| 1) New AERO Blog
We're happy to announce that we've started a new AERO blog. You can post your comments on it and we hope to update it regularly. Please try it out and send some comments. It will help us get the feel for how to use it best. So far we've posted the USA Today editorial we wrote and a TV show we did that is on YouTube.
You can go directly to the blog here:
http://educationrevolution.wordpress.com
or click the blog button on www.EducationRevolution.org 2) DemocraticEducation.com - A New Website by AERO! We are pleased to announce that www.DemocraticEducation.com is now live! This website serves as the virtual home for The Directory of Democratic Education as well as a location providing unique articles, essay, links, and resources on democratic education. All that said, this website has infinite potential and any additional resources, links, updates, and corrections would be most welcomed. Please consider adding a link to your school or organization's website to help spread this great free resource!
Here is what you'll find on the website:
* Detailed contact information for over 200 schools and programs representing 29 countries worldwide.
* Detailed descriptions and overviews for over 75 of these schools and programs.
* Listings and descriptions for over 25 organizations that promote and support democratic education.
* Listings of 18 selected colleges and universities supporting democratic education.
* Listings of conferences addressing democratic education worldwide
* A comprehensive resource list of over 60 books on democratic education.
* Essays and articles on the theory and practice of democratic education.
* Listings and information on former influential schools
* Listings of magazines addressing democratic education
* Listings of documentaries, films, and television shows addressing democratic education
* Listings of blogs addressing democratic education 3) AERO Conference: Still Low Rates!; Join the Print Mailing List Today Register for the AERO conference by March 30th and you'll receive a discount that is 25% off the final registration price!). Register and find out more about rates today at http://www.aeroconference.com/registration.htm. REGISTER in the next 24 hours and we will still send you The Directory of Democratic Education, but after midnight Monday it will not be offered again! Join the print mailing list today! Stay informed outside of the virtual world by e-mail your name, address, and school/organization (if applicable) to aeroconference@gmail.com. You will receive approximately one piece of mail every 1-2 months.
The 5th Annual AERO Conference: "Moving From Ideas to Practice"
This year's AERO conference will take place June 26th - 29th at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. In addition to our theme, you'll find many new and exciting elements at the conference as well as many of the familiar highlights that make the event what it is. Our keynote speakers this year are Deborah Meier, Matt Hern, Donna Barker, Mary Leue, Molly Nichols & Wesley Clark, and Khalif Williams. Detailed information about the speakers can be found online at:
http://www.aeroconference.com/speakers.htm
Highlights include a beautiful opening ceremony featuring Global Village Photographer Connie Frisbee Houde, International School & Organization Fair & Exhibition featuring dozens and dozens of some of the most interesting and unique alternative schools and organization worldwide (yours can be included!), Low Registration Costs, Free Child Care!, Open Workshop Space (attendee led workshop time), HUGE Bookstore with over 125 titles!, "How to Grow a School" AERO's Start a School 101 3-Part Workshop Series, Morning & Afternoon Tea & Networking Time, Keynote Speaker-Led Workshops, Featured Workshops with Pat Montgomery (founder of Clonlara Home Based Education Program), Chris Mercogliano (author of In Defense of Childhood, Teaching the Restless), Charles Eisenstein (author of The Ascent of Humanity), Randy Gaschler (author of Parent-Driven Schools), Tim Seldin (president of The Montessori Foundation and International Montessori Council), Ron Miller (author What Are Schools For? and Free Schools, Free People) and many more!, Book Signings, Talent Show & Open Mic, Dancing, Lots of Student Participation, and so much more! 4) A Student's Trip to New Orleans This story was written by Alex Berger, a 16 year old Brooklyn Free School student. He made this trip as part of his school work, something possible in democratic schools.
I am a junior at the Brooklyn Free School. Two weeks ago I took a trip to New Orleans with Nick, a graduate from BFS, to do volunteer work for people affected by Hurricane Katrina. What we found there was shocking. Excluding very few areas, we could not walk a single block without seeing at least 3 empty lots or abandoned houses. Trailers in front of houses and closed businesses are a commonplace sight. Of all the public schools I saw, the majority of them were closed. There are blocks of public housing, beautiful brick buildings which were not flooded and hardly damaged in the storm, that are being demolished to make way for mixed income housing, reducing the number of low income houses by the thousands. Under one highway hundreds of homeless residents are sleeping in tents and on mattresses, they were previously in a park in front of the New Orleans City Hall protesting the government's response to the disaster, but were tear gassed and forced out.
In the 8 days we spent there, we were volunteering with ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low to moderate income families, with over 850 chapters in 80 cities throughout the country. While in New Orleans Nick and I worked on three different houses in three different neighborhoods, completely gutting and clearing everything out of them, a process that normally costs at least $3,000 per house. We met two of the owners and they were incredibly grateful, buying us drinks and cheeseburgers. ACORN provides free services to residents whose properties were damaged in the storm, who cannot afford to make the necessary repairs on their own. ACORN lobbied against eminent domain abuse saving much of the Lower 9th Ward. Additionally, ACORN has built the first new houses in the Lower 9th Ward in 30 YEARS.
My experiences in New Orleans have left a great impression on me. Despite all the problems, lack of progress and government support, there is reason to be hopeful for New Orleans' future. Seeing all the volunteers coming from all over the country, many for the second and third time, is inspiring. Seeing residents who have returned and are rebuilding their lives, hearing their stories and their extreme gratitude for the work we were doing, is a heart-wrenching feeling. It gave me hope to see one community in the Lower 9th Ward, where no public schools are available, come together and convert a warehouse into a school and community center of their own. New Orleans has the desire and will to rebuild, but it is a big task, and they need as much of our support as we can give.
(Alex returned again to work again in New Orleans during school vacation. If readers want to support this and future work there, reply to this e newsletter and we'll put you in touch with Alex).
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