[Buddha-l] sam harris at the aspen institute

[Stuart Lachs]

> On Tuesday 14 August 2007 20:48, jkirk wrote:
>
>> "Where children are taught to be laws unto themselves, and to depend on
>> themselves; "
>>
>> This was already tried back in the fifties and sixties at Summerhill, and
>> in the end was found not to work. Wasn't that idea the basis of the 
>> novel,
>> _Lord of the Flies_?

Summerhill was started by A.S. Neill in 1921 in Germany. He moved the school 
to Austria for a short time before moving to England and taking the name 
Summerhill.  Neill died in 1973, but the school continues,  being run by his 
wife Ena until 1985 and today by  their daughter Zoe. The school had the 
respect of Bertrand Russell and Henry Miller among other people.

I am not sure the school "was found not to work." I think it is hard to 
translate what Neill and others were able to do to a broad base of teachers 
and schools, though there is still wide interest in their view. Summerhill 
now has 90 students, perhaps the most they have ever had, and has been 
running continuously since 1921.

For those interested, see their website: 
http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/pages/about.html .

Stuart