Summerhill, by A. S. Neill, is a book on the education of the young that many readers will approach with scepticism only to find, when they have finished it, that the author has convinced them on a good many points. Neill, the headmaster of an experimental educational school in England, differs from most educators in his beliefs that the majority of children are inherently good and that education is not a means to power but a road to happiness. He runs his school like a democracy, consulting his pupils about the curriculum and about everything pertaining to their social behavior. He does not think that they should be made to study unless they want to, which most of them end up doing. As Neill says, school should provide an environment in which the emotions can be lived out and expressed. Neill doesn’t like to force his pupils to do