About me

So today's blog isn't going to be as much about Sudbury schools, or the one I am working at. Instead it is going to be about me as a staff member at this sudbury school, and why I am doing it, and also about the kind of life I am living that is part of working at this sudbury school.

So working at this school, I receive little pay. This seems true for many sudbury schools, and it makes sense given that the schools wish to make it affordable to the students, as well as the schools being often relatively new, like the one I am at now. So for people that haven't need to think about money, or living on their own, taking care of their expenses, working for little money isn't a big deal. Of course it is, because what you can afford to do is limited and so or your choices. For example having little money can prevent you from being able to go on vacation, from picking the foods that you would like to eat, even from being able to have a girlfriend, wife, or start a family. There are many points tied to money. So for me this is a conscious decision I made, that for me to work at this sudbury school, long term, means that I will lack many luxuries and choices. At the moment, fortunately my family is supporting me with a place to stay, and with money for food, etc... So I am definitely not independent, as I am dependent on my family. If I didn't have them, there's no way I could be working at this sudbury school right now. One of my goals is to use the money I earn to support me, and support them in alleviating how much they support me financially.

If I were to try earning enough to live on my own, I would need to find a perfect job, because it would need to complement the hours that I work at the school, while also earning enough that I could actually realistically live. In the world of today, that is going to be very difficult. Of course my goal is to take baby steps to that point, since I am basically searching for ways to make my situation work.

People may not know this by looking at me, well maybe they do, I don't know, but I could have made the choice to be an engineer, psychologist or other professional. But I didn't, because there is a part of me, that wants to make my life really count, because I would in truth, just being doing those professions for the money, and not to change the world. And for me, there is something about me that needs to be here, at this school, because I see it as part of the grander solution that society needs.

So I am choosing this life I am living on purpose. I am happy with what I am doing. This is what give me meaning and purpose in life. For other people, it may mean having fun, traveling, earning money, having a family etc... For me it is supporting others in their changes and development to be the best they can be, which is what I see sudbury schools as doing by giving individuals the opportunity to create themselves, support themselves, get to know themselves, on as deep as level as they wish to go. I genuinely enjoy watching someone learn, explore, create, understand, and communicate. I could watch that all day. I do see my role as valuable, where I am simply there. For me, that is something important that I didn't know as a child until someone wasn't there. Being there, and committing to be there, consistently, day in and day out is very important. It makes the difference.

So all in all, I am right where I want to be.

Children leading the Adults

So I am a new staff here, and one thing I knew I haven't developed fully is leadership. Now, having been here since August, which means about 5 months, I can reflect and look back and saw how the students have actually assisted me to take on leadership qualities. Meaning, that the students had lived examples of leadership and authority, which I naturally took in and assimilated in myself. If you want a nice easy catch phrase you can say that they were teaching me how to be a leader. Which now I can say being a leader has a lot to do with being comfortable with yourself, and being comfortable with what you are saying and sharing with another. So leading requires a depth of calm in your being. Within that calmness, comes forth clarity, which translates into easy to understand communication. Many of the students at the school simply speak and share what they see, and for the most part it is clear, within confidence, and self-acceptance. They also are quite supportive and respectful towards those who lack such confidence, such as with me in some moments. I am not saying they are perfect, by no means, but they certainly has served as a supportive example many many times for me and how I can be.

First 2 weeks at Sunset Sudbury

So two weeks ago, I had started visiting, and afterwards being hired, and now working at Sunset Sudbury. I can say that the last two weeks have felt like a really long time. Each day I was there felt both timeless, too short, and when looking back, it seems like I had let another life that was ages ago before all of this. So my plan for this blog is to capture the stories, lessons that everyone reading this will benefit from, including people who may not have any children, or never plan too. Because Sudbury is a school model, and we tend to think that this is just a place for children. Though really this is a place where something that is ancient and timeless occurs, which is the rearing of children within a community. That aspect has been lost in all schools across countries across the world. Was there a sense of community in all of your schools? Perhaps a lucky few of you could say yes. What is interesting too, is how many of us may have forgotten completely what is means to be genuine among people, and to be your real self. So for those that still have a spark of remembrance within you, hold onto that, and walk these blogs with me.

So something interesting that happened was how someone was playing with paper airplanes. I saw them and I asked if they knew how to make them in a different way. They said no. I then showed them, and after we flew them for a while and had fun, some other kids saw us. They then made their own and started playing. Eventually this spread to the other kids, and one of them lead a small group into how to make paper airplanes. They decorated them as well. So I observed how one thing spread from someone to another. And even though they hadn't played all together at once, it spread over time. The first people playing with paper airplanes had already left to do something else when the next group started.  Much of the world and reality works in this way, or at least it could. However, because most of us have barriers in place that prevent us from spreading our ideas and teaching and learning from others, the good ideas die. In a "normal" school, what is taught is not a decision that students make. Students do not give permission to be taught or learned something. There is no agreement, contract, or permission given. This is dangerous, as even the parents, and teachers also do not have the power to decide what is learn or taught. Instead 99% of us are trusting that whatever is taught in schools is correct, and what is best, without 99% of us actually participating in the investigation and the decision/determination of what is best to learn or taught. And because Sudbury  model is a complete democracy, everything that is learned or taught is through the permission and decision of both the learner and teacher. Thereby even the process of how to determine what is best to learn, can actually happen. This itself is a skill or lesson to learn, which can only happen through actually using one's ability to determine, decide, measure and test out a reality/situation, and set of knowledge to its value/promise.


Yogan Barrientos
786-216-2572
Miami, Florida