Quibble

This is Quibble, although you shouldn’t expect her to evade the point in question, because she’s her own person, and she knows it. She’s always willing to indulge a sportive fancy, be it a rib-rub, tete-a-tete, or Dungeons & Dragons. She dabbles: she’s had a nibble of every hobby. She’s quick with her big, sweet, smile: she always asks how you are, and her genuine interest in your answer is palpable – she has a lot of love to give, and she doesn’t ask for anything back.

Some philosophers say the only world is the one you create, but Quibble creates many, with the playful imagination of a lounging avatar of Vishnu: she dreams stories awake; you can sense them swirling around her, emanating from her like a mist. She writes them down, she draws them, she tells them to friends. Quibble’s heart quivers like a bird, it dilates like a blood vessel, it rises like the moon.

Quibble likes to fly: she swings on our swingset, undeterred by any weather, listening to music, waiting for the Muse. Quibble is not off in the clouds: she studies law and psychology, German and Russian. She is current: she is learning to code. She is surprising: she plays the drums. We like her (can you tell?), and she likes it here; she says, “it’s hella radical, hella gnarly, hella hella.” That means good. Quibble says, “I love being free…I don’t want adults to control my life…I want to be a part of making decisions and have the power to change things and make them better.” Quibble is a leader.

Quibble says she’s starting to “hit the wall,” which is the term we use for a kind of personal crisis students here undergo sometimes (well, so does everyone, but we focus on this experience, and treasure it) when they change, and it’s painful, and they have to ask themselves, who am I now? What do I really want to do? What is my next task? It’s like, to borrow a phrase,* driving a car at night: you never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. Or maybe Quibble, it’s like nibbling: you can eat a whole bagel that way. Either way, we are so so happy and grateful you’re here, your own person, smiling and creating and swinging like hell(a).

Parents’ experience of the school is a crucial factor in determining their childrens’ experience of the school. Children of parents who work hard to understand our philosophy, communicate with staff, attend events, and connect with the community usually get the most out of our program.

At Zena Democratic School, rule infractions and interpersonal conflicts are resolved using sophisticated restorative justice tools.

Age-mixing is one of the most potent developmental experiences at Zena Democratic School.

Each student aged 14+ is automatically enrolled in our High School Advisor Program;

Screens are allowed at school, with restrictions.

At Zena Democratic School, a Cooperative (coop) is a group of like-minded students and staff who organize around a common interest, like music, art, or sports.

At Zena Democratic School, the jobs of administration and maintenance are divided into roles called Clerkships;

Every student and staff at Zena Democratic School is assigned a cleaning job by the Physical Plant Clerk.

Students may receive a diploma if they elect to undergo our internal diploma process.

Zena Democratic School is located on a parcel of 67 wooded acres in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley region of New York State.

Zena Democratic School is a direct democracy; each student and member of the staff has an equal vote in managing all aspects of the school’s operation.