Perils By Neil Summerhill Summary

Countless hours of sitting behind a desk, taking pointless notes on topics like college algebra, sociology, statistics. All these pointless topics for what? Students are forced to follow specific educational guidelines, which doesn’t allow students to learn at their full potential. Summerhill built a foundation that allowed students to learn with self-confidence, no existence of fear, and to see past the monitor and desk. School systems today lack these foundations, making it difficult for students to have the perseverance to want to keep pushing further in their dreams. Summerhill believed that “a school that makes active children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects is a bad school. It is a good school only for those who believe

Many children grow to believe that a person who carries a degree will always stand more successful in the eyes of one. In Neil story, he describes to us how one of his students lacked the education but was highly commended on the self-confidence he presented. This lead to Neil’s’ student advancing beyond in his career and possessing a higher position then the ones who exceled in their education. Neil even mentions that “Summerhill is possibly the happiest school in the world. We have no truants and seldom a case of homesickness. We very rarely have fights-quarrels of course but seldom have I see a stand-up fight like the ones we used to have as boys. I seldom hear a child cry, because children when free have much less hate to express than children who are downtrodden” (Neil 8). In this statement Neil is describing to us the happy atmosphere he has created for these children when you simply offer them the ability to be free and explore. Neil goes on to describe how we must love the children but to do so we cannot side against the children we must allow the children to know that in society their actions are approved. Summerhill let the children know that no superiors exist in their world no matter their title everyone is their equal. Should a school like Summerhill existed where I live I feel I wouldn’t be working towards a position for the idea of money. I would be

This statement fails immensely, because Neil has built a system of education that allows children the freedom to learn as they please. Allowing to do so gives these children the opportunity to not end up in an educational system of pen and paper, but allowing students to understand that “learning in itself is not as important as personality and character” (Neil 6). One will also argue that Neil was creating a school for children who were considered “wild primitives who know no law and have no manners” (Neil 5) One doesn’t realize that, Neil was creating children who were unspoiled, and self-taught to carry characteristics of someone who would be considered original. Not like other educational systems that create children to think only one way is right, whether you believe that idea is right or