Summer Mountain School

Author: (English) A.S. Neil
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: Summerhill School, founded in 1921, is one of the most famous schools in the history of modern education and a model of individualized teaching. It is full of boundless vitality and is hailed as the "most humanized and joyful school." Neil believed: "Let the school adapt to the students, not the students adapt to the school." He spent 60 years at Summerhill School practicing this groundbreaking ideal that broke traditional educational concepts!
At the age of 13, Winifred disliked all subjects and skipped school every day. Her parents were helpless. After just a few weeks at Summerhill, she voluntarily returned to class and worked hard to get into her dream school.
Eleven-year-old George had severe fears—he was afraid to leave his parents and couldn’t do anything alone. After a year and a half at Summerhill, he became confident and independent, daring to travel alone and handle people and situations with ease.
Sixteen-year-old Tom had been held back multiple times, and teachers thought he was beyond saving. After studying at Summerhill for a year, he set his life goals, got into medical school, and worked diligently to become a good doctor.
Before coming to Summerhill, these children were disinterested in school, (low self-esteem), and rebellious, seen as "problem children" by parents and teachers. After arriving at Summerhill, they underwent tremendous changes: they learned spontaneously, lived independently, were full of confidence, and understood the importance of loving oneself and others. Every child’s physical and mental development was given full freedom. Years later, they became outstanding artists, musicians, designers, actors, scientists, and mathematicians!
One of the greatest educational movements of the 20th century, Summerhill School’s principal Neil, through numerous vivid and compelling educational case studies, unravels various educational challenges for parents and teachers one by one.