#30 Summer 2000 $4.95 The Education Revolution With special CHANGING SCHOOLS section The Magazine of the Alternative Education Resource Organization (Formerly AERO-gramme)
Introduction to this issue This is our 30th issue. AERO is now ten years old. In the three month period covered by this issue I did more traveling than I ever did before, perhaps because there is more going on in educational alternatives than ever before. During this time I participated in
the Home Education Seaside Festival in England,
with over 900 home educators camped out by the sea for a week
The Mohawk story will be covered in the next issue. We tried to cover as much of this as possible in this issue. We hope you enjoy it. Please give us feedback. JM
Contents: BIGGEST EVER IDEC HELD IN JAPAN By Ian Warder The EFFE Conference in Denmark 30th Annual INTERNATIONAL ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION CONFERENCE National Summit on Zero-Tolerance Organized by Jesse Jackson Mail and Communications Edited by Carol MorleyHome Education News Public Alternatives, Charter School News, Other Public AlternativesInternational News and Communications: England, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, ScotlandAlumni Stories The War Years at Summerhill, By Peter KyngTeachers, Jobs, and Internships Conferences CHANGING SCHOOLS SECTIONIMPROMPTU DEMOCRACY: : The Home Education Seaside Festival in Charmouth, England INTERVIEW WITH HENNING DOCHWEILER, OF ASKOV FOLK HIGH SCHOOL, DENMARK The Danish Education System, by Robert Powell A Brief History of the School of Living by Rita Jane LeasureBook ReviewsThe Underground History of American Education, by John Taylor Gatto Saharasia, by James DeMeo Challenging the Giant: Volume IV, By Mary LeueHomeschool Your Child For Free, By LauraMaery Gold & Joan M. Zielinski Reflections on the Sudbury School Concept Edited by Mimsy Sadofsky & Daniel Greenberg A Clearer View by Daniel Greenberg Starting a Sudbury School by Mimsy Sadofsky & Daniel Greenberg Creating Learning Communities, From A Coalition for Self Learning My Friend Lenny, A Memoir of my Life in Music, with personal stories about Leonard Bernstein, Mike Wallace, Paul Simon and others, By Ouida Blatt Mintz
BIGGEST EVER IDEC HELD IN JAPAN When we arrived in Japan it was raining and we discovered that we actually arrived at the beginning of a typhoon. We were worried that some of the participants wouldn’t be able to come because of that, but luckily the typhoon went north of us. Then on the last day of the post-conference, twelve days later, there was a total lunar eclipse. In a sense maybe all of us who are working for a revolution in education are now in the middle of turmoil, but in the end, the symbolism will be that our kind of education will eclipse the old education.
To many of the people who came from outside the country, the conference at first seemed overly structured, over-organized, and consisted of the talking-head type of approach where you had a speaker at the front and then people just listening. In retrospect it seems that the purpose of early part of the conference was to promote alternative education in Japan and to get publicity for this idea and to demonstrate it for Japanese people. The idea was that the latter part of the conference would be for the participants to communicate with each other.
One of the highlights, on the evening of the 14th, was a beautifully laid out final party with all kinds of food piled up and the inspirational singing and dancing of an Israeli song, the translation of which means “Peace Everyone,” with Israelis and Palestinians, among others, singing and dancing.
One of the most impressive participants was Amin, a 15 your old “working child” who lives in the Delhi train station and survives by picking bottles. When he’s earned enough to survive for the day, he goes to Butterflies, which helps provide him education. He’s lived on his own since age 11. He gave a workshop on how the street children have formed a democratic union.
This was the largest IDEC conference yet. To help democratic schools from low income areas come to the IDEC, Kageki Asakura said that he raised $100,000 from foundations. This did not include the $20,000 that we raised through AERO from the Edwards Foundation. The total budget for the conference was $250,000. The Tokyo Shure students had raised about $10,000 through fundraising events during the year; the rest of it was from income that was generated by the conference itself. Schools from England, USA, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Guatemala, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, India, and several from Japan participated in this year’s IDEC.
To prepare for next year’s conference AERO is planning to work with the people putting on next year’s IDEC. We hope to quickly produce a good website and do everything else we can to help develop the IDEC network over the next few months. Any suggestions or offers of help will be greatly appreciated We appreciate the following notes by Summerhill staff member Ian Warder. JM
Japanese students man “Free Space”
By
Ian Warder
We saw a Summerhillian, Misha, sitting ahead of us in the audience. Ex-Summerhillian Tomo appeared to say hello - he was taking photographs for a Japanese news agency. Other familiar faces from last year’s IDEC smiled at us. The students on the panel were Hiroshi from Japan, Izzy from Sands School in England, a person from Tamariki School, in New Zealand, one from Butterflies, in India, and Or from Hadera in Israel. Following the children’s panel, we had a dance and song by the Israeli and Palestinian delegations: “Shalom” which means Peace, with the whole audience joining in. The highlight of the day for me was what followed: a great dance by about forty members of Tokyo Shure, our hosts for this IDEC conference. They had such great dynamic energy and enthusiasm - and it was a fitting, uplifting end to the first day.
My first sense of a culture clash with the Japanese way of doing things immediately followed as we were unceremoniously ushered out of the hall on the dot of 4pm. Such a contrast with their unending hospitality, politeness and willingness to help! The conference and participants moved to Olympic Memorial center in another part of the city. (Sangubashi, part of Shibuya, near Yoyogi park). The logistics of this conference were awesome - 300 people moved across town in coaches, many with their luggage. For myself, the next hours and some of the following day necessitated solving several logistic problems. For example, how do four people sharing a room cope with one key, or why can I only bathe between 4 and 10pm.
The Summerhill presentation was scheduled on the second day at 7pm, and after conferring with Misha, we three, (Ian, Lenka and Misha), firmed up our plan. Ex-Summerhill teacher Yoski, a native Japanese, would be translating and Tomo would also be there, taking photos as well as talking. About 130 people attended the talk, where we had created a display of photographs, posters and press cuttings. I diligently covered the white board with a detailed chronology of the last year’s events providing the background. In true Summerhill fashion, we set up the chairs in a circle, so everyone could see each other. After asking everyone what they wanted to know, we talked a little about what Summerhill is like, and then talked about the events from the inspection to the Tribunal. We allowed lots of time for questions, yet there was still not enough time for them all. Again at the end of the talk we were rushed out by the IDEC staff, interrupting the time for more contact and questions with the participants. Tomo and his mother invited us out for a drink after this, which turned into a full scale Japanese meal - sushi, sake, plum wine and strange vegetables. A great end to the evening and a good start for the conference.
By now we were starting to meet some of the many new schools and people attending the conference. The free School Fair the next day helped this - I met Richard and Iku, teachers at the Tutorial School, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico - an 18 year old democratically run day school. Iku was Japanese, so had been able to set up a tour of Japan for their group; they had visited the coast, cities and mountains.
Twenty-two people came from Israel where democratic schools are flourishing. Part of the reason for this is due to the initiative of the Institute for Democratic Education, which helps state schools become democratic, and is also starting new democratic schools. The Institute was started by Yakov Hecht and others; Yakov started Israel’s first state-run democratic school, Hadera. The people from Israel were tremendous - great solidarity, intensity and sense of purpose. Hope Flowers School of Bethlehem was represented by the late Hussein Issa’s wife and daughter, and we discussed our experience of planning the Summerhill conference, to help them with their plans for the next IDEC in Palestine and Israel.
