What you're not responsible for

Our Saturday night General Meetings, alas, show the conflict between children and adults. That is natural, for to have a community of mixed ages and for everyone to sacrifies all to the young children would be to spoil these children completely.

The adults make complaints if a gang of seniors keeps them awake by laughing and talking after all have gone to bed.

Harry complans that he spent an hour planing a panel for the front door, went to lunch, and came back to find that Billy had converted it into a shelf.

I make accusations against the boys who borrowed my soldering outfit and didn’t return it.

My wife makes a fuss because three small children came after supper and said they were hungry and got bread and jam, and the pieces of bread were found lying in the hallway the next morning.

Peter reports sadly that a gang threw his precious clay at each other in the pottery room.

So it goes on, the fight between the adult point of view and the juvenile lack of awareness. But the fight never degenerates into personalities; there is no feeling of bitterness against the individuals.

A.S. Neill, Summerhill School