 Some people have seen this public service ad that Academy Award winning actress Susan Sarandon recorded for AERO, but many of you have not! It took nearly a year to arrange, but was well worth the wait. Susan's office recently told us that she would be interested in going to the AERO conference, but she is so busy working on movie projects that we'd need to contact them again closer to the conference. We hope she can make it!
Susan has been very involved with AERO, making a financial contribution to one of our schools in the developing world that we support, and even donating some ping pong tables from her Spin table tennis club in Manhattan to a couple of the Boys and Girls Clubs we support.
We'd love it if people would spread this ad to their local radio and TV stations. Let us know if you need to downloadable MP3 file to do so. Email [email protected].
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Super Early Bird Deadline February 14th
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The AERO conference Super Early Bird rate will end at midnight on February 14th. This actually gives people more time than they had last year. Furthermore, AERO members can get 10% off conference fees. The student rate is still only $200 and the member discount applies. The under 11 rate is only $100 and this will entitle families to the conference childcare. You can hold the current rate by making an individual $50 deposit or a group $100 deposit.
Reserve this low rate today by placing a deposit or registering.
Workshop Proposal Deadline
We are beginning to receive many proposals for workshops. We will continue to take them until all time slots are filled, but no later than the end of February. If you'd like your proposal evaluated and approved to be put on our website in the next two weeks, send it to us by this Friday.
Here's an example of a workshop that has been accepted by Marc-Alexandre Prud'homme, a teacher in Canada:
"Workshop Description (100 word maximum): Teaching in a consent-based educational environment is much different than teaching in any other learning settings. Teaching strategies such as lectures more prevalent in coercive-based education might not accomplish desired goals in an unschooling setting or in a democratic school. For this reason, in this workshop, I will share some of the teaching strategies I have used to assist students in learning about social sciences and environmental education at Compass (a learning centre in Ottawa based on the North Star model). For instance, I will talk about how I have tried to use some place-based education principles in that context. Moreover, believing that together with the attendees of that workshop, we would know more about this topic that I do alone, one of the goals of the workshop will be to set up a space where everyone can share their ideas about how to teach social sciences and environmental education as well as their experience teaching or learning about these subjects in a consent-based learning setting."
To submit a proposal to host a workshop or presentation click here.
Keynotes
As you know, Zoe Readhead, daughter of Summerhill founder A.S. Neill and current Head is our first announced keynoter. We have two others we are finalizing and will announce them when the Super Early Bird ends. Stay tuned! Find out more about Zoe and the conference here. |
School Starters Consultation Program Now Open
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This year's school starter course has now ended and we have opened up the School Starter Consultation Program. A limited number of people will be able to sign up after which registration will be closed. In this program potential school starters will be able to access the resources of the school starter site. They will also be able to get individualized consultations. It is unguided, but in addition to consultations, participants will be added to a special listserve for school starters.
Sign up for it here.
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| Sabrina Stevens: Education Justice Listening Project (Video) |
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From Spirit in Action
As part of the Education Justice Listening Project we asked educators, students, parents and organizers what is one thing that we should know in regards to public education. In this first video from our listening, Sabrina Joy Stevens, took our question and proposed an alternative: an action step for everyone.
Sabrina Stevens is a teacher-turned-writer and activist who has worked with students in struggling communities in Philadelphia and Denver. She created the Failing Schools Project, newly evolved into Reclaiming Reform, which aims to empower public school teachers, students, and parents (particularly those in so-called "failing" schools) to share their stories about what it's really like to work and learn in schools saddled with corporate-driven education policies, and to promote alternative ways of thinking about and solving educational problems.
 | | Sabrina Joy Stevens - Education Justice Listening Project |
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Alfie Kohn: A Case for Active Adult Involvement in Progressive Education (Video)
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Lawrence Williams, Ed.D.
This year marks the thirty-eighth year I've been involved with homeschooling. When I look back on the last four decades, it's been an amazing experience-not only for me personally, but for all of us involved in this profound educational movement.
What has made the homeschooling movement most remarkable is that it was not guided by one charismatic leader or driven by a small group with common political or religious beliefs. Since the modern homeschooling movement began in the 1960s, it has always been composed of a wide variety of thinkers and doers: back-to-the-land homesteaders, new age hippies, right-wing fundamental Christians, academic idealists, public school educators, and many others. This diverse group, united only by love for children and a desire for educational freedom, has dramatically changed the educational landscape throughout the U.S. and created new opportunities for learning throughout the world.
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Remember to email your job announcements to [email protected]. Members can post their ads for free!
Here's a recent job ad and example of what your posting can look like. You can also send an image along with each ad!
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Community & Education Interview Series:
Revisiting the First Nine Interviews |
We hope you've enjoyed reading the interviews from the community and education series to date--thousands already have! We hope to continue publishing an interview from the series every week or two over the next year, so stay tuned for many more interviews from a variety of voices. Today, we'd like to take some time to look back on the first nine interviews and encourage you to catch up on reading them!
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Do you have a news or resource item you think Education Revolution newsletter readers would find useful? Send it to [email protected].
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Thank you for your ongoing support. With your help, we will make learner-centered alternatives available to everyone!
Sincerely,
Jerry Mintz
Executive Director
Alternative Education Resource Organization
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