-discipline are as follows: However, everyone is entitled to their own individual freedom. Self-government, in accordance with Neill's beliefs, implies that no onecan have complete social freedom because the rights of others must always berespected. Ifshown the difference between right and wrong and good and bad, children willchoose the former in both cases (Neill, 1960).ģ.

When there is aboss there is no real freedom b) Good self-government is possible only whenthere is a sprinkling of older pupils who like a quiet life and fight theindifference or opposition of the gangster age, and hence the younger childrenfollow their lead c) If given the choice, as the children of Summerhill havebeen, the students would fight to death for their right to govern themselves. Self-government works because.a) You cannot have freedom unlesschildren feel completely free to govern their own social life. The sense of justice that children havenever ceases to make me marvel (Neill, 1960).Ģ.

As education,self-government is of infinite value. The students administrative ability is excellent. The philosophies surrounding self-government and discipline strategies atSummerhill are summarized, as follows (Neill, 1960):ġ. The primaryfunction of Summerhill self-government is not only to make laws but to alsodiscuss and debate the social features of the community. Each person, staffand student alike, has one vote and each vote was equally weighted. Neill believes that this createdhostility may not be conscious and overt, but it does function to freeze thefreedom to feeling and experiencing - two freedoms necessary for growth andlearning.Īt Summerhill, a self-governing and democratic school, all aspects of living(including social, individual, group life, punishment, etc.) are settled by voteat the Saturday night General School Meeting (Neill, 1960). 'Discipline, dogmatically imposed, and punishment create fear and fearcreates hostility' (Neill, 1960).

Summerhill by as neill