There was a little outcry from some low income people who were concerned that we were raising the conference rate from $225 to $275 for the five day AERO conference to be held August 3-7 in Portland, OR. Some are still applying for or raising funds. We must raise the basic rate because of increased expenses this year. Of course it was easier to have the conference in our back yard on Long Island.

Get more info or register here!

Food

 

Workshops List and Application

First Day Mini-Talk Form

We still have a form to submit a proposal for a 15 minute TED-like presentation on the first day of the AERO conference. These will be presented to all the conference participants. Some may be stand alone, but may also be introductions for people doing other workshops. Some will be eventually available on Youtube. To apply to do a mini-talk just click here. 

 

Patron Registration

As you know, AERO has always had a policy of working hard to find a way for low income people to participate in the conference. Sometimes we arrange volunteer slots, give fundraising advice, etc. Now, in addition, we are featuring a new patron registration, which allows people to register at a higher rate, half of which is tax deductible. Register as a patron  here. 

You can now reserve a vendor table  here. 

This week AERO author Nikhil Goyal's latest book,  Schools on Trial: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice, was released by Doubleday. Hailed by Temple Grandin as a book that "will force you to think deeply about problems in today's schools," this is one I think you'll want to add to your library. Order a copy of Schools on Trial  here.

Nikhil's first bestseller , One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student's Assessment of School, was recently given a fresh edit and new cover, and is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it at  only 17. As Howard Gardner said, "It's high time to learn the views and recommendations of a thoughtful young person." You can buy a print version for only $14.95 here and ebook version for only $9.99 here.  

Huong Le and Lilly Penick are both 17-year-0ld juniors who attend Gulf High School in New Port Richey, Florida, and participate in their school's International Baccalaureate program. They worked together on a writing assignment, composing a telling slam poem that expresses their view - and that of many other students - about the testing culture inside schools today.

Slam poetry expresses personal stories in an often emotional and moving style. A slam is a competition where authors read their poems and are judged on their work.

In an e-mail explaining how she and Huong Le came up with the topic for their poem, Lilly Penick wrote, "As students, we believe it is important to advocate for ourselves as we know that teachers have their hands tied concerning issues in the education system. We were inspired to write about this system after realizing the severity of the testing culture that is arising in today's schools and the effect that it is having on students and teachers everywhere."

Read the rest here.

By  Lillian Mongeau 

It was a willful kindergarten pupil who gave Steve Oates a crash course in how to lead a school.

"A kindergartner came into my office, and he wouldn't sit down, so I said, 'You will sit down,' " recalls Oates, now the assistant superintendent for elementary administration in  North Carolina's Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school district. "He took his arm and cleared everything off my desk."

On that day in 1994, Oates, a rookie principal, could have shouted or kicked the boy out of school. But instead of deciding the child was bad or a lost cause, Oates thought, "OK, I have to have a different approach."

By  Benjamin Herold

A growing share of the U.S. labor force  works from home, and some tech-savvy school districts are taking note.

The local high school in this upscale suburb, for example, recently held its first "virtual day," allowing most of its 561 students to log in to school from the comfort of their bedrooms or kitchen tables.

"The main reason we're doing this is to prepare students for life after high school," said Principal Troy Lederman. "Almost every college has some type of online or virtual course, and a lot of companies now tell employees they can work remotely, so we are exposing students to that."

 

Jerry

Richard Garner has failed to point out a major defect in the conservative free schools policy. The schools are free only in the sense that they are no longer responsible to the local authority. Any innovations they want to make have to be approved by the Department for Education, which when Michael Gove was Minister for Education meant him. I do not know of any so-called free school that actually allows freedom for its students. -  David Gribble

Ongoing

 

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