Students from many schools were represented - two from Summerhill, (once George had arrived), three from Sands, four from Israel, three from New Zealand, six from Poland, six from Haja Center in Korea, as well as students from India, Phillipines, Hungary, Thailand, USA, Russia and the Ukraine. And of course Japan. The Korean students from Haja center in Seoul were very lively, reflecting Haja Center’s hi tech facility and approach. It is for students 14 and upward and trains them using six multimedia studios. They receive training in any aspect of multimedia - video, sound, music, computers and so on - from professionals in those fields. We watched a very cool video made by one of the students, combining animation and live footage.
The Tokyo Shure students were working incredibly hard organizing everything. There was tremendous interest from many Japanese visiting the conference, as well as from the press and TV. In the first three days at the Olympic Center there were many lectures with a great number of them addressing issues pertinent to education in Japanese society: school refusal, bullying, home schooling, and ‘sociality’ (acquiring social skills). Most of these were formal lectures without much discussion – I (and other participants) regretted this lack of discussion and dialogue in the first few days.
After three days, the conference moved to another location, the Tega Center, set next to a forest on the northern outskirts of Tokyo. Now the size of IDEC was reduced to about 350 people. (There were only a total of 150 at Summerhill’s conference) The logistics of the transition went quite smoothly. After arriving at the new location, cultural differences again sprang up, the first item on the agenda was a video about the new center which included a detailed explanation of how to fold a dirty sheet when you leave the center. In retrospect, this was obviously an expected custom in Japan, but everyone else could not understand the reason for it. A meeting after supper clarified that it was to make counting and stacking the sheets easier, but not before much laughter as a Tokyo Shure student gave a ‘live’ demonstration of the (highly) recommended sheet folding technique.
The next 3 days of the conference were when the ‘real’ IDEC started for me, for the more relaxed surroundings allowed flowing discussions to bloom. Yakov and the others from the Institute for Democratic Education put on the most interesting workshops for me, both on ‘What is Democratic Education?’ Mundane or obvious though this question may sound, the stimulus was in trying to find a common definition that unified the approaches of different schools. As each person present defined what they understood ‘democratic education’ to mean, it appeared there was a commonality centering around the following core ideas:
* Human rights, especially of children * The way they are lived and implemented in each school.
We discussed how everyone, not just democratic schools, agrees in principle about human rights, but often do not act upon their beliefs. For this reason it was very important to recognize not only the importance of human rights, but also how people implement and live them. The value and respect for human rights was expressed in many ways, as was the process by which they were established, supported and maintained by each school
For example, at Summerhill, the children have control over nearly all aspects of their lives at the school. (School finances, hiring of teachers and safety are excluded) The democratic structures in place, (two weekly meetings, ombudsmen, a small boarding community where all are equal), and the culture of freedom, (typified by the freedom of each child to choose whether to attend lessons or not), means that the precepts in Article 12 of the UN Children’s Rights Charter are already totally established at Summerhill.
However, in other countries the situation is different. I learned that in Guatemala, there is a great distrust of governing institutions and their failure to rise above corruption and exist as working entities that support justice and equality. To combat this, the Naleb School has created its own government system with constitution, judicial and governing branches. This allows the students to experience the institution of government actually working thus starting to undermine the distrust, fear and apathy towards government in their society.
In other countries, ‘social’ human rights are emphasized. Although not specifically mentioned in the human rights charter, these rights of living - survival needs of food, water, income and health - must be met. In India, (and other countries), many children have to work to satisfy these basic needs and are thus denied their right to be a child as well as their right to be educated. CWC, (Concern for Working Children), and Butterflies both address these issues, and have set up schools that give working children the chance to educate themselves as well as work. Again, this support for human rights at this most basic level has to be included as an example within the broad definition of democratic education.
Before this definition becomes so broad as to be useless, the Israeli example of how they are trying to implement particular democratic education that totally supports children’s choice and freedom reminded me of where we as democratic schools can go. Each democratic school is inevitably a torchbearer in its own country for democratic rights.
Two other highlights were the talk by Sayaka, a 21 year old Japanese student who traveled alone when she was 14 and 15 to visit a number of democratic schools around the world. She found they were not as she would have wished and asked some difficult questions: how can democratic schools be more inclusive, more stimulating, more creative? How can they support those who don't fit in - who ask difficult questions? How can they evaluate themselves? Many people were stimulated into long discussion of these and other issues.
The other highlight was the presentation by the Democratic Youth Society of Harei Ephraim. This is a boarding community of secondary aged students, 14-18, who live together democratically. The members of the community set their own rules of community living, in a similar way to Summerhill. The difference is that the community members attend a ‘regular’ school in the day. The communal living arrangement was very satisfying for the students, while making them anxious to have the same freedom in their schooling.
When the IDEC closed, I felt really connected to many of the people there - I had talked with many of them and the sharing of experience and aspirations was stimulating and inspiring. It was very valuable to meet such a great group of people. Many people returned to stay at the Olympic Center in the more central part of Tokyo, giving themselves a few days to explore and shop more.
The Tokyo Shure students had undoubtedly organized a tremendously successful conference. In the course of talking with some of the Shure teachers, it was revealed that the students’ tremendous openness and enthusiasm for communication was also accompanied by pain and frustration as they experienced the limits of their own English. This was not readily apparent because, despite this, they continually helped and talked with everyone at the conference.
On the last night before we left, the remaining participants (from Israel, UK and USA), were invited to a party at their school, a final chance to see the Shure School, and eat, talk and sing together one more time before the next IDEC. Three of the students, one each from USA, Israel and Japan, learnt the jazz song, ‘Take Five’, and played it for us.
For me, the value of IDEC is hearing how other schools are implementing democratic education, in sharing our own approach and being enriched, and in turn enriching others through this exchange. This is true for staff and students alike. I really hope more students from Summerhill can experience the value of IDEC. Next year’s conference in Israel and Palestine already looks tremendously exciting.
The EFFE Conference in Denmark The European Federation for Freedom in Education held a conference in Denmark this summer, which I attended. On the first day there was a talk by an under-secretary of education, Henrik Kober, who gave a lot of statistics about the Danish school system and alternative education. In the evening, we provided our own entertainment with various people singing and playing musical instruments from a lot of the different countries that were represented, singing in German, Danish, English, Russian, etc. I spent a lot of time catching up on news with Tanya Kovaleva from Russia. She started an alternative school in Tomsk, Siberia, and is now working on setting up a democratic school in Israel for the Russian population.
On the second morning of the conference there was a talk by Askov Director Henning Dochweiler about the different types of alternative schools, describing each type. When they talked about the residential ‘folk’ high school, the folkehøjskole, it was sort of depressing in tone since it was implied that they have kind of lost their purpose, as they don’t give college-type credit. They were originally set up to educate the illiterate ‘folk’ or general population. Yet they represent a very open kind of learning which, I think, represents the learning of the future. Somehow they have not quite figured out how to ride that wave into the future and the numbers of people attending are dwindling and, since these schools don’t offer exam-based qualifications, the government is cutting its subsidy. Meanwhile the government pays 100% of the costs for kids going to university.
