Dear Readers,
We are excited to launch a new look for our weekly newsletter. We hope you find it easier to read and easier to navigate our weekly offerings. If you have a minute, let us know what you think! Additionally, we're excited to announce an important new book, the latest news on our upcoming conference, a free online library of over 500 free films, and our weekly selection of noteworthy news and resource items form around the world of educational alternatives.
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Tentative Workshop Schedule Posted
We now have a tentative workshop schedule on our conference website. There are now more than 60 workshops listed! I think you'll agree with one of our registrants for this year who wrote:
"WHAT A LINE UP!!!! I am about as excited as it I can be!!! Thank you, thank you thank you thank you....."
You saw last week that Alfie Kohn will kick off the conference on Thursday evening, the 23rd. Dr. Peter Gray will keynote on Friday Evening. Dr. Elina Shepel and North Star will have keynotes on Saturday, and teenage author Nikhil Goyal will anchor the final keynote on Sunday afternoon, the 26th.
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Pre-Conference Activities
The pre-conference school visits are filling up, but there are still openings for Manhattan Free School and Pono Learning. Additionally, there are still free tickets available for visits to the Metropolitan Museum (Manhattan) and some tickets available for the acclaimed Broadway musical Phantom of the Opera and a backstage tour but you must buy a discounted ticket at $50 or $85. It could be a Wednesday Matinee or evening performance, or Monday evening performance. Let us know about your interest and preferred showtime ASAP. We are also arranging a visit to the nearby Nassau County Museum of Art. Write to me directly if you are interested in any of these by replying to this newsletter.
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Discount Registration Rate Will End SoonThere are still dorm rooms and meal plans available at very low rates. You can wait a while on these if you want. But the discount conference rate of $225 for the whole five days may lapse at any time (once we exceed 250 attendees). So if you plan to attend, at a minimum, you should lock in the current rate by placing a deposit ($50 for an individual or $100 for a group). If you have a group of six or more we can arrange a special rate.For school groups or families with students under thirteen we have a special arrangement with the nearby Econolodge. You will need to make you reservation directly with them by calling (516) 433-3900. Mention that you are going to the AERO conference to get the special rate. We will be providing transportation from the Econolodge to the campus in the morning and evening.The discounted conference rate is $225 (for a short time), but if you are currently, or become, an AERO member you can now get the 10% member discount on the conference fee, bringing it to only $202.50! We'll be emailing the discount code to those AERO members who don't have the latest one. The conference rate will eventually go to $325.
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Featured Book - Free to Learn (NEW!)
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Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray
 Our children spend their days being passively instructed, and made to sit still and take tests-often against their will. We call this imprisonment schooling, yet wonder why kids become bored and misbehave. Even outside of school children today seldom play and explore without adult supervision, and are afforded few opportunities to control their own lives. The result: anxious, unfocused children who see schooling-and life-as a series of hoops to struggle through. In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all they need to know, but will do so with energy and passion. Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education. Yet we have squelched such instincts in a school model originally developed to indoctrinate, not to promote intellectual growth. To foster children who will thrive in today's constantly changing world, we must entrust them to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, Gray demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient. This capacity to learn through play evolved long ago, in hunter-gatherer bands where children acquired the skills of the culture through their own initiatives. And these instincts still operate remarkably well today, as studies at alternative, democratically administered schools show. When children are in charge of their own education, they learn better-and at lower cost than the traditional model of coercive schooling. A brave, counterintuitive proposal for freeing our children from the shackles of the curiosity-killing institution we call school, Free to Learn suggests that it's time to stop asking what's wrong with our children, and start asking what's wrong with the system. It shows how we can act-both as parents and as members of society-to improve children's lives and promote their happiness and learning. |
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FREE: 500 Social Change Documentaries to Change the World
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| Do you have a news or resource item you think Education Revolution newsletter readers would find useful? Send it to jerryaero@aol.com.
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Thank you for your ongoing support. With your help, we will make learner-centered alternatives available to everyone!
Sincerely,
Jerry Mintz
Executive Director
Alternative Education Resource Organization
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 | | Sir Ken Robinson: Building a Culture of Innovation |
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