We recently chatted with William, a wonderful volunteer at Saint Louis Sudbury School.

About William
My full name is Guilherme Frederico Lima de Carvalho e Silva, but now I go by the much easier 'William.’ I'm originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but I lived for over a decade in the UK, and in Alaska for five years before moving to St Louis. I have a Ph.D degree in Pure Mathematics from Cambridge, I'm currently involved in a few Data Science projects and searching for a job where I can mix that and my other great passion: board games!

How did you get involved as a volunteer with Saint Louis Sudbury School?
My two step kids were enrolled in Sudbury, and both my wife, Brooke, and our excellent friend Phoebe were volunteers. They suggested it to me since I had already volunteered with the chess club at their previous school and really liked it.

What do you enjoy about volunteering at Sudbury?
Just seeing what the students spontaneously create and invent is fascinating. I also really enjoy having conversations with the older students, and trying to see the world through their perspective. And sometimes I get to play board games...! I'm also constantly learning from how the staff handles everything and constantly impressed by their communication skills -- administrating such an unorthodox institution is non-trivial, so props to Mae, Alayna, and everyone else involved!

What do you think of the Sudbury model?
I think it's a good model, mostly because of its support for self-directed learning. With over 20 years of experience in teaching, I strongly believe that self-direction is incredibly important, if not essential to the learning process. I also feel that democratic schools are great in building a sense of personal agency and participation in a community, and this is of uttermost importance in a healthy democratic society. My main qualm with the Sudbury model lies in the fact that it has a fairly strong libertarian inclination in its foundational values, which clashes with my own socialist views. Daniel Greenberg was the founder of the original Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts and its "main philosopher," according to Peter Gray. Even though he had incredibly valuable insights regarding schooling, education, and individuality, unfortunately there is a fair amount of American exceptionalism in his writings on this topic. Having come from a country which suffered a great deal in the hands of US foreign policy, this is something to which I have very strong antagonistic ideas and feelings, yet I feel that the main aspects of the model transcend these ideological boundaries. I think I'd have loved Sudbury if I had been a student there.

What has surprised you during your time at Sudbury?
I was really impressed with how well the students handle the Judicial Committee. Most adults would presume they'd lack maturity for such things, but it really isn't the case.

Has volunteering at Sudbury changed you in some way?
Since joining the Sudbury community I've become increasingly interested in self-directed learning and its different implementations, and different education systems in general.

What are you listening to, watching, or reading lately? And... what is your favorite food (if you have one)?
Apart from technical books on mathematics, statistics and programming, I'm currently reading Peter Gray's Free to Learn, and I just finished Daniel Greenberg's Free at Last: The Sudbury Valley School. I have Better Off, written by Sudbury volunteer Eric Brende, and it's currently just waiting in line. My favourite television show is the German Netflix production Dark. I'm currently rewatching Game of Thrones and eagerly awaiting the release of Dune: Part Two in the cinemas. And I gotta say, I'm a huge fan of St. Louis-style barbecue.