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Democratic
Self-Government
With freedom comes responsibility. All members of the Longview
community, children and adults alike, are free to make choices and to act, as
long as they do not hurt anyone else. But when is somebody else hurt? In
order to determine this, the school has a legislature—the School Meeting—and a
judiciary—Mediation/Judicial Committee. Besides being a fair and
effective way to run a school, democratic self-governance provides students an
invaluable learning experience.
The School Meeting
School Meeting takes place once each week. The issues brought up range from
the mundane to the profound, from deciding how to arrange a room, to organizing
group activities, to making rules for the governance of the school.
School
Meeting decisions reflect the values and priorities of the community as a
whole. Students choose for themselves how involved they want to be in the
voting process and then experience the direct consequences of those decisions.
Their right to choose at school parallels the choice all democratic citizens
enjoy and that they themselves will have as adults. Students decide for
themselves whether they wish to participate in the School Meeting at any given
time. Regardless of their choice, all students realize that they are
responsible for adhering to decisions made in the meeting.
At the School Meeting, students and staff learn how to get things done, how
to present ideas clearly and convincingly, and how to rally a supportive group
to lobby for a cause. They learn through trial and error how to make a case for
what they want, how to give and take, what it feels like to be in the minority
as well as the majority. Finally, they develop a deep understanding of
democracy, both its principles and its practice.
Mark Jacobs Barbara Jacobs Teacher—Director Where the
love of learning never ends
Longview School, LLC
296 Locust Avenue
Cortlandt Manor
New York 10567
Ph. (914) 739-2742
Fax (775) 205-6510
Teacher—Director