Just saw this. For the older, look at http://www.sudval.org/05_alumni.html#03 http://www.sudval.org/05_alumni.html#03 I think the basic answer is that they se

Just saw this. For the older, look at http://www.sudval.org/05_alumni.html#03 http://www.sudval.org/05_alumni.html#03 I think the basic answer is that they seek out a challenging and satisfying life. They can get along with people and are generally more emotionally stable. At Arts&Ideas as well as the Philly Free School, we are working to support those who have low incomes. We have one student who was even homeless for a time this past year. We have parents who have been recently bankrupted, unemployed, etc. We also have some well off parents as well. For the most part, it is hard to spot the kids that have different backgrounds. Everyone is accepting of others. Sometimes students from challenging backgrounds get stressed out about the insecurity at home and the students around show them compassion and acceptance which goes a long way towards eliminating the stress. I have never witnessed anyone try to overpower the democracy. It is possible in theory, but it just doesn't seem to happen nor do we have a group of outcasts. Occasionally, someone will dislike something about our system and try to change it in a way that the community would not want. It gets voted down. But by letting the disgruntled have a voice, their disgruntlement seems to dissipate. There was a time when a group wanted to get a gym bar. They outnumbered everyone else in the room, but through discussion, it was made clear to them that they had to think this through a lot more. They did, came back later, and got it in a way that the community was comfortable with. They did not try to overrule with their numbers. It can be hard to understand, but when one is in a culture of cooperation instead of competition, winning at the expense of others is not a path often traveled. There is a lot of reading one can do from Sudbury Valley School. For the low income experience, you can see if Philly Free School has anything. Urban Sudbury Schools are still pretty new so there just isn't too much out there yet about it.