Pictures from AERO Conference (PHOTOS)
September 2, 2010 at 4:47 pm | Posted in AERO | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, AERO Conference, Kelly Taylor, Kelly B. Taylor Photography
You can view some wonderful photos from the 2010 AERO conference at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmshc_kiwitayro/sets/72157624688532447/
Thanks to Kelly B. Taylor Photography for the wonderful shots!
Intercultural Open University (ANNOUNCEMENT)
September 2, 2010 at 4:28 pm | Posted in AERO | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, Intercultural Open University, IOU Foundation
AERO is pleased to announce that the Intercultural Open University charitable education foundation for social change, established in 1981, has expanded to include post-doctoral programs. This truly unique Foundation has highly-credentialed volunteer faculty members from many countries who mentor learners in specialized research areas that address global issues. Under a faculty mentor’s guidance every learner establishes an individualized curriculum relevant to their career and chosen area of specialization. The post-graduate program of study will be a one year program of individualized study and all graduates will be involved in the Foundation’s new annual conference on social change. The IOU Foundation’s philosophy is based on providing outstanding self-directed, borders-free programs of study that truly engage the learner in the educational process. Those who study under an IOU Foundation mentor are highly motivated learners who want to achieve positive social change in communities across the globe. IOU Foundation enables people around the world to conduct serious research in subject matters that are not always available at other institutes of higher education. For nearly thirty years, selected learners have studied under IOU’s mentors to enhance their careers while tackling world issues such as human rights, peace, education and ecology. IOU Foundation was created with the fundamental concept that education and research are crucial elements to solve global problems and that mentored studies devoted to social change should be accessible to everyone. IOU Foundation’s programs are affordable and a limited number of scholarships are available. The IOU Foundations faculty mentors consist of dedicated educators who have all devoted their lives to education and social change; each faculty member has more than 25 years of experience in distance education and learner-centered adult pedagogy. The faculty volunteers their time and expertise to learners who are committed to working for social change. For more information, please visit www.ioufoundation.org.
Do Schools Kill Creativity? (VIDEO)
August 31, 2010 at 10:37 am | Posted in AERO, AERO Online Video Series | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, Ken Robinson, Sir Ken Robinson, Creativity, TED, TED Talks
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
See also this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, “Bring on the learning revolution.” Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning — creating conditions where kids’ natural talents can flourish.
24-Hour Poll: If AERO conference was held in Portland, OR, which of the two dates would you prefer?
August 25, 2010 at 12:23 pm | Posted in AERO, AERO Conference | 2 CommentsTags: AERO, AERO Conference
A Humane Parenting Handbook for Parents of Young Children (RESOURCE)
August 25, 2010 at 11:43 am | Posted in AERO, New Resource | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, Humane Education, Institute for Humane Education, Kelly Coyle DiNorcia
From our friends at the Institute for Humane Education:
Update on AERO’s Online Courses
August 19, 2010 at 8:16 am | Posted in AERO, Education Events | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, Jerry Mintz, Ron Miller, School Starting, Start a School, History of Alternative Education
So far we only have six people who have expressed interest in the school starters course, the History and Theory of Educational Alternatives course, and the school starters in Spanish course. They will not be offered this year unless we have a significant amount of additional interest. We often have a slow start and last week was our first announcement, but the courses would ordinarily be starting in about a month, so we need to hear right away if you are interested. This is not a final commitment but it will give us an idea if we should pursue offering the courses. In our experience there is a big difference in success rate between those who take the school starters course and those who simply subscribe to the listserves. The daily give and take between participants and with staff and resource people is crucial. We have helped start over 40 new schools (http://www.educationrevolution.org/aero-start-up.html) and alternatives in the last four years we have been offering these courses. But it is a huge commitment of time on our part, and not justified without significant participation. At some point in the future we will offer the information in a kit form, but we feel that this is not as effective as the courses. Also, this is the first time we would offer the course in Spanish. Ron Miller has again agreed to offer the History and Theory class, which has always been enthusiastically received. We do not recommend taking more than one at a time because they are fairly intensive. Let us know if you have interest in any of the courses and which ones. Just reply to this e-newsletter or write to jerryaero@aol.com
For more information on last year’s courses go to:
http://www.educationrevolution.org/onlinecourses.html
Here are some of the evaluations of the course:
