CAP Research Seminar Shifra Dayak and Hailey Mitchell

Shindel 2019
Final Review of Literature

Research Question:​ How does freeform schooling differ from modern American public schools in the
impact they have on student mental health and student preparedness for college and the workforce, and
how can we incorporate positive aspects of freeform schooling into public education?
Introduction and Rationale
Today, average American students are pushed to their limits—attempting to balance piles of work
that will ultimately prove to be of little use upon the students’ graduation with character-building
activities stretches them thin. Along with a plethora of personal experiences, there’s a consensus from
experts that the American public education system is declining. This year, 61% of American students
cited traditional schooling and associated pressures as a major stressor in their lives (Flannery), and in
2015, only 18% of employers saw graduates as fit to enter the workforce due to a lack of professional
development in high school (Strachan). It’s evident that traditional public school is becoming less and less
appealing, both from the standpoint of being a worthwhile use of an individual’s time and a contributor to
positive mental health. The goal of education should be to develop individuals’ characters and practical
abilities as well as to foster genuine joy for learning, and in an era of extreme competition and test-based
performance measurement, it’s becoming increasingly less common that traditional schools are meeting
those goals. Considering how damaging traditional schooling has been revealed to be through recent and
longstanding research, it’s important to explore the viability of alternative options that will truly
accomplish the goals of education— developing individuals’ characters and practical abilities as well as
fostering a joy for learning.
Enter a solution that is somewhat radical and alien to most Americans, yet worth looking into
because of its implications for student preparedness and well-being: the free school. Sudbury Valley, the
first American free school, was founded more than 40 years ago in Framingham, Massachusetts (Gray). It
is built on the principle that every child has innate curiosity that drives them to learn the skills they will
need to function as effective adults in society (“Theory”). At Sudbury-model schools, students are free to
pursue their own interests all day, whether that is playing computer games, reading books, talking with
peers, or roaming the school grounds. Staff members are employed only to supervise the students and do
not make any efforts to interfere with the students’ self-directed education. Such schools operate under a
participatory democracy where equally-treated students and staff meet once a week to create school rules
and make policy decisions. The term “unschooling” was coined in the 1970’s by John Holt, a teacher and
author (Loveless), to refer to self-directed learning similar to that of Sudbury schools. “Unschoolers”
today follow Holt’s belief that the conventional school system served as an obstacle to the natural
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learning process, choosing to keep their children home rather than send them to any type of structured
learning institution (Bales).
Children and teenagers in the modern world are severely lacking in socialization, personal
responsibility, leadership, and other skills (Flannery) that Sudbury, free, and unschools can likely
cultivate. It is important that free schools’ viability is explored in an effort to build these crucial skills in
individuals’ lives. Additionally, free schools are a feasible mechanism through which to rebuild student
mental health, an equally important issue to explore in a society where increasing numbers of people are
having negative mental health effects due to education. ​Free schooling has also been used as a form of
alternative education for children who have trouble conforming to the rigid boundaries and rules of
conventional schooling. ​In looking at implementing free schooling characteristics in regard to these two
issues, a variety of other questions are brought up. Drawbacks of structural differences, the preparedness
of alternatively-schooled students for college and/or the workforce as compared to their peers, and the
shaping of students’ areas of interest are just three of the important concepts that are raised in discussions
about the merits of free schooling.
There’s no doubt that as more findings about the downfalls of traditional American schooling
emerge, researchers will look for alternative ways to provide students with valuable educational
experiences. As educators are compelled to incorporate more choice in their classrooms and give students
democratic decision-making abilities, it’s especially crucial to have research such as this on how those
characteristics can be effectively implemented with different intersections. By exploring free schools and
discussing their positives, we are building a basis on which researchers can fashion new methods to keep
students engaged, mentally healthy, and prepared for their futures. In the case that further mechanisms
need to be developed for students who struggle in an average public school setting, this compilation of
findings on alternative schooling will prove to be useful in constructing said mechanisms. Education is a
hot topic in our world and as a rising educational institution, free schools must be at the forefront of the
schooling conversation.
