New to Self-Directed Education? Start Here!

If you’re new to the concept of self-directed democratic education, this page is for you! The purpose of this site is to provide you with a variety of resources focused on self-directed democratic education (aka the Sudbury School model) that you can peruse at your leisure depending on how much time/interest you have. You can take a quick surface-level overview, or you can go deep - the choice is yours. Here’s where we’re going to start: 

The Elevator Pitch: 

What is self-directed democratic education? 

A model of education that centers around emulating the real world and allowing students to operate with maximum autonomy, while also participating in a diverse community with a well-established system of law and order. Students choose for themselves how to spend their time and pursue those activities that interest them.

Prof. Peter Gray's quick primer on the basics of Self-Directed Education (SDE)

The Sudbury Model

The Sudbury Model of education has been around since 1968 and has been replicated in hundreds of schools across the world. Alpine Valley School is one such school.

Since opening in 1997, Alpine Valley School has graduated many talented young adults who have gone out into the world to make their mark. They share their stories on our podcast.

Learn More: 

If you have 5 minutes: 

Reading: 

• What is Self-Directed Education? (Article 3 min read) 

• Sudbury Schooling (Wikipedia entry 3 min read)

• No Teachers, No Classes, No Homework - Would You Send Your Kids To This School? (News article 5 min read)

Watching: 

• An Animated Primer on Self-Directed Education (YouTube video ~3 min) 

• “What If” (YouTube video ~2 min)

• What is Alpine Valley School? (YouTube video ~4 min) 

At Alpine Valley School we are often asked what a "typical day" in self-directed democratic education looks like. This video is our attempt to answer this question, along with testimonials from each of our staff members. Get a rare peek inside Colorado's first Sudbury School and see just how amazing learning can be.

If you have 15 minutes:  

Reading: 

• The Sudbury Model of Education (Blog Post ~13 min read) 

• An Alpine Valley School Resume (Blog Post ~10 min read) 

• Children’s Freedom: A Human Rights Perspective (Article, ~10 min read) 

Watching: 

• What do you get out of self-directed education every day? (YouTube video ~13 min)

• Sudbury Valley School (YouTube video ~9 min) 

• Fanning the Flames of Natural Curiosity (YouTube video ~6 min) 

• Raising Free People (TED Talk, 11 min)

Listening:

• Fare of the Free Child (podcast)

• Off-Trail Learning (podcast)
  

Ten Alpine Valley School graduates from all over the world answer the most frequently asked questions our school receives on a regular basis.

When you are ready to go deep: 

Reading: 

• Free to Learn (book, Peter Gray) 

• When Kids Rule the School (book, Jim Reitmulder) 

• The Meaning of Education (book, Daniel Greenberg) 

• Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School? (book, Blake Boles)

• Crying Under the Apple Tree (book, Charlotte Landvoight)

Watching: 

• Ready for Anything (YouTube video, ~1hr) 

• Do Schools Kill Creativity? (TED Talk, 20 min)

• Self-Taught (documentary movie) 

Listening:

• Alpine Valley School Podcast (podcast)

• Education Revolution (podcast)

• How to Raise Free Range Kids (podcast episode ~44 min) 

  
  
  
  Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite self-directed democratic schooling resource that we should include in this primer! Thanks for reading.