Summerhill School

• Summerhill schools ethos are determined to promote the children's well beings by defending their right to make their own choices and grow at their own pace. They make sure that the students will have to skills to make informed decisions about what they want to do as learners and members of society.
• Summerhill was made to make a school that was fit for a child instead of forcing pupils to do what their parents and educators think is best for them. It was set up to promote children's rights, wellbeing, freedom, equality, individuality, freeplay, self-direction, democracy and community. It operates on democracy, freedom and equality and classes are voluntary.
• Positives - students mature to a greater degree which makes them more ready for real life. They can make better decisions because of peer accountability and experimentation. Students practice being aware of themselves and 'own' their learning as they get to choose it.
• Negatives - their experiences can be chaotic as children are in charge yet their brains are not fully developed. Learning things takes longer because they are learning self discovery instead of having lesson plans on how to teach it. What happens in a day will have more risks and more mistakes will be made than in traditional schools.