“What an amazing, diverse group of people! I told my husband last night that I feel that I’ve found my tribe, in a way. It’s really the first time in my life that I’ve been surrounded by people who are thinking about all of the things that I am, who are concerned about the same things that I am, who are passionate about the same things that I am, who are dedicated to putting their thoughts into action like I am. It is truly wonderful!” –Mary
“This class has helped me spell out my ideas and put them out there in a safe place that is supportive and helps me see what potential they have. This class has also inspired me to discuss my vision more with others (in person) and let people know not only what I feel is necessary in education, but WHY I feel it is so necessary. I have developed more confidence in articulating my vision and by doing so, have gotten lots of valuable feedback and support in surprising areas. It is quite an exciting time for me seeing all of the ideas I have been playing around with in my head for so long finally come out and take shape into something that seems a little more realistically feasible each day!” –Katie
“I do feel the course has assisted in getting closer to my goal of opening my school. I have learned a great deal from the topics and the questions/comments posted by the collective group. I have a new sense of confidence and peace about this process. I do not see it as such a big thing now. I am already open for school everyday for my children and now I am just including some others with a little different twist.” –Marianne
“This course has been spectacular– it really has opened many doors for me and made a *major* step in the right direction for me opening my school– both in what it has taught as well as in the people I have met.” –Alex
“This course has been immensely helpful. Among other things, I’ve discovered that there is a considerable body of literature on the subject of alternative education, but the literature is NOT readily available. You won’t encounter it as required reading in teacher preparation courses. You won’t find it in most public libraries. One thing I could do, I suppose, and it would be tax-deductible, would be to purchase the available materials from The Education Revolution website and DONATE them to the library.” — Robert
Response to LA Times Report on Teachers (Commentary)
August 19, 2010 at 8:14 am | Posted in AERO, Education News | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, AERO Conference, Jerry Mintz, LA Times, Los Angeles Times, Shaker Mountain School
I just wrote this article in response to a report on the results with students when they have good and bad teachers (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-teachers-20100817,0,6793836.story?track=rss)
Jerry Mintz
I used to think that our little democratic school was unusually blessed with good teachers. But as I thought back about it I realized that many of those teachers were not particularly good when they came to us. In fact, some were not good at all. So what happened?
Well, one significant aspect of our school is that we had two long staff meetings every week to go over everything that was happening in the school, and what was happening with each child. We wound up all being on the same page and catching little problems before they became big ones. Also, students who chose to could come to staff meetings. We found them particularly helpful, as they knew about things that were going on that the staff didn’t.
But in retrospect, that was not the most important training method that helped our staff to become great teachers. I think the most important factor was that no student had to come to any teacher’s class unless they wanted to! All attendance was noncompulsory. This meant that the classes were great and teachers could really teach because everyone was there because they wanted to be there. It also meant that if a teacher was not teaching something very interesting the students gave instant feedback with their feet. They either left or didn’t come back the next time. With this kind of feedback and evaluation, new teachers quickly learned how to organize interesting classes and activities. In some cases, if they couldn’t adjust, they just left the school. Pay was certainly not enough to keep them there. But in most cases they developed very quickly, sometimes in a matter of days, and figured out what the students really wanted to learn.
How sad it is that 99% of teachers in non-democratic schools never get this kind of feedback in their entire careers. They have a captive audience. In most cases this prevents them from becoming good teachers.
We never cared about testing for student’s grades. We didn’t give grades. But we did use standardized testing to test how the school was doing by traditional measures. In spite of the fact, or because of the fact that students didn’t have to go to any class they didn’t want to, the average student improved on national standardized tests at two and a half times the national rate. In some areas, such as vocabulary, it was useless to test them after a few years because they were always five or six grade levels above their age. This was undoubtedly because they all were very motivated to understand everything that was being said in the democratic meetings.
Sometimes people would visit, talk to the students (they often thought the older students were young looking staff members) and say to us afterward “Well of course it works with these kids. They are middle class!” But we had no minimum tuition and most of our students were low income and many were on welfare. Very few were actually middle class. But they sounded like they were after a few years in the school.