I spent time talking to the director of the lilleskoles, or small schools, which are the closest things to real alternative schools and democratic schools in Denmark. He says there are about 45 of them and 700 free schools, or independent schools. Approximately 80,000 kids out of about 700,000 in the country go to these schools. He is actually one quarter American Indian through his grandfather. He didn’t know what tribe it might be from, but from his description it sounds almost definitely Mohawk.
For a full description of the different kinds of schools in Denmark today see Robert Powell’s article in the Changing Schools section. After the EFFE conference I had made arrangements to have Peter Holst pick me up in a town called Slagelse (Slayentsa). He then drove me to his town of Holbaek which is in the northern part of the island of Sjaelland (Zealand) where Copenhagen is located. Peter teaches at a regular public school. He brought me to his headmaster’s house, a man named Barger Friis, where we had a very interesting evening. I was able to get a sense of what the public schools are like here and what their attitude is toward the independent schools.
It sounds like they have a fairly decent working relationship. In fact Barger’s school, Stenhus Gymnasium, has a good working relationship with schools located on either side of it, both of which are independent schools. One of them is one of the little schools, a very innovative school, which Barger’s daughter went to until this year. Her name is Lena and she’s 13 and was very attentively interested in the discussion that we had. They gave me a little geography of Denmark and the different parts of it and the different islands.
On Monday I went with Barger to his high school. This is an 800-student school with students aged 16 to 18, a pretty large school with a lot of facilities. It’s the only high school for Holbaek. There were just a few students at the school, practicing for their tests or in gym, doing warm up routines. Otherwise there was really no school.
I was able to get my email using a computer in his office while he went out shopping. He was buying seafood for the meal for the evening. It was a great meal, actually, salmon and shrimp from Iceland. One of the things that he told me that was surprising is that giving detention or extra homework as punishment is illegal in Denmark, it’s unheard of and it’s not allowed. It seems to him quite an admission on the side of Americans that if detention is a punishment, then being in school is a punishment.
He then brought me over to the little school next door and I met the director there, Per Kristensen. I looked around the school. Later in the day Barger brought me to Per’s house where we had lunch and were joined by Peter Holst. They live next door to each other. Per’s son was also there, he’s 17. He went to the little school until he started going to the Gymnasium. One of the things I discovered is that there is a program available for students 14 years or older in Denmark where they can design their own programs, including travel, and be supervised by a teacher. They can then go do an internship someplace. The Danish government pays for all of the participants.
Afterwards, we went over to Peter’s house and I had a brief conversation with his older son, who is 18, who had also gone to the little school. He’s now one of the two student representatives at the Gymnasium. He said he got to be a representative because there already was one and nobody else was interested in being the other one so his friend asked him if he would join him. Just an indication of the kind of apathy there is about student participation.
The next morning I went down to the high school but there was really only testing going on there. So almost immediately Barger walked me over to the little school. The kindergarten through second graders were off on a one-week camping trip as well as another group of third to fifth graders, so they only had sixth through tenth grades at the school. The tenth graders were taking tests. In the testing system there, they bring people in from other parts of Denmark, they’re called sensors, which are basically testers. The testing is more like performance and portfolio, there is very little in the way of writing. The ninth grade worked on a project all year studying the country of Wales, and then they actually traveled to Wales for several weeks.
Per and some of the schools students showed me around. They said that they felt that the eighth through tenth graders had a lot of power in the school and they had meetings in which they more or less had to be listened to. One of the big proposals was to double the size of the eighth through tenth grades to have a bigger peer group and that has been approved. They’ll be building a new building to expand it. There’s a big waiting list for students to go into the little school. People almost have to sign up on the day after they’re born.
The high school has a lot of outdoor grounds. They say that they have an expectation that students should always know where the teacher is, rather than the teacher having to follow the students around. The school lets the kids go off into the woods and walk around a little bit and build projects. They showed one place where they were doing some Indian stuff and had a campfire in a little clearing.
We went to a lunch with some of the teachers and the testers and then Barger drove me to Copenhagen, which is about an hour’s drive, and brought me to Det Frie Gymnasium. It is a completely democratic high school. Anna, a member of the Danish student union and a student in the school, met me there. There wasn’t too much going on by the time I got there at a little past two, but I got to meet the new headmaster, Ejnar Ritterband, who had been selected by a democratic vote of the students. It had come down to two final candidates and they voted on which one they wanted to hire. He’d only recently started his job. The previous director who’d been there for ten years has gone off to start another school.
In all these cases there was compulsory class attendance but the students didn’t seem to mind. They seem to enjoy their classes. The system in Denmark is quite structured, particularly if you want to go to university. You have to go through and take all the regular courses and then score high on the final tests. Not a great percentage of people go on to university; a lot of the others go into vocational programs or go to work. But whenever you want to learn something in Denmark, there always seems to be a program that the government will pay for to help you do it.
On this day Anna was set to be at home studying for a biology test. She came over to show me around. The students are very proud of their school and all quite politically involved and that’s what attracts them to this particular school, which is in an old dental college in a little bit of a seedy part of town. The new director seemed to be quite interested in becoming part of the IDEC and joining our network. This school was the only truly democratic one I saw in Denmark. JM
30th Annual INTERNATIONAL ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION CONFERENCE HELD IN MINNESOTA New National Organization Created! From June 22-24 the 30th annual alternative education conference was held in Minneapolis. The organizers called it The International Association for Alternative Schools and Programs but in the past it was called the International Alternative Education Conference. It was held at the Thunderbird Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. The name-confusion underlines the historically decentralized nature of the group. This was the 30th annual conference but it has not been, up to this point, an actual organization. There have been conferences every year, each year organized by a different state association of alternative schools. The Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs organized this one. The General Mills Foundation was one of the foundations that supported this conference and gave them $5,000
There were 350 people at the conference. There would have been more, including a number of students, but there was a strike of the service workers at the hotel just three days before the conference and some people were not willing to cross the picket line. The organizers tried to move the conference at the last minute but could not find another place to move it to with everybody on their way. Those of us who came found ways to support the strikers.
To me the key aspect of this conference was the fact that there would be an attempt again to create a national organization for this group. In light of the growth in influence of the National Standards Movement, it had seemed to me that we needed to have an organization like this to fight against that approach. Next year’s conference will be in Oregon, sponsored by the Oregon and Washington associations.
Vicky Phillips who is the director of personnel development in Carmel Valley, California, put on the first workshop I went to. She talked about four basic learning style types and she made lists of characteristics of these various learning personality types. People picked their own and she described each one of them, and they were very apt descriptions. One of the key points about it is that she said that 85% of the so-called at-risk learners have a personality, temperament, and learning style shared by only 7% of mainstream teachers. So a style that is called ‘problem’ or ‘at-risk’ is maybe just a ‘different’ style.
Alfie Kohn was the keynote speaker and he talked about his concept of children being “punished by rewards.” He said when you praise people it is not necessarily much different from criticizing them or punishing them, that it still makes them dependent on judgements that happen to them outside themselves, rather than things that are based on their own interests. Alfie Kohn’s website is alfiekohn.com. . Kohn said that a crucial book to read was Howard Gardner’s Unschooled Minds.
