Article: Learning a matter of choice at Emerald Valley.(Schools)(Students and staff have equal votes on how to run the classes at a Eugene `unschool')

Byline: The Register-Guard

It's just before 9:30 a.m., and students at Emerald Valley School are settling into comfy old sofas and mismatched chairs for the daily school meeting. Most are sipping cans of Mountain Dew, courtesy of 14-year-old James Wyrick.

After a few mundane announcements by the student leading the meeting, Les Ditson, one of the school's founders and three staff members, speaks up.

"I'm going to be noticing today if this energy is really crazy, because I see a huge amount of Mountain Dew," says Ditson, a tall, bearded father of four with a gentle voice.

That's about as close as Ditson ever gets to sounding like a ...

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