Freedom, Not License!

by A.S. Neill

A.S. Neill, the now-renowned headmaster of the Summerhill School in England, has received hundreds of letters from correspondents in the USA requesting advice about their specific problems in child rearing. With his uncommon wisdom & in his unique, forthright style, he proffers answers.
There are chapters about sibling rivalry, homosexuality, eating habits, the fearful child, censorship, homework, nudity in the home, children of the divorced & about other vital topics which either directly or obliquely affect the home life of the
American child.
This penetrating volume will be read & quoted again & again. It's sure to excite controversial discussion.
The title epitomizes Neill's Summerhillian philosophy. Every child is entitled to freedom; an excess of freedom constitutes license. Freedom deals with the rights of the child; license constitutes trespassing on the rights of others. Neill explains how & where the line is drawn between these two.

Genres: Education, Parenting, Psychology

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Alexander Sutherland Neill was a Scottish progressive educator, author and founder of Summerhill school and its philosophy of freedom from adult coercion and its community self-governance, which remains open and continues to follow his educational philosophy to this day. He is best known as an advocate of personal freedom for children.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly radical parenting advice! It will really stretch your definition of what it means to be truly free and how that translates to parenting and education...and the world at large.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro de preguntas y respuestas muy fácil de leer, pero no lo recomendaría como primera lectura para conocer a Neill, sinó como complemento para los que ya han leído sobre Summerhill.

[Searchingthemeaningoflife Greece · Rating 5 out of 5]

[...]Ὁ ξυλοδαρμὸς εἶναι μιὰ διέξοδος γιὰ τὸ θυμό, τὴν ἀπογοήτευση καὶ τὸ μίσος τοῦ μεγάλου. Θὰ ἦταν ἐνδιαφέρον νὰ μάθετε ἂν οἱ μητέρες ποὺ ξυλίζουν περισσότερο τα παιδιά τους εἶναι ἐκεῖνες ποὺ ἔχουν μιὰ ὄχι ἱκανοποιητική σεξουαλικὴ ζωή, ἢ ἂν εἶναι ψυχρές, δηλαδὴ γεμάτες μίσος ἐνάντια στὴ σάρκα. Οἱ εὐτυχισμένες μητέρες δὲ δέρνουν τὰ παιδιά τους˙ δὲν ἔχουν ἀνάγκη νὰ τὸ κάνουν, γιατὶ ἡ ἐσωτερική ισορροπία τους εἶναι κάτι που τα παιδιά τους τὸ αἰσθάνονται ἀσυνείδητα.[...]

 
[...]Αν υπάρχει ἕνα φάρμακο κατὰ τοῦ ξυλοδαρμοῦ, τὸ φάρμακο αὐτὸ εἶναι ἡ ἐξέταση τῆς συνείδησης τοῦ ὀργισμένου μεγάλου. Ὁ ξυλοδαρμὸς εἶναι ἕνας συμβολικός ευνουχισμός. Το ξύλο σπάζει τὴ θέληση, προκαλεῖ τὸ μίσος καὶ μπορεῖ νὰ καταστρέψει τὴ ζωὴ ἑνὸς παιδιοῦ. Εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι ποὺ δάρθηκαν στα παιδικά τους χρόνια ἐπαναλαμβάνουν την παράδοση αργότερα μὲ τὰ δικά τους παιδιά. Ἴσως νὰ τιμωροῦμε ἐπειδὴ εἴμαστε προϊόντα ἑνὸς χριστιανικοῦ πολιτισμοῦ. Ἡ ἁμαρτία βρίσκει την τιμωρία της ἐδῶ κάτω στὸ ἄμεσο παρὸν καὶ ἐκεῖ πάνω μετά το θάνατο. Οἱ γονεῖς ποὺ ξυλίζουν τὰ παιδιά τους εἶναι γονεῖς μὲ πνεῦμα στενό, γεμάτοι μίσος καὶ δειλοί. Θὰ ἦταν καλό ἂν οἱ γονεῖς ἀποκτοῦσαν κάποια συνείδηση, μιὰ ἐπίγνωση γιὰ τὸ τί εἶναι πραγματικά... Ἄνθρωποι ὑπανάπτυκτοι καὶ δυστυχισμένοι, ποὺ καλύπτονται μὲ μιὰ ἐξουσία κακοῦ γούστου, τὴν ὁποία δὲν εἶναι ἀρκετά φρόνιμοι γιὰ νὰ τὴν ἐξασκήσουν ὅπως πρέπει. Οἱ πιο πολλοὶ γονεῖς, δυστυχῶς, δὲν μποροῦν νὰ ἀλλάξουν αὐτὸ ποὺ εἶναι, γιατί κι οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτοὶ εἶναι θύματα μιᾶς οἰκογενειακῆς καὶ σχολικῆς ἐκπαίδευσης ποὺ εἶχε ἄγνοια γιὰ τὴ φύση τοῦ παιδιοῦ.[...]

[Mubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose the older a book gets, the more you have to wade through to get to the good parts, and even more so the more radical the book was to begin with. This book suffers from its 53 years, but there are reasons to wade. It’s still a good book, it still has some gems. The core point is excellent, and the application to so many situations is helpful. Sometimes it’s even helpful when it’s so dated it’s irrelevant, because of the contrast in assumptions between the writer and the reader. A reader he couldn’t possibly be expected to keep in mind - in this case the unborn daughter of the generation he is writing about raising.

Note especially that while it’s less homophobic than most things printed in the mid sixties, modern readers should brace themselves for some cringeworthy comments.

It’s still a good and helpful book, and knowing what to expect may help keep it that way.

[Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've already read Neill's books before and I like them, but I must say that the content is so similar to that in "Summerhill", the same theories, only that in this one, they're applied to specific topics.

But just as I criticized his homophobic and sexist views on sexuality, I'll do it this time: he said that he wouldn't hire any gay or lesbian teacher because it'd be bothering. He thought that the army and some schools and prisons stimulate homosexuality.

Neill also stated that homosexual activity damages those involved in it and that we have to fight homosexuality, even through psychotherapy, he suggested. Fortunately, psychotherapist are not allowed to treat a patient that way anymore.

There's a part in the book where he said that there should be no worry about a girl who dresses herself in a seductive way, but that it'd be so worrying for a mother to have a kleptomaniac, prostitute or lesbian daughter. What kind of advice or warning can be that?

Again, this author appears to bevery sexist, describing stereotypic behaviors in boys and girls as determined. No, I'm afraid he never overcame these spots in his theoretical construct. What a shame..

[Luís Nunes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, this book is worth reading too, I was amazed at the difference in the treatment of educational issues then and now. It's amazing how the lack of information is still an evil, which produces much disagreement. The internet would be an antidote, if Internet users seek to get rid of the proselytizing of reactionary clerics of all religions. But where most have not mastered a foreign language becomes much easier handling especially on young people. Just check the recent conflicts in China and the Arab world. It is not difficult to understand why, we see that even here, in Brazil, with all the information given by the media, yet the majority, is a victim of intensive propaganda. Imagine in countries where the people are composed of semi-literate people or where the media is censored.

[Platontz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first time I tried to read this book was back when I was a teenager. At that time I thought of it as the greatest book a person could read and a guide to how parents should treat their children.

After almost ten years, experience showed me that Alexander Neill was wrong in his theory and too naive to his approach to children. I do appreciate the love he shows for teaching as well as his criticisms of the extremely social conservatives of his time, who did a great damage to their children, but Neill's answer is in the end not viable in any society (or family) for I am afraid it leads not to freedom but to anarchy.

Worth reading just to know what this good man wanted to achieve.

[Kristin]

Anyone involved with children, be you parent or teacher, would do well to read this book. AS Neill, founder of the Summerhill School, wrote these responses to letters that he received from American parents. I find much of it to make sense, despite the obvious Freudian fallbacks. One warning, his views on homosexuality are obviously backwards at best, almost bad enough to discount the whole book, but why throw out the baby with the bathwater???

[Elizabeth Lund]

Somewhat interesting advice-column book. Most relevant for parents--not teachers--seeking to apply Neill's philosophy.