On the second night they took everybody for a ride on a paddleboat down the Mississippi for a couple of hours. That was fun and I had some interesting conversations with people. I had a long discussion on the paddle wheeler with Wayne Jennings who is a year away from retiring from an organization, which he set up, called Designs for Learning. It is an organization that provides the umbrella for charter schools. They look after six charter schools in Minnesota, which run according to their concept. The concept is of community involvement and a learner-centered approach. They do all the paperwork and logistical work for these programs. He has done some consulting for out-of-state programs and agrees that what is needed is an organization like his that can perhaps operate nationally to help create charters which are learner centered, maybe even democratic.
After Alfie Kohn’s talk there had been a workshop called “The Future of a National Alternative School Movement,” hosted by David Bly who is the past president of the Minnesota Association. Out of that discussion there seemed to come a consensus that we should take another stab at creating a national organization. This was just a wide-ranging discussion, with a breakfast meeting scheduled the next morning to try to get into the nuts and bolts of it.
The breakfast meeting was at 8:00 in the morning but was pretty well attended by people representing a dozen states. We got through the agenda and decided to create an organization to help encourage learning alternatives, but not necessarily just pegged for public alternatives, as has been the de facto case for this group. We set up an unscheduled third meeting for the next day during a slot in which one of the workshops had been canceled. They decided to call the new organization the International Alternative Learning Association. A lot of the responsibility was put on a Minnesota contingent to put together the new organization and figure out how it would be run. AERO agreed to set up a listserve for IALA, and to make out database available for its development.
Dave Lehman came from New York and participated in the discussions about the new national organization. He was one of the first to suggest that a national organization be created back in 1986. At that time he received resistance from various places. Some states were resisting a national organization, and I think the primary resistance was from people from the choice-type public alternatives. They were afraid that the at-risk group, if there was a national organization, would tend to force them out. But the consensus at this meeting was that this was not something that would happen anymore.
Don Glines, who is a long veteran of this conference, made a presentation on the Wilson School, which he founded in the early 70s. It was on the campus of Mankato State University, in south-central Minnesota. This school was a public school but the first thing he did when he got there was to disconnect the bell. He took all the equipment and put it in a big pile in the middle of the gym to emphasize and demonstrate that his intention was to start all over again. The school had no required attendance or courses, no grades or tests, and ran effectively for six years as a public school of choice. People could also choose a traditional school in the same area but tended to opt for the Wilson School. It finally closed when Mankato State needed more room to expand its college. He just set up an archive at Mankato State for information on the Wilson School and they subsequently had a reunion of about 350 former students.
Allen November was another speaker. He talked mostly about technology and how it is going to change everything. He also talked about an approach he has used in his own classrooms. His approach was simply to ask his students to find problems to solve. He also said, among other things, that teachers and schools should stop assigning homework – it’s a bad idea.
November said an important site to go to is thinkquest.org, which is a website of children’s websites. He said the problem with adults is that they speak digital with an accent. They didn’t grow up with it. The conference was walking distance from the Mall of America and I went over there a couple of times. The last time I found a place where I could do my email. I was actually not too impressed with it – it really is just like a big mall with a bunch of rides in the middle of it.
I’m looking forward to next year’s conference in Oregon at the Inn of the 7th Mountain, Bend. The site looks really beautiful. It will be on the last weekend of June. To join the new listserve or for more information on IALA, contact the AERO office. JM
We were invited to Washington, D.C. to a National Summit called “Opportunities Suspended – The Devastating consequences of Zero-Tolerance in School Discipline Policies,” organized by Jesse Jackson and co-sponsored by the Advancement Project, the Civil Rights Project of Harvard University, and the Rainbow Push Coalition.
Jackson and Jonathan Kozol were two of the speakers at the National Press Club at a pre-summit press conference The thrust of the argument was that, minority kids are being disproportionately targeted and suspended and expelled from school with the zero-tolerance policy. They felt this was due to racism, and the statistics they presented certainly backed up their thesis. There are a very disproportionate number of minority students targeted by suspension and expulsion policies.
I have no argument with that, but I made the point from the floor that perhaps this is not getting to the root of the problem, that there is indeed a minority being targeted here, but it is not only black kids or Hispanic kids, it is all children. They have been systematically disempowered and this is the root of the violence, anger, frustration and of the lack of learning.
On the cab ride over to the Summit at the Tower Hilton was a woman from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Her name is Julie S. Thomerson. She is involved with the laws that are being made by state legislatures about these things and seems to be in a very interesting position.
They started a plenary session in which people outlined the same theme, backed by statistics, that in most states minority kids have double, triple, or quadruple the rate of suspension than that of white kids. At one point one of the speakers, Valerie Johnson from the University of Illinois, standing in for Jesse Jackson, made reference to my point, and speculated that perhaps there was a deeper cause to all of this.
Just before a supper a young woman who is 17 said she was suspended from school for fighting even though she was an honor student. Originally she was going to be suspended for a year, and then she was suspended for three months. She now intends to go to college and has graduated from high school. She was not too happy that she went back to that school, but she did graduate from there.
At the dinner a young man named Roosevelt said he was the captain of his basketball team in Decatur, Illinois and one of seven kids who were kicked out of the school for fighting in the stands. He said all of the kids were put in alternative schools and he was sent to one called Futures Unlimited. Even though this is an at-risk type alternative, it has quite a long waiting list and they had to have a special dispensation to get these kids into the alternative schools. All seven kids went to three different alternative schools. Roosevelt said that he loved this school. He liked the attention he was given, the smallness of it, his relationship with the teachers, the field trips they went on, and he has just graduated. He said that the other students felt the same.
Keith Anderson who is involved with alternative education in the Chicago area, said that all of the seven kids had done very well in the alternative schools and liked them very much. I was concerned when I heard about this situation originally, from a distance, that alternative education was being given a bad name, and he agreed that the public school system would like to think that the alternative schools are just a dumping ground for their problem kids. JM
Mail and CommunicationsEdited by Carol Morley Roger Hart, a New York professor and one of the speakers at the IDEC in Japan, gave me a copy of a book put together by students around the world under 20 years of age. It is called We’re in Print, The Whole Story of Kids by kids for kids. It is a combination literary magazine and writing manual. It is by the Young Grapes (Global Reporters Artists Producers and editors). City University of New York, Graduate School, 33 W 42nd St, NY, NY 10036, Ph: 212 642-2970. www.bway.net/~shorty/grapes.html -JM
Unlike students who were suspended or forced to write papers for boycotting the MCAS exam, Harwich Middle School teacher Jim Bougas was suspended for two weeks for refusing to administer the exam. For more information visit: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_ regional/educ05162000.htm
Last year, Robin Martin teamed up with the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools (NCACS) to begin exploring partnership ideas for an outreach program called Learning Circles. The purpose of this program is to serve as a motivating force and resource for a grassroots change in education that brings small groups of people together in local areas for workshops and ongoing study circles to explore what it means to learn and grow as whole persons in an ever-changing society, and thus create educational options for our children that best reflect our values as individuals and communities. While similar in many ways to folk education for adults, this endeavor will be more geared toward parents and K-12 educators. They have formed a small NCACS committee, and started an e-mail listserv to correspond about intentions and efforts for outreach. If you are interested in facilitating a Learning Circle in your local area, you are encouraged to join this list, by sending a blank email to NCACS-circles-subscribe@egroups.com. If you think that you would like to start a Learning Circle in your area, or learn more about what's involved, please join their mailing list, and let them know how they can support you with flyers or promotional materials, or simply moral support and encouragement. Write to: Robin Martin, 209 S. Oak #101, Ames, IA 50010. Email: robin@learning-options.net.