Mental Health
The modern American school system is experiencing a mental health crisis. There are over 50
million students currently enrolled in public schools, and as many as one in five will show signs of a
mental health disorder before graduating high school (“A Silent Epidemic”). The increased emphasis on
standardized testing by the No Child Left Behind Act has resulted in test-related anxiety, and instances of
young children bursting into tears or vomiting on their test booklet have been reported by multiple
educators. Although every child has unique learning strengths and weaknesses, standardized tests are not
individualized for students. If a child gets poor grades on his or her standardized tests, he or she is often
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blamed for it, which can lead to loss of self-esteem and/or lifelong mental blocks (Cox). Up to 80 percent
of students won’t receive proper treatment for their mental illnesses, whether it is therapy or medication.
Most public schools’ resources are stretched incredibly thin, with an average of 491 students per
counselor, 1,151 students per school nurse, and 1,400 students per school psychologist (“A Silent”).
Teachers are often one of the first adults that children turn to when experiencing a crisis, yet most lack
appropriate mental health training. When researchers at the University of Missouri examined whether
teachers knew the 10 evidence-based mental health resources their schools utilized, 80 percent had never
heard of many of the strategies their school used (Lahey). Proper mental health training for teachers
should be emphasized just as much as physical health training such as CPR. With suicide being the
second leading cause of death in adolescents in the United States (Miniño), access to proper mental health
care in school could mean the difference between life and death.
In recent years the public education system has become more aware of these downfalls and the
plight of students. From requiring teachers to complete more coursework on recognizing signs of mental
illness and being approachable as a helping individual to widening health class curriculums, there has
been a host of attempts to tackle the emerging crisis (Murray). An increasing number of schools have
implemented evidence-based mental health programs such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports (PBIS), which is intended to define and teach positive student conduct (Lahey). The lack of
these measures to make major strides, however, has pushed individuals to believe that perhaps a larger
and more bottom-up solution is necessary.
That solution may lie in non-traditional schools, where positive student mental health has been
shown to abound. A number of individuals who have observed free-schooled students have concurred that
while free-schooling is not a cure-all for mental illnesses or stress, it significantly reduces them and thus
builds wellness. Because of their emphasis on self-directed learning, freeform schools spark a joy for
learning that is at the root of positive, school-fostered mental health. Public school educator Christine
Traxler recounts one such experience of a formerly-unmotivated student who went on to attend the
democratic Clearwater School: “By the end of the first year she had created for herself a long reading list
of books about science and was working her way through her own curriculum. These were not easy
books, including books on string theory and quantum mechanics, but she had discovered a passion. And
she realized that she actually loved to read.” Most other students have displayed similar experiences,
finding that free schooling has helped them delve into a passion and thus emerge happier and more
invested in their day-to-day activities (Berg and Corpus).
In addition, intrinsic motivation, the “gold standard for promoting sustained and meaningful
engagement in education” and a clear marker of positive mental habits in educational settings, has been
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observed to be more easily maintained by free-schooled students than by traditionally-schooled students
(Berg and Corpus). Magda Levin-Gutierrez, an educator and a mother who currently unschools her two
young daughters, wrote a paper for the ​Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning r​ elating the
applications of the three elements of intrinsic motivation — autonomy, purpose, and mastery — to
unschooling. She discusses the conventional public school system’s failure in incorporating these
elements into its curriculum, which can lead to stress, mental illness, and/or lack of motivation in
students. Autonomy, which relates to a human’s natural desire for personal independence, is necessary for
a child’s development as an individual. However, autonomy in a traditional school setting tends to be
limited to students completing assigned problems and tasks by themselves. Rarely are students allowed to
structure their own time or choose what they want to learn about in a given school day. Unschooling does
exactly the opposite by allowing children to choose what they want to learn and when they want to learn
it. Instead of using external rewards like grades that only motivate students temporarily, it fosters
long-term intrinsic motivation by encouraging education based on personal interests. According to
Magda-Gutierrez and many other members of the unschooling community, it is up to the child and his or
her interests to decide whether he or she wants to achieve mastery in a specific area of study. Unlike
conventional school, there is no standardized test for free-schoolers to determine their proficiency, rather
a “self-evaluative process driven by intrinsic motivation alone” (Levin Gutierrez). Students’ mental health
thrives in an environment where students are free to explore their interests freely and do not feel pressure
from peers and teachers to meet a certain academic level.
