Exciting AEROx Features Revolutionary Education Center
We just completed the AEROx in Bethel, Connecticut, at
Workspace Education
. Peter Berg, who coordinated the AEROx with Workspace, tried to communicate to us just how remarkable this place was. Truly, we’ve never seen another place like this. We’re attaching a few pictures from the AEROx to help us communicate this to you and we'll do a gallery later in the week.
The space is gigantic, 32,000 feet, with dozens of large, multipurpose spaces throughout the two floors, including a kitchen, “hub” meeting and eating area, film and performance studio, research lab, creative movement studio, and a large, open conference center on the second floor. It is a re-purposed former bicycle company headquarters on five lakefront acres. Most of us got lost inside at first.
Founder Catherine Fraise had a vision for this center for a long time. She had her share of programs in church basements, but with her husband she decided that this had to be different. It had to be beautiful, attractive to students and potential funders, and replicable. Part of her motivation was to make something for her son, a life-long homeschooler. Katherine says, “Workspace seeks to revolutionize education by providing a low-cost, open-source flexible, full solution alternative to conventional education.” The cost per year is $5000 with only a thousand more for each additional sibling. Scholarships are available.
During the weekend we made an in-depth podcast with Catherine, the founder of Workspace Education and the school's Dream Director. You should definitely listen to it to get the idea of the grand vision for this unique center.
Just click here
.
All kinds of people come to workspace. Of course, there are many homeschool families that come several days a week, sometime making an hour drive each way. They also have plans to have a micro school within Workspace. They have five or six full time staff members with many part time and guest resource people.
We didn’t expect that many of the 80 registrants to turn up at the opening, but there were at least 60 in the audience at the start, including many students. After opening remarks by Peter, Jerry and Catherine. a myriad of beverages, snacks, wraps, fruit, and baked treats was served. The first event was an amazing panel by a variety of Workspace students, led by the Workspace Dream Director. These students enthralled the audience with their articulateness and the completeness in which they answered the questions put to them. One impressive response to a question about future interests was by a Muslim girl who said she wanted to study neurology, particularly to understand anger and violence. I thought she might be 16 years old, but she is 11!
Saturday featured three breakout sessions, an opening meditation on creative thinking by Kathryn Haden, keynotes and panels including homeschool pioneer Pat Farenga, author Peter Gray, and radical unschooler Dayna Martin. The day was capped by a wonderful and dramatic panel by
North Star
students and Director Ken Danford. Ken, Catherine and many others from the AEROx will be coming to the
AERO Conference
in June.
More than half the participants stayed for the Sunday breakouts and closing session. There was a strong consensus that this was a terrific AEROx, our best yet!