The 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) program is a grant initiative from the US Department of Education that seeks to provide expanded learning opportunities for children in safe, drug-free and supervised environments. Over 1200 community learning centers offer students programs in tutoring, community service, technology, recreation, and character development. Among them are: a Native American Arts Institute at a public school located on a Navajo reservation in Teec Nos Pos, AZ; a musical theater production in LeRoy, IL; kayaking and other adventures in Lake County, CA; and spelunking in Glasgow, KY. For more information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit www.ed.gov/21stcclc/.
The Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program is sponsored by the Government of Japan to promote understanding between the United States and Japan. In 2001, the FMF Teacher Program will sponsor 600 first through twelfth grade American educators for fully funded, three-week study visits in Japan. By exposing American teachers and administrators to the Japanese culture and education system, the FMF program inspires participants with fresh ideas for curriculum development. If you are interested in receiving more information about FMF, please call 1-888-527-2636 or fmf@iie.org.
With 124 adult members and 73 homes, Bryn Gweled Homesteads is one of the largest intentional communities in the US today, and one of the oldest. BG celebrated its 60th anniversary this July by holding an old-fashioned reunion, which attracted former members and residents from all over the US and from several foreign countries. Bryn Gweled (Welsh for "Hill of Vision") is a 240-acre landscape of sloping hills and winding roads in Upper Southampton, Pennsylvania. Neighbors jointly own the land but individually own their homes. Bryn Gweled will also host a public seminar on community on October 20. Visit the website at www.bryngweled.org. Tel: (267) 880-0637.
From Alternative High School Seeking Space for Classes, By Ted Cohen, Portland Press Herald, August 18, 2000: The state's newest private high school is scheduled to open in three weeks. The question is: Where? The school's plans to rent a former bank office on Main Street fell through this week, but organizers insist they will open even if they don't actually have a building to call their own. They are searching for space to lease and have a couple of possibilities. "If we have to, we can start in our homes," said Marylyn Wentworth, the school's principal and a key organizer of the project. The New School will be an outgrowth of The School Around Us, an elementary school Wentworth started more than 30 years ago in Arundel. Supporters say the school will provide a local alternative to public education. "We have 15 kids so far and we are planning to have 30 by the time we open Sept. 7," Wentworth said. “Alternative schools like the New School often have trouble finding space,” says Jerry Mintz, director of the Roslyn Heights, NY-based Alternative Education Resource Organization. “Many such schools prefer to be located in urban settings. People are afraid that the students will drive people away from the downtowns, but in fact that is not the case. These kinds of schools are non-authoritarian, and the kids who go to them learn that respect is of the utmost importance," he said. Wentworth and her husband began the School Around Us in 1968.
I've been following your messages to Dick Jones and I've written to let him know that we are working on a proposal for the Phoenix Centre here in Britain. We shall be launching an appeal for funds in October. It's main aim will be to carry out active research, analyze and evaluate practice, provide training, promote, campaign, disseminate information and raise the profile of Responsive/Progressive/Democratic/Alternative Education (haven't decided on the label yet). Links with the International Association of Learning Alternatives will be invaluable. Lynette Gribble
The Paths of Learning Resource Center has now indexed over 400 resources from publishers in education about schools and alternative education programs based on holistic and learner-centered philosophies in education (Waldorf, democratic, homeschooling, at-risk, etc.), which they invite K-12 educators, teacher educators, and home educators to explore. In addition, they have just added a new "browsing" feature, which they would like you to try out. It allows you to browse all of the resources that they have reviewed by author, publishing web site, or producer. Then, you can browse more deeply for related resources by clicking on categories that match your needs or interests in holistic/humanistic education. In addition, they are looking for specific feedback about this new Resource Center. Web: http://www.PathsOfLearning.net/index2.cfm. Tel: 1-800-639-4122. Robin Ann Martin, Coordinator. Email: robin@PathsOfLearning.net.
From the Editorial Comment On Research, High-Stakes Testing, and Core Philosophy by Gordon F. Vars, The Core Teacher, Summer 2000: “Person-centered, democratic, progressive education is under siege today, as state legislatures continue to impose unreasonable uniform requirements on all students, in flagrant disregard of individual differences. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to remind ourselves of what schools in a democracy are really for…Noted educational researcher Michael Scriven put it this way 33 years ago: ‘Testing for the extent of learning of certain rather delicate and pervasive concepts may be itself destructive, in that it makes the student too self-conscious about the role of the concept at too early a stage, thereby preventing its natural and proper development.’ This is not to mention the perfectly understandable paranoia of teachers, administrators, and boards of education that are being judged by student scores on grossly-flawed tests!” The publication is available from NACC, 1640 Franklin Ave, Suite 104, Kent, OH 44140-4324.
The March 2000 issue of The Sudbury Valley School Journal included an article by editor Mimsy Sadofsky titled Culture Clashes. In it she related how the school dealt with the problem of two girls, ages 7 and 4, leaving the school grounds and walking to a nearby park and back. Disgruntled neighbors of the school complained and reported the incident to the Department of Social Services, which subsequently came out to investigate the matter. Mimsy describes how the school’s Judicial Committee and School Meetings handled the crisis, including changing the rules and how they go about their daily business to include checking on everyone. Before this incident, “No one thinks of us in the normal course of the day as checking on anyone, when in reality we are checking on everything,” she says, “But to be doing it on a list, to check off each name of a kid under eight years old, seemed like an imposition.” SVS Press, 2 Winch St., Framingham, MA 01701.
From What Ever Happened to Learning? by Linda Darling-Hammond, Newsday, June 16, 2000: “The Regents: To Test or not to Test”: The tests are inadequate measures of high-quality learning and may undermine good work in classrooms. The high stakes applied to the tests create incentives for pushing low-scoring students out of school. Many teachers lack training to allow them to teach to the exams. School resources are so unequal that many students do not have access to the qualified teachers, texts, labs, computers and other materials they need to meet the standards. The system feels like one big ‘gotcha’ that sets up failure. The new exams are mostly more of the same, except that will be used to determine graduation for all the state’s students, rather than the 30% who graduated with Regents diplomas in the past. Prestigious private and suburban schools that never gave Regents exams because they believed they could offer a higher-quality curriculum without it are lobbying to be exempted. Schools that have operated more intellectually ambitious assessment systems on state waivers have been told their waivers will be revoked. Many believe they will be less successful if their students have to cram for multiple-choice tests. Even more dangerous are the stakes attached to the new tests. In addition to graduation from high school – an enormous stake when non-graduates have a one in four chance of finding a job – the tests are used to rank schools. Students will have to pass five examinations to graduate, with course work counted not at all. Yet the tests predict little about students’ success in non-school situations. Pilot studies suggest that half of the students could fail to graduate. New York already has one of the nation’s lowest 4-year graduation rates, at just over 60%. Holding schools accountable for average test scores rather than measuring the cumulative gains of individual students will exacerbate the problem. Studies show that this approach has led schools to hold low-scoring students back, assign them to special education, or push them out entirely. Getting rid of the bottom of the distribution makes the average scores look better. Inviting students to leave school in an economy in which dropouts can neither find jobs nor join the military tragically wastes their lives and taxes the society in increased welfare and prison costs. School reform in New York is now a charade. We need to realize that testing students is not the same as teaching them. The author was Chair of the New York State Curriculum and Assessment Council. She is currently professor of education at Stanford.
