(-> German translation\/Deutsche \u00dcbersetzung<\/a>)<\/p>\n The term “democratic school” has always seemed problematic to me.<\/strong> It’s problematic because democracy isn’t really the point. Democracy is a tool for creating something else: a community where free learning is possible, as much as such a community is possible. All democratic schools should be run by a democracy, but not every school that is run democratically is automatically a democratic school.<\/strong><\/p>\n A democratic school is<\/strong> a place where students are responsible for how they use their own time. It is a school which does not try to encourage students, explicitly or implicitly, to take classes and tests<\/a>. It is a place where people are treated with respect, and know they can expect justice to be served when someone disrespects the community or an individual.<\/p>\n It just so happens that certain styles of democracy serve as excellent tools for upholding freedom and respect. However, it’s very easy to get it wrong, which is why Sudbury schools<\/a> are very insistent on getting it right. These schools set up very well-defined democracies, because democracy is only good so long as it does not overreach<\/strong> — it has to be there to protect students’ freedom in the present, without presuming to know what choices are better for their future, or infringing on the privacy of their feelings.<\/p>\nI<\/h1>\n
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