Doesn a democratically run school lack structure?
Not at all. Democracy, even in the hands of young people, is neither anarchy nor Lord-of-the-Flies tyranny. Democracy at a Sudbury-model school involves very strict rules of order and governance. The School Meeting is held weekly to make new rules or repeal old ones, to decide how the budget will be spent, to hire and fire staff, and even to charter corporations. Everyone, student or staff member (teacher) has the right to attend the meeting and use his/her powers of persuasion and the force of one’s vote to influence school policy. The meeting runs according to Robert’s Rules of Order and students learn to amend motions, to lobby fellow voters, and to live with the decisions of the majority. In other words, students are learning about real life in a democracy, the conflicting needs of different interest groups, the tensions and balance between individual rights and community needs, the inextricable link between freedom and responsibility. Even in the enforcement of rules, democracy an