At free schools, the emphasis on play over passive learning and the focus on equitable
relationships also serves to foster positive student mental health by eliminating divisive competition and
bullying. At the Brightworks School, a creative and project-based institution in San Francisco where
“children have healthy and meaningful relationships with peers and teachers, are given an opportunity to
participate in the governing body, and are allowed to exercise their right to express themselves freely,”
school-driven mental health issues and toxic student relationships are nearly nonexistent. When students
are conditioned to view school as a place to immerse themselves in collaborative and self-enriching
activities rather than a place in which to dictate their achievements according to their peers’ lives, positive
mental behaviors and thoughts emerge (Goyal). According to teacher Cassidy Younghans, because
Sudbury students are entrusted with scheduling their own time, there is no shame associated with taking
care of whatever needs they may have, especially if those involve rest, problem-solving, or downtime that
is crucial to repairing mental well-being. In essence, Sudbury and free schools are designed with a
positive environment in mind. Most aren’t built as therapy tools in and of themselves, but educators who
support self-directed schooling realize that kids and teenagers need a source of relief from outside
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stressors. Many agree that free schools act as that source rather than taking advantage of modern
education’s ability to build extra stress. Also, by acting as equals to students instead of authority figures,
staff members in Sudbury schools can develop deeper relationships with students than in conventional
schools. This atmosphere of open communication encourages discussions about emotions and mental
health. A previous student of Sudbury Valley, who transferred from a conventional public school and
dealt with multiple mental health issues, even said that he believes free schooling “saved his life” because
of the help he received through the welcoming atmosphere (Russell).
Clear bias in existing stances on mental health is evident. The very fact that the majority of
existing literature — beyond a few dissenting voices found in occasional parenting forums — praises free
schools for fostering positive mental health is a testament to how foreign Sudbury schooling is. Likely,
many of the conditions found in freeform schools, such as the peaceful environment and absence of
additional stressors, ​do a​ ct as contributors to positive mental health. However, considering the importance
of consistency and guidance in an individual’s adolescent years to physiological well-being (Knox), it’s
entirely plausible that the lack of structure and formal teacher-student mentorship in free schools can be a
detriment to student mental health. Although the latter isn’t frequently discussed in the public eye, a
growing exploration into the merits and the downfalls of Sudbury schooling will decidedly help reveal a
complete and well-rounded view of its effects on mental health.
Preparedness for Future Pursuits
Professor David Perkins, who explores education and development at Harvard University, asserts
that “students are asked to learn a great deal for the class and for the test that likely has no role in the lives
they will live — that is, a great deal that simply is not likely to come up again for them in a meaningful
way” (qtd. in Hough). Like many critics, he believes that modern public education’s emphasis on
recovering short-term knowledge for high-stakes testing and projects — largely instituted after the No
Child Left Behind Act — puts the focus on the wrong skills and material for students. Having a storage
bank of information in one’s brain is not useful unless it is actually employed on a day-to-day basis,
which is why the rote memorization that public educators require is pointless for students who don’t plan
to major in calculus, history, or the like in the long run (Hough). Coupled with the wrong kind of
emphasis on academics at public schools comes a lack of instruction on “real-world skills” needed for the
workforce and adult life. In a national survey conducted by education non-profit Achieve, about 50% of
American high schoolers “reported gaps in preparation for life after high school” and felt ill-informed
about content expectations in the workforce and daily life based on their secondary education experiences
(Strachan). The results of these experiences are negative — according to journalist Amanda Ripley, who
investigated high dropout rates and disengagement in American high schools, the absence of
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career-oriented education that develops specific industry skills in the United States ensures that most
students face a “very slow, expensive and turbulent transition from high school to a job.” Most are in
agreement that turbulence shouldn’t have to exist in the process of transitioning to adulthood, and the
merits of free schooling in lessening it are slowly emerging.
