In 1960, seven years before the world dove headfirst into Flower Power, American psychoanalyst AS Neill published a text that would revolutionize the way children were raised in the future: Free Children of Summerhill.
Sold more than 400,000 copies, this bestseller, which was inspired by experiments carried out in a self-managed school located in the suburbs of London, asserted that the best way to ensure that children become “emancipated”, “autonomous” adults and “creative” was to let them be free.
Free like water.
Free as air.
Free like a hippie running naked in a field of dandelions in Val-David.
DISCIPLINE IS BAD!
Here are some excerpts from this book that has wowed every pot smoker on the planet…
“The purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness.”
“Children only learn what they want. Grades and exams only deviate from the natural development of their personality.”
“Shaping a child’s character leads to fear and hatred.”
“The child should never be forced to do something until he himself has come to the idea that he must do it.”
“A child’s happiness and well-being depend on the amount of approval he receives.”
“Parental authority is only hatred in disguise.”
“Finding satisfaction in one’s ego is a vital necessity for children.”
“In a home where the child is independent from the beginning of his life, discipline is not necessary.”
“Love is being on each other’s side. Love is approval.”
“School restricts children’s emotional lives and their creative tendencies. It trains them to obey all the dictators and all the bosses they will encounter during their lives.
“No one has the right to force a child to study this or that subject, because study is a matter of individual choice.”
In short, you see the type.
The best way to raise a child is to let him do what he wants when he wants and approve of everything he does.
Like Caillou’s mother!
FREE THE PARENTS!
This book which was published 64 years ago is now forgotten.
Who reads it these days? Person!
But the theses he defended are now adopted by most parents, who are quite happy to know that the best way to raise their child is to stare at a screen and smile stupidly when he screams at the top of his lungs and acts piss off everyone.
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose», sang Janis Joplin.
Well, now freedom is just another word for, “No need to take care of my child, because the less I do, the better.”
The author of Free Children of Summerhill did not “free” the children. He “liberated” parents from their responsibilities.
He told them: “The more you eat your donut, the more your child will become a fulfilled adult.”
Isn’t that beautiful?
Result: we end up with little kings who consider work as a form of oppression and who see microaggressions everywhere.
Thank you, Mr. Neill!