Rating: 
Summary: For those who see their child as an individual
Review: This and the excellent Sudbury School book are a MUST read for any parent who sees their child as an individual who was born with a natural curiosity which in itself amongst equals who come from similar homes and lifestyles will cause the child to want to learn new things, and certain things more than others.The naysayers are those who see kids as cookie cutters. Sudbury and Summerhill see children as one of a kind cookies. Stop and think about it... where else in society do we put one group based on age i.e. 7 year olds in a single group? To date I have found that only newborns are the ones who are separated and none others. Ever see all 70 year olds singled out and separated from the younger or older humans? Sadly most American parents are either to lazy or have been brainwashed by those taking their tax dollars for the white elephant public schools to believe that there is only ONE right way. Personally I believe only the best and brightest will get the message of this book. But then I am reminded that we do have more followers than we do leaders.
Rating:
Summary: A classic- but far from the truth
Review: When I first read A. S. Neill's Summerhill, I was moved by what I saw as a brilliant and innovative solution to the problems of public school as I saw it. The intervening years, some research and a few degrees in psychology showed me something entirely different. Neill's Summerhill was not exactly what he portrayed it to be; some students flourished there, and many did not. The same sort of petty schoolyard bullying and favoritism that occurs in any school went on at Summerhill. Neill was very much a typical utopian socialist who, like many before him, started with a theory and refused to let experience shape it. Summerhill was the right environment for some of Neill's students, but it was by no means the right environment for all of them. While some flourished there, many spent years without obtaining any education whatsoever. The overall philosophy of a child-centered education is a good one, but letting the child decided what and when to learn is not a good preperation for the adult world, where we can't all be petulant children all the time. So read Summerhill as a philosophy of how to love your child, or what a caring family could be like, or even as a utopian fantasy. There's much good in it. But don't take Neill's claims at face value.
Rating:
Summary: Best antidote to James Dobson...
Review: You get the feeling from this book that the guy actually loves children. There's hope.
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