Naughty Girls and Boys

[Keith Robinson]

Gosh! It looks like the idea of a panel of child judges as in the Naughtiest Girl books is finally coming true!

Daily Mail

I always thought it was a fanciful idea, a way for children to figure out for themselves why there are rules instead of just being told by adults to obey without question... but I never expected to see it happening in real life.

Smazing!

[Kitty]

It sounds hideous to me - but then, I always thought the idea of the Whyteleafe community model was pretty hideous too!

[Tony Summerfield]

I had to check my diary, it really is October 23rd and not April 1st!!

[Keith Robinson]

I had to check my diary, it really is October 23rd and not April 1st!!

Me too! My first thought was, "this is a joke." Who knows, maybe it is. After being taken by the Happy Endings spoof (which was in all the major news), I'm treading warily...

[Ming]

Ahem.... I don't know where to look even, now. Is this a joke, or what? Like Keith, I'm treading warily too - I was also taken in by the Happy Endings Foundation!

[Petermax]

It sounds hideous to me - but then, I always thought the idea of the Whyteleafe community model was pretty hideous too!

Was Whyteleafe based on the Summerhill School I wonder? There are certainly many similarities such as it being co-educational and pupils making up their own rules. I watched a documentary about this school many years ago and the activities were most un-Blytonlike. The headmistress swore like a trooper, almost as much as the pupils! I also remember a disturbing scene involving a rabbit being hacked to death in the school grounds.

[Tony Summerfield]

Was Whyteleafe based on the Summerhill School I wonder?

We have been here before, put Summerhill into 'search forums' at the top of the page.

[Petermax]

Now I see, Summerhill has indeed already been discussed here, long before I joined the EBS forum.

To get back on topic, I am unable to see the childrens peer panel experiment being anything more than a gimmick, it will have died a natural death by next week. A childrens court complete with child ushers? It could well be a spoof article.

[manzanita]

Interesting concept for sure.

I checked back through the "Summerhill" thread and was reminded of a "Point Crime" book I read. For those who might not know, they're a series of children's book started in the 1990s and still continue to this day. The point being, that "Shoot The Teacher" by David Belbin (I had to google to find the name!) also features a school where the pupils rule themselves, although that's not the main focus of the book.

The school was set near Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, although I can't find anything to suggest this school existed although a wikipedia entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebden_Bridge" target="_blank

certainly seems to suggest a "hippy" type of population so maybe it's possible a school like that was there.

Further googling show a Steiner school in the area, and a wikipedia entry for Steiner-Waldorf method of education http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education" target="_blank and this quote "Pupils are encouraged to develop their own independent and creative thinking processes. The curriculum is structured to help students develop a sense of competence, responsibility and purpose, to foster an understanding of ethical principles, and to build a sense of social responsibility" seems to reflect Whyteleafe to some degree.

I don't know much about the Steiner-Waldorf system of education, but I suppose it is possible that Enid knew of this system from her teacher training and explored it in her works?

So is Whyteleafe a Steiner-Waldorf school?


Manzy

[Anita Bensoussane]

Enid Blyton was probably influenced mainly by Froebel, as her teacher-training was Froebel-based. However, she must also have studied other educational methods and it seems likely that she would have been impressed by certain elements of Montessori, Steiner-Waldorf, etc.

Anita