I’m not sure what the traditional system could learn from our experience with helping develop great teachers, but one step might be to leave the door open, so students could come in or go out!
2010 AERO Conference Report by Laurie Spigel
August 19, 2010 at 8:13 am | Posted in AERO, AERO Conference | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, AERO Conference, Education Uncensored, Laurie Spigel
This year’s AERO Conference, held in Albany in late June, was one of the most exciting events ever! There was a dazzling number of workshops and presentations. Vendors displayed newly invented and created items, alongside a selection of books you won’t see anywhere else (except in the AERO catalog). It was easy to strike up a conversation with another browser or listener, since everyone loved to talk about education. Meals were in the same hotel, with some tables marked for specific discussions. You would meet your colleagues over lunch, perhaps to talk about a fascinating new book, or idea, or educator. I met inspirational speakers, authors and artists, problem solvers, alternative teachers, students, and parents, from states and countries far and wide – all educational revolutionaries.
One of the many highlights was the keynote speech by John Taylor Gatto, award-winning teacher and author of Dumbing Us Down and Weapons of Mass Instruction. Mr. Gatto is a gifted wordsmith with a rare sense of humor. His talk made light of his many experiences and tussles with traditional institutions. This is a man who broke the rules and dared to confront the boredom in his stifling NYC classroom! One of his students confessed that all he wanted to do was act. Writing out a pass for him, Mr. Gatto gave him an assignment: he was to go on as many auditions as possible that year. The Dept. of Ed. finally caught up with this student at the end of the year, only to find that he had landed a role on General Hospital. Through all of John Taylor Gatto’s outrageous stories, he makes you think.
Other conference highlights included special presentations of several documentary films, which were sometimes inspiring and sometimes disturbing, including Race to Nowhere, and The War Against Kids. These were followed by focused Q and A or panel discussions. DVDs can be purchased through AERO of the panel discussions and keynote speeches including the wisdom of Herbert Kohl, the energy of Matthew Davis, the wit of John Taylor Gatto, and the international awareness of Shilpa Jain who spoke about community-based education.
My own presentation, on child-led learning techniques in the classroom, was very well received. I predict that many teachers will be adding board games to their stock of learning tools. At the end of the conference my four days were a blur of information, new contacts and friends, and renewed inspiration. There is talk of moving the conference to the west coast next year. Wherever AERO puts up its tent, you can expect to find something electrifying going on!
Laurie is the author of Education Uncensored. You can buy her book at:
http://www.educationrevolution.org/uncensored.html
You can still join in on the experience of the 7th annual AERO conference! We have just a few individual DVDs and just a couple DVD sets left. Find out more about them and purchase at http://www.educationrevolution.org/2010dvds.html
Music from 2010 AERO Conference: Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde (VIDEO)
August 16, 2010 at 5:08 pm | Posted in AERO, AERO Conference | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, AERO Conference, Taina Asili, Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde, La Banda Rebelde
Photo © Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde
Taina Asili brings songs filled with a voice of profound passion and uncompromising spirit seeking to inspire personal and social transformation. Backed by La Banda Rebelde, musicians with cultural roots from around the world, this group bravely infuses genres including, rock, reggae, neo-soul, hip hop, flamenco and Afro-Caribbean sounds, exciting audiences to contagious movement.
Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde combine the soul of Lila Downs, the freedom of Ojos de Brujo and the rebellion of Rage Against the Machine, creating a unique and unforgettable soundscape.
Listen to music from the band on www.myspace.com/tainapoet or www.tainaasili.com
Here is video from Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde’s performance at the 2010 AERO conference:
Music from the 2010 AERO Conference: Darlene McCullough (VIDEO)
August 16, 2010 at 5:07 pm | Posted in AERO, AERO Conference | Leave a CommentTags: AERO, AERO Conference, Darlene McCullough, Venture
Photo © Darlene McCollough
Darlene McCullough is an actress, musician, and writer from Pittstown, NY. In addition to releasing her first novel, Venture, in February 2010 she is currently working on her first album and starring role in a feature film.
For more information about Darlene and her work please visit www.darlenemccullough.com and www.myspace.com/darlenemccullough.
Here is video from Darlene’s performance at the 2010 AERO Conference:
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