The National Youth Employment Coalition is a network of over 150 youth employment/development organizations dedicated to promoting policies and programs which help succeed in becoming lifelong learners. In carrying out this mission NYEC develops and improves the capacity and effectiveness of youth serving organizations, participates in the development of public policy through research, information and advocacy and setting standards to improve practice and services. All of this results in youth who are excited about the future. Contact: 1836 Jefferson Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Tel: (202) 659-1064. Fax: (202) 659-0399. E-mail: nyec@nyec.org
The National Academy of Alternative Education at Fordham University is offering two courses together this fall: Fundamentals of Education Administration and Managing the Teaching Learning Process. Administrative Internships are available for eligible students. For more information contact Anita Batisti at (212) 317-2775.
The Gesundheit! Institute reports that since the “Patch Adams” movie was released, they have gained a great deal of attention and have received several offers of donations which will allow them to build their hospital. They have established the Gesundheit Hospital Foundation and are waiting for the funding to arrive. Meanwhile, they continue their Housecall Program in which you can get involved in your own community. For more information, visit their website at http://www.patchadams.org.
In an era of increasing strains on the nation’s education system, the community schools movement is injecting new life into public school buildings in hundreds of cities and towns throughout the US. Nine examples are profiled in Community Schools: Partnerships for Excellence, a new publication from the Coalition for Community Schools. For copies of this publication or for more information about community schools, contact the Coalition at 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: (202) 822-8405x45. Email: ccs@iel.org. Web: www.communityschools.org.
From School Testing: An Education-Industrial Complex Is Emerging By David Bacon, Oakland Tribune, April 16, 2000: This is the year U.S. schools went test-crazy. By January every state but one had adopted standards for public school students in at least one subject and 41 states had adopted tests to measure student performance. Promotion from one grade to another, and high school graduation itself, are now often test-determined. Test scores increasingly determine the ranking of schools, the resources available to them, and even control of the local curriculum. Meanwhile, politicians vie with each other to position themselves as pro-education. This almost obsessive interest in testing is driven by factors ranging from political ambition to a genuine desire for public schools that teach their students. But a big push comes from a much less publicized source -- the testing companies themselves. Dominating the field are three big publishers -- McGraw-Hill, Harcourt and Houghton-Mifflin. But what do the tests actually measure? And even more important, do standardized tests really improve the quality of education? An exhaustive study by Youngstown State University Professor Randy Hoover found that the poorer the family, the lower the score was likely to be. Schools in affluent neighborhoods do predictably well, and schools in poor, minority neighborhoods don't. But ranking schools isn't necessarily going to lead to reallocating resources. In many states, school districts that rank low on tests may lose funding, and see students and resources diverted to charter schools. Beginning in 1985, Harcourt helped develop the Texas Academic Assessment Skills test. Being the test developer can be very advantageous – not only is test grading subcontracted to Harcourt, but the company marketed its textbooks to local districts as published by "the same company that helps to write the TAAS tests." Consumed by testing fever, Texas districts and schools organize TAAS camps, hold TAAS Olympics, and bend the curriculum towards test taking. Penalties for low performance can be brutal and allegations of test tampering have sparked investigations, led to the firings of teachers, and even the indictment of a school board. Parents, especially in African-American and Latino communities, are rebelling. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund challenged the TAAS test, saying it discriminates against black and Hispanic children. In Cleveland, the NAACP charged the Ohio test with racial bias after not one student in five poor schools passed all sections. With personnel moving back and forth between the state and private sector, an education-industrial complex is emerging. "It's not a conspiracy," O'Brien says. "Corporations like IBM, Proctor and Gamble and Eastman Kodak want schools to educate students to their specifications. They want education centered on testing, and curriculum aligned to the tests." --David Bacon writes for Pacific News Service.
Responses to questions about possibly starting an LA-area Sudbury school by Stuart Williams-Ley, staff member at Cedarwood Sudbury School in Santa Clara, CA.: How do you find like-minded individuals efficiently, without spending a ton of money on outreach? Six years ago I faced the same problem. I wrote a four-page summary of what I wanted to do and sent copies to everyone I knew. I also put extremely inexpensive ads in a couple of newsletters. I subsequently sent everyone on my list homemade postcards announcing two informational meetings. Those attracted 20-25 people each. From among those we attracted only four founders, including myself, but it was enough to begin the startup process. Is this viable in an urban/suburban setting? In LA County, land is quite expensive, and probably impossible to obtain unless donated. Would rental of a large house do? Real estate would indeed be a major hurdle for you. If you rent a house, a major concern is the Americans with Disabilities Act. This law would require major renovations of most older houses. Two story houses would require elevators and sprinklers. In the same vein, I would worry about the ramifications in an urban environment of allowing four-year-olds to roam at will. What strategies do you use? Our School Meeting passed rules limiting "roaming at will" to people who are at least seven years old. Finally, having taught in the public schools for years, I've always thought (a la John Gatto) that I was putting on a show, with too little involvement from the kids. And I could see the dangers of forcing new concepts on kids who weren't ready. So my question is, how much would I have to submerge myself, or would I? This is a question you'll have to answer for yourself. Read a book or two, or more; listen to some audiotapes. You might also want to visit our school sometime to see what it's like. It's a big leap of faith to trust children to make their own decisions. They will not share all your concerns, though they will be interested in getting to know you as a person.
Naropa University is beginning a new Master’s in Contemplative Education in summer, 2001. For More info, Lisa Trank, Director of Communications, 303 546-3567.
Learning Opportunities About Sustainability, Community Young people seeking hands-on learning opportunities about sustainable lifestyles, permaculture design, self-reliant homesteading, ecovillages, or intentional communities might want to check out the Fall '00 issue of Communities Magazine. With a theme, "Let's Go! Learning Opportunities About Community," the Fall issue profiles intentional communities and aspiring ecovillages that host students, interns, apprentices and in subjects from organic growing to natural building, consensus and cooperative governance to permaculture design. It includes a directory of communities and ecovillages that host these programs with contact information. The magazine also profiles colleges that offer courses that study or visit intentional communities and ecovillages, and offers a list and contact information on these also. Communities magazine, Fall '00 issue, $7 postpaid. Multiple copy discounts available for alternative schools and others. Communities magazine, 800-995-8342, www.ic.org. FIC, Rt. 1, Box 156, Rutledge, MO 63663. Diana Christian, Editor, Communities Magazine 290 McEntire Road, Tryon, NC 28782 828-863-4425 <communities@ic.org> or <diana@ic.org>
Home Education News
The following excerpts of an article by Rick Karlin appeared in the Albany Times Union on July 19, 2000: A Berne couple who faced child abuse charges when they tried to take their 7-year-old son off Ritalin must continue giving him (it), a family court judge has ruled. Those civil charges led to the recent court hearing and raised the possibility, though remote, that social workers could remove the boy from his home. The judge also ruled that the Carrolls may seek a second opinion on whether Ritalin should be given. The Carrolls' pediatrician and a psychologist both agreed the Ritalin should continue, Carroll said. "But if another pediatrician examines Kyle and disagrees, the Carrolls could then appeal the decision." Sent to us by Bill Elliot who adds: “I hope someone can pass along the name of an anti-Ritalin pediatrician to us to forward to them. The importance to homeschoolers is that IEPs could become a double-edged sword for those who have never public schooled, as well as a block to those parents seeking to get out of the public system and possibly into homeschool sanctity.” Email: reason_3@hotmail.com.
