Dear AERO Reader,

Two New and Exciting Workshops:

Youngest Ever US Men’s Table Tennis Champion and Homeschooler to Present
 
Michael Landers was an honor student at one of the best public high schools in New York. But he had a dream to become the best table tennis player in the USA. So, with AERO’s help, he became a homeschooler so he could train in China, Europe and California. He eventually became the USA junior champion and then the youngest men’s champion in history while he was still 15. A widely viewed documentary was done on him and other developing champions as teenagers. He was even on a Corn Flakes box! And recently he appeared at Carnegie Hall , of all places, to perform a classical piece written for orchestra violin and ping pong table! See it here.
 
Michael will talk about his journey and the decisions he made along the way. He’ll address question about how he left school to homeschool, how he became men’s champion of the United States , how he got into all the colleges he applied to, where he decided to go, and now, as a graduate, the dramatic decision he has made about his post graduate field of study.

How Labeling Made Me Feel Stupid
 
In traditional schools, when they have a student they don’t know what to do with, they like to put a label on them, not realizing that it might hurt that student. In my case, I was thought to be a slow learner. So, to me, I thought that I was stupid. I felt this all my life and into adulthood. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned that I was dyslexic. I didn't have the usual kind where I inverted my letters, like the letter d in place of a b. I had other issues. I think that if I was in an alternative school, maybe they would have looked further into the problem or given me the time to work through it. I am doing a workshop about this to help understand where we might learn something more about ourselves or help a student who might not be in the norm. People all learn in different ways. What else can be done without labeling? How can we, instead, focus on finding the strengths of each student? In this workshop I would like to have the participants put themselves in various situations and find out what helps us learn best and what helps us become someone we may not have even imagined. Also I would like to learn how democratic and alternative schools have found ways to work with students with dyslexia, autism and other challenges. For example, does that fact that students can choose any class or anyone to learn from make a difference? -- Lisa Harris

See Lisa Harris' children's book about differences and tolerance, The Outside in Book

Two Registration Scholarships Available

Two people in the AERO network who aren't able to go to this year's conference want to still support AERO and the conference. Therefore they will pay the full registration fee so they can go. Contact us directly by replying to this e news if interested. It only goes to us. Anyone else what to do th e same?

Some Questions for Attendees and Potential Attendees:

Would you be interested in having a live stream of all of the major talks, keynotes, TED-style presentations and some workshops?

Who would be interested in another cruise around Manhattan or a different route before the AERO Conference on June 28 th ? If we have at least 15 interested, we can set it up again. Last year we had over 30 and had a great time!

Currently we have two school visits planned for the 26th: Pono in Manhattan and Westbury Friends on Long Island. Are there others you would like us to arrange?

If you need to stay off campus and are driving contact us.

Just reply to this post to respond. It only goes to us. .

Why You should go to the AERO Conference

There has been a big discussion lately on the AEROconference listserve about why people should go to the AERO Conference. People also brainstormed their top ten list of why they go to the conference, and gave us great words of support. Click here to see a few of those quotes and lists.

People also brainstormed their top ten list of why they go to the conference. Click here to see those lists .

Don't miss this AERO conference, in New York for the 4th and last time.


Check out special low income rate, package deals that include dorms
Gates, Zuckerberg team up on new education initiative

SEATTLE (AP) — Tech moguls Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday they will team up to help develop new technologies for kids with trouble learning — an effort that will include dabbling into child brain science.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative intend to explore a number of potential pilot projects.

They'll focus on math, writing and brain functions — key areas of classroom learning that they note are crucial for academic success.

The effort is now seeking information and ideas from across sectors, from education and academia to business, technology and medicine. Future investments based on that information are expected, but no dollar amount has been set.

The idea that disadvantaged children struggle to learn because of poor executive brain function involving memory, thinking flexibility, and behavioral issues related to autism and other attention disorders has long been lamented by social workers and health advocates.

Read the story here .

AERO Book, School's Over, Wins eLit Award!


We’re excited to announce that the AERO published book, School’s Over , by Jerry Mintz, has won the Silver eLit Book Award in the Education /Academic category. School’s Over, How. To Have Freedom and Democracy in Education, was an Amazon New Release Best Seller. To celebrate this prestigious award we are offing the book at $9.95 , half the retail price this week.

Sir Ken Robinson, in his introduction, said:
“Jerry Mintz has unparalleled experience of democratic education in all sorts of settings around the world. Under his direction, AERO has become the principal resource for parents, students, and educators everywhere who are looking for or practicing alternative forms of education. School’s Over is part reportage, part memoir, and part manifesto for thinking differently about our children and acting differently in their education.” –Sir Ken Robinson
SUDBURY VALLEY SCHOOL: CELEBRATING A HALF CENTURY OF A RADICAL APPROACH TO EDUCATING CHILDREN


For 50 years, Sudbury Valley Schools, and other schools inspired by its model, have been providing children with a place to grow like no other.

Our starting point is treating children who enroll at school, from age four and up, as human beings completely capable of exercising judgment and taking responsibility for their actions – just like adults. For all of human history, and in a great many societies today, that is the way they have been treated, and we have found no evidence that such an approach is in any way flawed.

Read the rest here .
Students in Brooklyn Middle School Lead Opt Out Protest
Those people who think that opting out of state tests is only for affluent white kids in the suburbs should  watch this video.
It shows African American students at the Brooklyn Collaborative Middle School leading a protest against state testing and taking their Message to other schools in their neighborhood. Students in New York City have no participated in the opt out movement because the city’s education leaders have warned them of dire consequences to them as individuals and to their school. They have never been informed that they have a right to refuse the tests.
To Reimagine Education, Let's Confront Our Sacred Cows
check out this video  -- the first in a new series that will look at the "sacred cows" in American schooling -- structures or habits we unconsciously continue to work within, whether or not they still serve us -- and ask us to question how should we continue to think about the structure and purpose of public education.
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