Freely-schooled students themselves claim that they are better-prepared for the aftermath of
secondary schooling than their traditionally-schooled peers. A group of 1970s graduates of the Sudbury
Valley School were surveyed by researchers Peter Gray and David Chanoff, who found that “the colleges
attended by [over 50 percent of] SVS graduates cover the entire range of prestige or selectivity, from four
at one end that receive the highest academic ranking (five stars) in Fiske’s (1982) Selective Guide to
Colleges to nonselective community colleges at the other.” Students at Fairhaven School, a free school in
the suburbs of Washington, D.C. have faced similar results in more recent years, having found that they
are adequately prepared and qualified to go to college or technical institutions. Fairhaven students have
testified that the application process for postsecondary education has been fairly easy as a result of their
attending democratic schools, even in cases where they applied to technical schools with rigid educational
requirements (Vangelova). By societal definitions, Sudbury students are successful in postsecondary
education, seeing as they attend schools with a high caliber of education and don’t face above-average
struggles in reaching said schools. According to a related study conducted by Gina Riley and Peter Gray,
the unschooled adults who did not move on to higher education cited that they felt no need for it. Their
decision was largely driven by the free-schooling principle that one will continue to learn what they need
and want to know without formal schooling (Riley and Gray). With American society putting such a large
emphasis on the necessity of formal/higher education, perhaps unschoolers are the ones that can prove it
is not always fundamental to success.
Career-wise, students at democratic schools also thrive. Those who have gone into a career after
completing a degree program at a traditional college have reported a smooth transition into adulthood, and
the majority of them have pursued career areas that correspond to their interests while at Sudbury schools.
From physical therapists to computer scientists to historians for the United States Air Force, former
graduates of the Sudbury Valley School are among a host of alternatively-schooled individuals who “in
the thick of things, occupying the whole gamut of jobs and careers that one might expect of a group of
young adults coming from middle-class backgrounds” (Gray and Chanoff). Sudbury students and
unschoolers are very likely to choose career paths related to their childhood interests, according to data
collected by Gina Riley and Peter Gray. One of the respondents in their survey, a 29-year old unschooled
woman, discusses her experience working as a production manager for a theater company in New York
City: “The tools I learned as a child—to pursue new ideas/interests/knowledge, to creatively solve
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problems, to actively participate in my community, and more—have helped me greatly. It's actually pretty
much what I still do, just in the context of a grown-up life” (Riley and Gray). Democratic schooling also
builds a positive foundation for people who want to go straight into a career without postsecondary
education — by allowing them to devote a large amount of time to exploring areas of interest and
building career-oriented skills, it has led many individuals to successfully enter professional arts
programs, professional programs, and the like directly after high school.
Attitudinal advantages are also evident for alternatively-schooled students in college and in the
workplace. The intrinsic motivation that they pick up while in school continues as they enter
postsecondary education in the workplace. Certain graduates from the Sudbury Valley School stated in a
questionnaire that their time at a democratic school ensured that their “motivation to continue learning
was greater” because of curiosity and a better attitude towards learning (Gray and Chanoff). The same
students also reported that they could take more agency over their work and felt more prepared in regard
to having responsibility; Gray and Chanoff’s survey found that “the most common category of benefit
mentioned [by SVS graduates] had to do with being responsible and self-directed in their work.”
Self-responsibility and passion are generally universally acknowledged as factors that lead to a person’s
success, and inspecting the lives of formerly free-schooled students has proven that they possess both
those characteristics. Interactions with others, another key facet of the “real world,” are decidedly positive
for democratically-schooled individuals as well, particularly because of their exposure to different types
of people. Because Sudbury students “are not separated by age and have the freedom to play, talk, and
collaborate with older and younger peers” (Younghans), they are easily able to deal directly and openly
with peers and authority figures in college and in the workplace later in life (Gray and Chanoff).
Despite the majority of positive responses concerning academic and social preparedness for life
beyond high school, drawbacks do exist. Primarily, it’s important to consider that “the great majority of
[Sudbury students] came from middle-class homes and had college-educated parents… with a college
degree” (Gray and Chanoff) — it’s entirely possible that the preparedness of these privileged students can
be attributed to invested parents who put in resources outside of democratic schooling. In their study,
Gina Riley and Peter Gray mention a 39-year-old Sudbury Valley graduate and self-described
“polymath.” He leapfrogs around from job to job, doing “everything and anything that catches [his]
attention,” from being employed as a clinical hypnotherapist to a wilderness survival and bushcraft
trainer. This further proves the level of privilege that typical Sudbury students and graduates possess that
allows them increased employment mobility. Some less fortunate people in America must work whatever
job they can find, regardless of its appeal, because they have to support themselves and/or their families.
