Beyond Free Schools: Community
(Page 11 of 11)
November/December 1970
By Jerry Friedberg
In all this the skills, knowledge and growing that come for the kids and for the adults do not have to be planned and worried about so much. They come as a natural part of living a rich, varied and demanding life together and caring for one another. Given all this, it's increasingly all right that there are times when one or more of us is out of it and Irresponsible . . . and times when we're right there for one another.
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Here are some phrases from things I've written to friends recently; a word-montage:
. . . eating together, spending our days together, working, meeting, playing, confronting, loving, hassling, caring . . . I'm an incredibly lucky guy, and there are tears for the wonder of it . . . And the difficulties, meetings, hassles, and miseries. . . Judy and Helene playing cello and piano pieces. Arthur in the garden. Group gathering to help deal with some tension between Hop and John . . . Gestal-tencounter, communal decision-making and responsibility, play, music, dancing, quiet times, massage, meditation, bread-baking, organic gardening, household repair, meal preparation, milking, automotive mechanics, nutrition, communal child-rearing, multiple relationships, non-possessiveness, ecology, community relations, economics . . . Only a short while. Such deep and radical changes in pace, sounds, economics, foods, spontaneity, and integration of life, richness. So much. Such a beginning.
Some words of conclusion. I hope my pointing out what I think are the limits inherent in schools, free or otherwise, is not taken as a put-down and that my deep feelings of appreciation also come through. As an alternative to public schools and others, free schools are a great step in the right direction. The Lorillard Children's School continues to be a great place for kids and adults and I hope it has a long life ahead. I have much admiration for those who work to make such alternatives available and I'll continue to lend help where I can.
WE CAME TO FEEL THAT ANY SCHOOL AS SUCH—AT ANY LEVEL AND NO MATTER HOW "FREE"-CANNOT BE AS NATURAL, SPONTANEOUS, ORGANIC AND LIFE-INTEGRATIVE AS WE WANT OUR LIVES TO BE . . . . EATING TOGETHER, SPENDING OUR DAYS TOGETHER, WORKING, MEETING, PLAYING, CONFRONTING, LOVING, HASSLING, CARING . . .
Still, for myself and increasing numbers of others, the limits of free schools have become increasingly and painfully clear. Schools as such are a poor substitute for rich family and community life . . . both for children and for staff. Free schools succeed in being great usually insofar as they become non-schools.
Beyond schools, then, there lie other alternatives worth our exploring. The one I am most interested in is fairly new (and old) to me and my culture: Small scale, self-selecting, organic communities in which children and adults live, work, play, experiment, hassle, learn and grow together.
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