A Visit to Diablo Valley School

At the start of a visit to Diablo Valley School, I found a wooden table surrounded by kids of all ages focused hard on their schoolwork. They were busy filling out their Dungeons and Dragons character sheets for the upcoming campaign. It starts next week, so they have to be completed by that deadline. No, this isn’t an extracurricular or after-school club, this is a part of normal school hours. You may think, “Which curriculum is this? What authority has decided that valuable school hours should be dedicated to a tabletop roleplaying game?” In fact, this decision was made by the group most knowledgeable on children's education: the children!

They’re given the freedom to make these decisions for themselves because Diablo Valley School (DVS) is a Sudbury school. Based on the original Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, Sudbury schools operate based on the idea that children learn best when they’re learning things they’re passionate about. Rather than being told to sit at a desk and study, students are allowed to explore the world at their own pace and follow their own curiosity. Whether that involves making animal masks, having a video game tournament, practicing fingerboarding, playing outside, starting a pretend band, or sitting and studying. At DVS play is respected and children are encouraged to learn however works best for them.

A question that comes up a lot is “If they spend all day learning what they WANT, what if they don’t learn the skills they NEED?” A lot of the time when a skill is absolutely needed, it comes up naturally. I remember as a kid, before I could read, I was very aware of all the information I was missing out on. There comes a point where either there’s something you really want to do that can’t be done without the skill, or you just get tired of asking for help with it. These points come at different times for everyone. When they do come, because that motivation is internal, it leads to dedicated learners who have a reason to try other than being told to by a teacher. At DVS no one is forced to learn anything before they are ready, and the staff are happy to help out at any point.

I was lucky enough to graduate from DVS last summer after attending for four years, and my experience was wonderful. In public elementary school, being required to attend for 5 full days a week did not allow me to get the rest I needed. And when I switched to being homeschooled, I was missing a lot of socialization, especially during quarantine. The freedom to choose my school hours at DVS allowed for the perfect middle ground. I could socialize for as long or as little as I wanted. If I noticed I was frequently bored at home or tired before even getting to school, I could just change up my schedule to what worked best for me. Getting to experiment with this in a safe environment has helped prepare me for now being in control of my entire schedule as a young adult. I’m much less overwhelmed than I would’ve been coming from homeschool or public school.

That afternoon after watching some people play Undertale, competing in a Jenga brick house building competition, and being invited to draw in the office, I was alerted that Pizza Day was beginning outside. Brenan, a staff member and chef, began lighting the pizza oven in the yard. The news spread, and people started gathering around the oven with the ingredients they’d brought: cheese, sauce, pepperoni, salami, and olives. Before the weekend, Brenan had helped everyone make pizza dough, which had been fermenting in the fridge. The kids decided to form a line behind the pizza making station, for everyone to go one at a time. Everyone was very busy while waiting; they contemplated what shape to make their dough into (Snowman? Cat face? Square?), ran from the smoke when the wind changed directions, and even started a small game of hide and seek. Turns out it takes two rounds of hide and seek to cook a pizza. I ended my day eating lunch in the Big Room (where most of the books and instruments are), next to a small pile of stuffed animals awaiting their vet appointments, and headed home in the autumn air.

As an alumnus I love coming back to visit and volunteer. Although I’ve made the choice to move on from being a student (yes, graduating is also a choice at Diablo Valley School), the community stays close to my heart. I love being around other people, young and old, who support unconventional schooling, seeing the creativity the environment fosters, and I love the warm welcomes I receive every time I come back.

If my story has interested or intrigued you, please visit www.diablovalleyschool.org for more information