This privilege is not acknowledged in Riley and Gray’s study, leaving out a wide range of important
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perspectives on the issue of college and career preparedness. Students of Sudbury schools and
unschoolers may also have an advantage in the college admissions process. According to Gina Riley and
Peter Gray, admissions officials, looking for diversity in the incoming college class, may have paid
special attention to Sudbury students due to their atypical form of education (Riley and Gray). As the
research of Sudbury schooling continues, it is important that researchers acknowledge the inherent
privileges of Sudbury students and unschoolers and how that factors in to their success in higher
education and careers.
Incorporation of Sudbury Characteristics into Modern-Day Public Education
One of the crowning glories of the free school model is its emphasis on democracy. Many
individuals have advocated for more incorporation of this democracy into modern-day public education,
saying it would likely help repair many of the ills public schools face today. Educational reformer
Deborah Meier credits a successful school as one where “many [students] play active roles in their
communities and otherwise take part in civic life,” stating that modeling all educational institutions — not
just those built specifically to be democratic schools — after American democracy can prepare students
can create conscious students and yield involvement in public life. Although turning traditional school
structure on its head and replacing existing policies in public schools with student-created ones is far too
ambitious, giving students more of a voice in decisions that impact them is widely seen as a positive first
step to incorporating democracy. Approaches to democratic schooling “may differ markedly from the
informed consent that often masquerades as democratic practice,” because true “democratic schooling
demands the thoughtful efforts of all stakeholders, including students, teachers, families, and community
members” (“Finding Common Ground”). Providing said stakeholders with a role in the school
environment, even if that role is as small as chiming in with policy opinions at a session similar to
Sudbury Valley’s School Meeting, has proven to contribute to both positive mental health and future
preparedness and must be seriously considered as the educational dialogue progresses.
Student choice is another defining factor of non-traditional schools, and one that education reform
advocates are increasingly calling for in American public education. In fact, many public educators have
already seen positive results from involving student choice in their schools. “Educators across the country
involved in personalized learning initiatives… cite higher student engagement, lower absentee rates, and
even improvements in test scores,” proving that choice is a mechanism through which students can
succeed in public education (Davis). Tactics like developed elective classes and project-based learning
can allow for expansion of student choice. In addition to allowing students to explore areas of interest,
electives are reminiscent of free schools in that they establish positive peer-teacher relationships that are
beneficial later in life. Education writer Heather Wolpert-Gawron is one of many elective supporters who
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outlines that class choice helps “students to connect with school if they learn that there are many diverse
personalities on hand for them to learn from… and automatically have a self-selected connection to the
adult in the room.” Project-based learning (PBL), similarly, has been found to increase socialization
abilities in the long-term and provide a degree of choice that helps students stay engaged and pursue their
passions. The best kind of PBL to employ in the public school classroom involves “teachers, students, and
community members [who] work together in a situated activity to construct shared understanding… This
back and forth sharing, using, and debating of ideas helps create a community of learners” (Krajcik and
Blumenfeld). The success of such student choice mechanisms on a limited scale is a testament to the
importance of implementing them in modern public education.
Conclusion
With any discussion of educational reform must come a defined set of next steps. In this situation,
only a small number of voices have made themselves heard about the merits of free schooling. One of the
most notable advocates for Sudbury schooling and education reform is research psychologist Peter Gray.
He actively critiques conventional schooling in the many articles and studies he has published on
childhood development and the psychology of play. Whether he is simply mentioned in a news article or
published in an academic study, Gray’s presence in almost every credible piece of writing about Sudbury
schooling demonstrates the one-sidedness of the current research on Sudbury schooling. The lack of
information on the drawbacks of Sudbury schooling also shows how underrepresented unschooling is in
the debate on education reform and alternatives. Thus, the natural next step in continuing the Sudbury
School conversation is expanding it. Having a wider variety of voices investigating positives, drawbacks,
privilege, and student opinions is essential to knowing more about the democratic educational model and
successfully injecting parts of it into American public education. There must also be an active transition
toward changing the face of public schooling in the United States; this transition must involve input from
parents, students, and educators and encompass a series of meaningful policies expanding democracy and
choice. The negative mental health experiences and lack of preparedness found in schools currently
illustrates that a change is needed fast, and educational reform advocates cannot shy away from following
free school models as a viable option to make that change.
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