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50th out of 303 books
—
223 voters
Summerhill: A Radical Approach To Child Rearing
The fundamentals of child rearing based on freedom and nonrepression are discussed by the head of the famous English experimental school.
392 pages
Published
1977
by Pocket Books, New York
(first published 1960)
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This book blew my mind as a teenager. Basically it is a description of a "radical" school in England that believed - back when this was not a popular idea - that the child is born inherently good, and should be allowed to discover the world/academics at her own pace. A.S. Neill, the founder of the school and the book's author, is a little heavy on Freud but it's a very, very interesting documentation of a social experiment.
Feb 15, 2012
Miriam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone intersted in educational science
Stating my opinion towards this book is not very easy. First of all I have to say, that I can't express my thoughts on every topic of this book, so I'm just going to write about its language on the one hand an Neill's basic assumption on education on the other hand.
I read this book in German and I read it for university as I am studying Educational Science. Its language is very easy. As Neill uses everday language, it was not hard to follow his outlinings and as he gives a lot of examples throug...more
I read this book in German and I read it for university as I am studying Educational Science. Its language is very easy. As Neill uses everday language, it was not hard to follow his outlinings and as he gives a lot of examples throug...more
The author of The Idle Parent, which I loved, makes frequent reference to Summerhill and A. S. Neill's parenting and teaching methods. So I decided to read Summerhill and found very little to recommend it. The beginning section, in which Neill describes his unique boarding school (Summerhill) was interesting and informative. But the rest of the book, in which Neill explains his philosophy toward children, felt very dated and way off-base to me.
Neill turns out to be a Freudian (this book was wri...more
Neill turns out to be a Freudian (this book was wri...more
This was the book Bob Whitlow strongly recommended and indeed the first section on Summerhill School was a lot like Charquin. The author was the strong philosophical center of the school and contributed a large part to it actually working. The last two thirds of the book were his philosophy or opinion on all aspects of child rearing and culture. He ran his school from 1920-1960 so some of his ground breaking radical ideas weren't very radical by today's standards. In many areas he took things to...more
A.S. Neill had a great idea for an experiment in education where children were able to learn and discover at their own pace. Since I was one of those children who did not learn to read on schedule, I was particularly taken with his ideas. This book is in no way radical now, and its reliance on Freudian ideas further dates it, but I still feel that in many ways, he was ahead of his time.
This version seems outdated now -- very Freudian, and the ideas are not so "radical" these days. But super interesting, especially for people interested in kids and/or education. Free the children!
1 like · like · see review
So very interesting and right up my alley. While occasionally too Freudian and often too reliant on anecdotes, the ideas are fascinating and display an understanding of human nature.
Classic work on the most famous and influencial free-school. Neill is funny (and a little sexist) - but still a great book and very cutting age for its time.
Ok, if you believe in original sin (as I do) AS Neill with all of his freedom and respect for the wisdom and equality of children will likely turn your stomach. Yet, though I don't buy into his humanism----I love what he created and would have loved to have lived as a child at Summerhill. There is something inherently right about allowing learners to follow their own bent. I would never personally be able to go so far as watch kids do (seemingly nothing) for years before awakening to what they r...more
A seemingly timeless work on education by A. S. Neill, it remains very little dated and is still a useful reference work for parents and educators. A good many of Mr. Neill's suggestions seem just as impractical as they must have done fifty years ago, yet we can hardly discard them on that basis alone. It's a challenging book for a new decade (another one) in dire need of new ideas. If you haven't read it recently, or haven't read it at all, it is a very inexpensive and painless way for you to m...more
The theories the author portrays in this book are very revolutionary and I like them. Every parent should read it in order to evaluate if the way he raises his children is the appropriate. The most important contribution is that punishment is unsuccessful at all and that it only generates hate. It’s also essential to mentionthat the author advises that obligating children to do what we adults consider right, is indeed wrong. I support Neill when he talks about religion, sex and manners, and that...more
Nov 13, 2008
Erik Graff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
Grinnell EdPsych Professor
Shelves:
psychology
The Educational Psychology professor at Grinnell College was so personally lackluster, so unusually straight for the time, that I cannot recall his name. His class, however, despite a bow to orthodoxy by having us go through Ausibel and Robinson's textbook, included some great ancillary reading, the best and most provocative of which was A.S. Neill's Summerhill. For one who was going out of his way to read radical literature, Summerhill was still impressive, maybe the most challenging and eye-op...more
This is a great book about a man who started an experimental school where children are treated as equals and freedom is the main objective. It's so hard to explain, and the book is old and dated, but there are some great ideas about child-rearing which also makes me think about how I treat my own friends and family and the children I get to hang out with. Read it knowing that it was written a long time ago and that some of the language and ideas are outdated. Otherwise, I love this book.