From Learning at Home, Students Take the Lead, by Peter T. Kilborn, The New York Times, May 24, 2000: In Maryland, the State Department of Education said that in the 1990’s the number of public school students rose 19 percent, to 850,000, while those registered at homeschools jumped to 15,651 from 2,296. Education experts attribute most of the growth to unschooling, the antithesis of the religion-based image of homeschooling, which follows school-like schedules and relies on curriculums and textbooks. Unschooling … where parents respond to a child’s talents and interests in guiding their learning rather than imposing a conventional curriculum. Like charter schools, magnet schools, private schools and parochial schools, homeschooling responds to disenchantment with conventional public schools. Critics fault homeschooling for isolating children. They say it discourages social interaction and development of the skills of teamwork and collaboration. The National Education Association, the largest teachers union, has adopted a resolution saying that homeschools cannot provide a comprehensive education and urging that only licensed teachers be permitted to run homeschools. Unschooling parents say they believe that by homing in on their children’s natural talents and curiosity, with texts and curriculums that best capture their impulse to learn, they can guide them into the three R’s when the children are most ready, not when professional educators say they ought to be. While homeschooled students do not get conventional diplomas, studies of their performance show that they score at least as well as conventionally taught students on tests like the College Boards and gain admission to the most elite universities. Without grades or class rankings to guide them, colleges put greater emphasis on essays, College Boards, advance placement courses that students take in community colleges, and the recommendations of unrelated adults. Lynn Linde, chief of the student services and alternative programs at the Maryland Department of Education, said: “When they go to college, they seem to be doing well. We haven’t done actual research, but the gist of the anecdotes has been, ‘These kids are fine; they’re bright kids.’”
From Homeschoolers No. 1 on College Entrance Test by Andrea Billups, The Washington Times, August 22, 2000: Homeschooled students have scored higher than their traditionally educated peers on the ACT, one of the nation's two major college-entrance exams, for the third consecutive year. While the average ACT assessment score was 21 nationally, home-educated students scored an average of 22.8 - yet another academic benchmark that has given the movement increasing credibility and attention. "Parents are doing a great job of educating their own children," said J. Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association in Purcellville, Va. "This explains why many highly selective colleges are recruiting their complement of homeschoolers." Mr. Smith called 2000 a "banner year" for homeschoolers, citing their first-, second- and third-place finishes in the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee and their second-place finish in the National Geography Bee sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The number of homeschoolers taking the ACT this year, 4,593, represents a 41 percent increase over last year, ACT officials said. Across the nation, a record 1,065,138 high school students took the 2000 ACT exam, which includes curriculum-based achievement tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. The tests measure achievement, as well as preparation and readiness for college course work. The scale for scores is 1 to 36. Traditionally schooled students scored 21 in 1998 and 1999. In those two years, home-schooled students scored 22.8 and 22.7. The ACT, much like the more popular SAT test, the other major college-entrance exam, is used not only for admissions, but for making decisions on scholarships and course placements. ACT officials said this year's results showed that students were taking more rigorous course work in preparation for college. " A spokeswoman from the College Board, which administers the SAT, said a question on homeschooling was recently added to the student information section of the exam.
The Home Educator’s Family Times August issue included 53 Reasons to Homeschool, an online survey conducted by Pam Sorooshian for the National Home Education Network. Among those reasons are: Spend more time together as a family; Allow children time to learn subjects not usually taught in their school; Encourage concentration and focus – which are discouraged in crowded classrooms with too many distractions; Learning can be more efficient since methods can be used that suit a child’s particular learning style; Children will be more confident since they are not subject to constant fear of criticism from teachers; Grading is usually unnecessary and learning is seen as motivating in and of itself; Children do now have to wait until they are grown to begin to seriously explore their passions, they can start living now; Low standards or expectations of school personnel will not influence or limit children’s ability to learn and excel. PO Box 708, 51 West Gray Rd., Gray, ME 04039. Web: www.homeeducator.com.
Homeschoolers David and Laurie Callihan have written The Guidance Manual for the Christian Home School: A Parent’s Guide to Preparing Home School Students for College or Career to help parents successfully mentor their children. This guide is the homeschool equivalent of the traditional school’s guidance counselor – it covers practical issues such as testing, socialization, extracurricular activities, curriculum, scholarship, career planning, special needs, and more. Although written from a Christian perspective, the manual contains information that can benefit all homeschooling families. It is available from Career Press, 3 Tice Rd., PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. Tel: (201) 848-0310 x 524.
The Unofficial Guide to Homeschooling: A New Voice in Business & Lifestyle Learning by Kathy Ishizuka provides practical, comprehensive information on all aspects of homeschooling. With a review panel of experts in the field, she covers an array of alternatives for every age level and subject of study. The guide includes charts, checklists, timesaver and money-saver tips, a glossary, samples of key documents, professional and personal tips, and a directory of organizations and web sites. It is available from IDG Books, 909 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Web: www.idgbooks.com.
From Earl Stevens on http://www.unschooling.com: One morning last fall Jamie walked over to the radio station at the University of Southern Maine to see if he could "get a job" there. He wanted to learn what he could about radio broadcasting, inspired in part by listening to Garrison Keillor's Saturday night PBS show, the American Radio Company. After wandering around the station for an hour shaking hands and talking to everybody, he telephoned to tell me that he would be staying for a little while longer. Several hours later, after a few more check-in calls, Jamie was ready to come home. When I drove over to the station to pick him up, the station manager approached me and said, "It is unusual for us to have a kid just walk in off the street and ask to help. Jamie has energized us today, and we think he will be a great addition to our staff." I smiled and nodded, trying to imagine Jamie energizing the radio station and being on the staff. Soon Jamie was hosting the Saturday morning children's radio show, "Chickens Are People Too," attending staff meetings, taping promotional pieces and general announcements, and lending a hand at the station with whatever work needed to be done. If we leave our radio tuned to WMPG, we never know when we might hear him cracking a joke, making an announcement, or talking on the air with whomever happens to be hosting one of WMPG's broadcasts. Even when he is with us at home, his voice is busily traveling the airwaves. Jamie Stevens, radio personality. I'm glad Jamie didn't ask me for my opinion before going to the radio station. I might have said, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe you need to be a little older. Maybe it would be best to wait a while." Perhaps I would not have said this, but I am capable of it. There is a part of me that is still the isolated 11-year old of long ago who is intimidated by so much boldness on the part of this new 11-year old. I can still find reasons for Jamie not to do things, to wait until he's older, more mature, more ready. Most of the time they are not good reasons and they fall apart under close scrutiny. Jamie knows I have this tendency, and he manages to work around it.
