Based on extensive interviews with former pupils and teachers, this
Pulitzer Prize-nominated work is a seminal and important investigation
into the potential of educational alternatives. Between 1910 and 1960
anarchists across the United States established more than 20 schools
wherein children studied in an atmosphere of freedom and self-reliance.
The Modern Schools stood in sharp contrast to the formality and
discipline of the traditional classroom and sought to abolish all forms
of authority. Their object was to create not only a new type of school,
but also a new society based on the voluntary cooperation of free
individuals. Among the participants were Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger,
Alexander Berkman and Man Ray.