This is Vanessa, Van, V. Vanny Pants, Vanoosa, Vanoogie. We call a spade a spade; this is our Matriarch, and our Lodestar. Vanessa is a founder of the school, a mother to 6 former & current students, the only remaining person who’s been a School Meeting Member for all 17 years and counting. Vanessa is the throbbing, beating, wild, sometimes bleeding heart of the school; she cares about all of us, and her care carries us like the invincible love of a parent. Sometimes I text her randomly just to test, and she always responds within the minute, so ready to help, to talk, to be there. She’s done every job at school, she’s paid every bill, cleaned every toilet, and tied every shoe. She’s taken out the trash and she’s on the Board of Trustees. She’s a good listener and a straight-talker. She’s a world- class event planner, and a professional photographer. She’s a su- per-taster and a poor sleeper. She’s all about it, and we’re all about her. She makes us better, and what could be better than that?
Opportunities
At Zena Democratic School, we pride ourselves on offering our students endless opportunities; they are free to pursue their interests, dabble in this and that, or to fall head over heels into a subject without interruption – for as long as the interest remains, or to follow it wherever it may lead.
But the most valuable opportunity we offer students is the time and space to discover who they are. Students at ZDS have time to be, to think, to talk, to play, to discover what they enjoy and appreciate and, equally importantly, what they don’t enjoy or appreciate. We offer an opportunity to practice crucial skills such as motivation, persistence, articulation, and humility, to be part of a democratic community, and to experience acceptance, cooperation, recognition, and celebration. This unstructured time is where the real beauty of the ZDS experience lies and where the most important learning usually takes place.
However, many people do love content and instruction, and there is plenty of organized and formal activity at school. Students often organize this on their own, or with the assistance or leadership of a Staff Member, but they may also request the Programming Clerk to facilitate whatever kind of instruction or activity they’d like to have, from basic reading instruction to skateboarding lessons to sex education; every topic under the sun is theoretically available for our students to explore and to receive instruction upon.