I recently had the pleasure of spending two weeks in Hawaii, away from the snow and inversion. My family and I spent about 13 days lounging in the sun and sand on Kauai, enjoying simple meals and a lot of wonderful time together. Before heading home, we stopped of for three days on Maui with the intention of visiting Sudbury Maui. Hey, who says you can’t mix business with pleasure!

Sudbury Maui is a small campus (currently 13 students) located in Haiku, Maui. Their building is a small home on about an acre of land. There is nothing spectacular about the campus itself – the home is not grand, the land is not directly on a beach – but what we witnessed there was beyond spectacular, and worth writing about.

We were met at the door by a parent who was on her way out. She directed us to Liz, one of the founders, and the life force of Sudbury Maui. Liz is mostly retired now, although her retirement involves running “Sudbury Prep”, a play group and pre-school for 2-4 year olds that is run from her home. We got a quick tour of the campus, met a few students, and sat down to talk with Liz about the school and her recent visits to other campuses on the West Coast.

As we were talking, students came in and out of the main room, a music class started, the other staff members began their day, more students arrived, a couple of girls began some bead work (they have been making jewelry for a fundraiser), the school cat was caught, lost, and caught, the school bird was taken outside in a wagon, three children took turns on the trampoline, a game of Yahtzee was played, and several snacks were eaten. Mind you, this all took place within a 15 minute time span. Yes, activity was all around us from the moment we walked in.

After spending a few minutes with Liz we had the opportunity to speak with the other staff members about their jobs, the school, and the students. Both women (the other two staff members, both men, were not in on the day we visited) had many wonderful insights about this type of education and the benefits it has had for their children. And then, the real fun began.

Three young girls (ranging from about 5-8 years old) decided to make popcorn. We were seated nearby, and I began to listen to their conversations. “Not so much butter!” said the middle-aged child. “But I like a lot of butter,” responded the oldest. The 5 year old piped in, “Well, then you make more butter and put it on your popcorn, and we will just have ours like it is.” That was it – end of story. There was no argument, there was no one upset, just a simple compromise between 3 children, in which everyone as happy – and the solution came from the mouth of a 5 year old child.

We also had the wonderful opportunity to sit in on a school meeting. The SM (School Meeting) chairperson, a 14 year old student, walked around the campus reminding each SM member that the meeting was to start in five minutes. Some students came, others didn’t (at one point there were 7 students in the room, at another point there was only the staff and the chairperson), and some wandered in and out during the meeting. Several motions were offered up for voting and discussion, however it wasn’t the content of the meeting that was interesting, it was the way things were handled by the SM members that was incredible to observe.

A motion had been made (by the chairperson) to change some of the bylaws of the school, thereby making it possible for more “transient” students to visit without being members of the school. One boy (approximately 10 years old) asked what bylaws were, and a short discussion was held. The staff had very clear reservations about these proposed changes, which they voiced. Students asked more questions that the chairperson was unable to answer regarding the effects of the proposed changes. The result of the discussion was to table the motion until it could be made clear what was being proposed and what the effect of the changes would be. Students as young as five or six said that they were not willing to vote because they didn’t understand what they would be voting for. The meeting continued, and was concluded about a half hour later.

Nothing we saw stood out as an incredible example of the power of self-directed learning in a working democracy. There was not some beautiful moment in which we were weeping with joy at the positive effects of giving children a voice. What we witnessed was very ordinary in many ways. Yet, when one looks at the bigger picture, one can see some miracles in this ordinariness. There are not many places in which one will find a group of mixed-aged students who can settle a conflict so easily, with none of the “normal” solutions of tattling or arguing. There is no time in my life that I have witnessed children this young taking a stand for their school or community, being unwilling to make choices that they don’t understand, and demanding more information be made available to them. And I have never been in a school in which adults and children are regarded equally as part of the community, with the same respect and rights granted to each member regardless of age. I see these things as miraculous in their own right, and I look forward to the days when our students have these same opportunities at Sego Lily School.