It is way to think about schools when a traditional school is not working for your child. If done correctly, like described in this book, they learn about democracy as well as learn about topics that interest them. This book is out of date. What it does not show is some schools like this kids choose not to learn to read until age 10 and play video games all day. They learn about making their own rules and governing themselves. This is a good starting piece when looking at free schools.
A remarkable overview of a remarkable private school by the man who conceived and ran it. Is it amazing or not surprising that most children can self-regulate their own pace of learning, pick subjects they are good at and interested in, study them with sufficient effort to ace exams, etc.? Given the chance, which nobody much is willing to give their children. A fascinating explanation of Neill's philosophy of pedagogy, plus real examples of the adult results, mentioned and quoted. Also lots of a...more
I am so glad I came across and read this book. Although it has undoubtedly added to my concerns about "normal schooling", I have also found it profoundly challenging, thought-provoking and inspiring for how I want to raise my daughter. I'd love it if any of you guys would read it and maybe we could debate some of the ideas! I have been reading bits to Ben but he tends to take refuge in the toilet before too long.
I just started reading the book and it thrilled me already.
That's how human should be reared. With humanity touch. By giving freedom.
World now is a place full with mechanical people. People with same standard of taste, easily influenced and manipulated for the sake of system that has built.
World should be a place where uniqueness and freedom are embraced..
..still reading and falling in love with this book..
That's how human should be reared. With humanity touch. By giving freedom.
World now is a place full with mechanical people. People with same standard of taste, easily influenced and manipulated for the sake of system that has built.
World should be a place where uniqueness and freedom are embraced..
..still reading and falling in love with this book..
Apr 26, 2012
Natasha (Diarist) Holme
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People with kids
Shelves:
advice
Love the central premise that all people's problems come from their having been told what to do as children. However I found the male-centric viewpoint pretty choking (The book was written in 1960). And for someone so cool as to run a school in which no-one has ever been made to attend a class, it's hard to take in that he believes that people are gay because something went wrong. ... Oh dear.
Perhaps slightly dated, still packs an intellectual punch. A must book if you're going to have anything to do with children. Many of his treatment with children unorthodox, but even to today's standards acceptable. Remember, this book was written over 40 years ago. Follow this up eith his autobiography , NEILL, NEILL orange peel. This went to press the month he died, at 89, in 1973.
My former wife, Kit, was going to school studying Art Education in the late sixties when we read this. It helped form my attitudes toward education. It is a shame that in the many decades since then, our school systems are still so rigid. At least, I hope and trust that the home life we gave for our children (Ben and Matt) provided some of the freedom that this book teaches.
Revolutionary for its time and still for today. I'd like some solid research to back it up, but that's not something that the author could have easily done anyway. His anecdotes were very convincing, nonetheless. What he did do with his work and this book has paved the way for many others to expand upon the ideas with both science and theory.
Neill provides a great read about how he used the concept of "freedom not license" while educating children at a private school. His approach to education helped each child to reach their learning potential, while fostering a sense of personal responsibility in each individual. I still use Neill's advice after more than 30+ years of teaching.
I think everybody who is connected with children should read this book. It is very thought-provoking. It impressed me very much.
It helps us understand the children, their needs, their feelings, their world. And it also helps us to understand ourselves by understanding how we felt, reacted, thought when we were children.
It helps us understand the children, their needs, their feelings, their world. And it also helps us to understand ourselves by understanding how we felt, reacted, thought when we were children.
I think A. S. Neill is incredibly wise (especially when you consider that this book was published in 1960.) I’d highly recommend this book. About 90% of what he has to say is completely in line with how I’d aspire to raise my own children. Summerhill sounds like a wonderful place.
A little too radical even for me- that's why I can remember it so well after all these years. Maybe because it was given to me to read by a really creepy older guy that my views may be clouded. Obviously my opinion is in the minority but I'm comfortable with it.
A classic about free education, a very easy and insightful read. Keep in mind that it was written quite a while ago, so Neill has some dated ideas on gender and homosexuality. Still very well worth a read.
I thought that reading about the school and Neill's social experiment were fascinating, but once I got to the child training section I found there was just too little I could glean from it to continue reading it. Way too Freudian for me.
even if i can't agree with all the idea's in this book, it is still an awesome book and made me change alot of my thoughts about raising my child and teaching others children as well
I haven't technically finished this book. What I've done is left my book mark in it and put it on the shelf. The material is interesting and the approach worth learning about, but it is essentially the founder/head-master of a school experimenting in "radical freedom for students/children" talking about the precepts and practices of said school. Summerhill operated in England in from the early 20s onward. The headmaster/author took over in the 40s and, I believe, wrote the book in the 60s or 70s...more
One of the most beautiful and inspirational books I have ever read. If only Neill's ideas were implemented on a large scale, the planet would be a whole lot happier and saner.
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Alexander Sutherland Neill was a Scottish progressive educator, author and founder of Summerhill school, which remains open and continues to follow his educational philosophy to this day. He is best known as an advocate of personal freedom for children.
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May 26, 2013 08:31am