Neill’s Summerhill School and his radical approach to child rearing are as controversial today as they were in 1960. His "code of freedom" emphasized the principles of freedom, love, and positive discipline in the care and education of children. These ideals continue to evoke admiration by many who have found them key to not only raising healthy happy children but also to stemming the tide of violence in our schools and society. Others dismiss these same principles for being idealistic at best and harmful at worst.

In this wonderful new book from Herb Kohl’s Between Teacher and Text Series, William Ayer weighs in as a parent and an educator who has spent years in the classroom experimenting with Neill’s progressive approach. He examines Neill’s idea of freedom as it relates to social justice and questions of class and race in today’s classrooms. He explores what it means to have a school that supports and creates freedom and what such schools have looked like in the past. He also considers what it means to have a school founded on love and acceptance of the child, where the teacher’s goal is to understand children and how they learn, and where all students can and do learn.