Public AlternativesCharter School News
From Homeschoolers Regional Center Proposed by Judy Bernstein, Post Star, Glens Falls, NY: The city is being eyed as the site of a regional center for a new kind of charter school that will serve home-schooled special education students. If approved, the school would be the first of its kind in the state. A proposal for the school is expected to be made to the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute in August. Bill VanAllen of Kingston, the school's proponent, said the point of the new school would be to improve the education of special education students in kindergarten though high school, targeting those who are now home-schooled as well as others now enrolled in public schools. The school is looking to help students with disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional problems and those simply having trouble with traditional schools, he said. "It provides an alternative. (With public schools), I think you have a basic institutional model, a factory school. This would allow the freedom to escape that factory." Under the plan, students would attend regional centers, where teachers, counselors, computers and libraries would be located. Students would do at least some of their other work online. Sports would be sub-contracted to providers such as the YMCA. Kingston and Point Jervis are also being considered for regional centers. VanAllen is ultimately looking to get all towns in the state to start up individual charter schools that would be part of the network. According to The Center for Education Reform, two other states, California and Alaska, have charter schools for home-schooled youngsters. The non-classroom programs make up one-third of California's charter schools. The center said the number of charter schools nationally has grown rapidly in the past two years, up from 484 in 1998 to nearly 1,700 today. There were five operating in New York as of April.
From As Charter School Closes, Debate on Innovation's Limits, By Kate Zernike, Egg Harbor Township, N.J., May 2: When they opened a charter school in a deserted warehouse here, Michael and Sarah Rennick had a clear vision of what it could be: a place where kids who did not fit the mold would flourish, a place where students might start their days later to accommodate their teenage sleepiness, a place where they would call teachers by their first names, and skateboard or play paintball in lieu of gym class. The Regional Experiential Academic Charter High School, also known as Reach, would engage these students like no other school had, giving them trust and responsibility and getting hard work and respect in return. But where the Rennicks saw potential, the state of New Jersey saw chaos. Given the freedom to learn the way they wanted, students were not learning anything at all, the state found. That was presuming students actually showed up at school, and many simply did not. The school so threatened the students' education, officials said, that they shut it down barely eight months after it opened. The closing last month left the Rennicks and parents complaining the state stifled its own experiment. The state set up the charter school law to reward innovation, but then refused to allow it, parents say. What looked disorganized was just different, and given time, they insist, the children and the school would have blossomed. "We saw the opportunity for true innovative reform," said Mr. Rennick. "They didn't want to hear about real reform." The closing highlights an essential tension in the charter school movement. By definition, charter schools are alternative public schools, so they are often started by and attract parents who feel the traditional public school model is not working for their children. Many are based on unconventional ideas of how children learn best. Parents describe a school that transformed monosyllabic, withdrawn teenagers into chatty students who looked forward to going to school. Parents insist the school should have been allowed to stay open at least until the first round of statewide tests, to give it a chance to prove whose version of the school was more accurate -- the state's or the founders'. But with the disputes with the state escalating, the school's board of trustees voted out the Rennicks in February.
From Charter Schools in Action: Renewing Public Education by Chester E. Finn, Jr., edited transcript of speech, Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research Dialogue, May 2000: The best definition for a charter school is that it is an independent public school of choice, which not so many years ago we would have thought was an oxymoron. But such schools are alive and kicking and indeed proliferating around the US. There are currently almost 1,700 of them in over 31 states, enrolling about 300,000 students. We have added over 400 schools in just the past 12 months. Thirty-seven states have authorizing legislation, but these laws vary greatly. Currently, 60% of all charter schools are in five states: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas. Most charter schools are little, with the median enrollment being 137 students. Charter schools have a very similar demographic profile to the regular public schools, and many have found themselves inundated not with the best and the brightest, but with the most troubled kids in their community. This stands to reason. Who is going to send their kids to a school with no track record that’s operating in a warehouse? In most cases, the people sending their kids to charter schools could be described as close to desperate for finding a better option for their kids. Client satisfaction is very high and demand is very strong. There are waiting lists at about three-quarters of charter schools. Parents like charter schools; kids like them; teachers like them. 85 Devonshire St., 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02109
Other Public Alternatives
Recent legislation has been enacted that requires every school district in Oklahoma to provide access to alternative education to students needing it. We are contracted by the State Legislature to assist and independently evaluate all alternative education programs throughout Oklahoma, of which there are about 500. Alternative education receives the 4th largest allocation, including special ed & other federal programs; therefore, the elected officials and the State Department of Education wants documented justification for these expenditures. Additionally, my office provides professional in-services and workshops to teachers, parents, and students statewide on over 40 topics. We also provide psychometric testing and prescriptive instruction to area school districts. We have been in existence since the early 1970's. We are part of the Cushing Public School System (i.e., we are not for-profit "consultants). I have been a public educator all my life, particularly secondary language arts. I also have adapted curricula for the area vocational-technical schools and was a job developer/counselor & employability skills instructor for Job Corps. Robert Basinger, 123 E. Broadway, Cushing, OK 74023. Email: botac@galstar.com. Tel: (918) 225-4838. Web: www.csdcotac.org.
I am the lead person at a small, public, alternative high school in St. Paul, MN that has an arts focus. We have about 100 students who come to us from all over the metro area, suburbs and even from Wisconsin. I am also on the board for STARS, which is an off-shoot of MAAP. This organization focuses on direct involvement with students. STARS organizes and runs Legislative Day when students from alternative programs from all over the state meet at the capital and meet with their representatives and senators in groups and one-to-one. Incidentally, there are 112,000 students in alternative education in Minnesota. In the spring we have a two-day MAAP STARS conference in St. Cloud. Each year more students attend -- this year there were over 350. Some events are competitive, like Lifesmarts, which is run like a game show with three teams of students each round. The questions are all regarding consumer information. There are also non-competitive events like art display, project demonstration and performances. Students and teachers work together in STARS to keep making it better each year. Wemdy Lacska, Creative Arts School, lacska@isd.net.
From Puerto Rico Closes the Gap, by Marjorie Coeyman, The Christian Science Monitor: In 1992, Puerto Rico launched an initiative in its public schools aiming to close a 70-point gap between public school students and their private- school counterparts on standardized tests. Six years later, children who had attended reform classes every year outscored private-school students by 58 points in math reasoning and 79 points in math achievement on College Entrance Exam Board tests. And though reform focused only on math and science, students inched 10 points above private-school children in verbal reasoning. Educators involved in the project pointed to better teaching training, methods similar to those of Japanese that focus on teamwork and problem solving, and a systematic approach that unified management with teachers. The program closely links science and math instruction. It simplifies the curriculum in both disciplines. There’s a practical, hands-on approach, with a focus on the visual. Such a method requires a completely different approach from instructors, and that’s why teacher training is at the heart of the reforms. The success of the initiative has not gone unnoticed by the education establishment. Department of Education Secretary Richard Riley has traveled to Puerto Rio to learn more about it, and US Congressman Jose Serrano has arranged a grant to bring Puerto Rican reform personnel to NY to set up programs in his mostly Hispanic district in the Bronx. Three Bronx middle schools are using the method, with nine more scheduled to join them.
From Congress Asked to Rein in High-Stakes Tests, FairTest Examiner, Spring 2000: Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and Rep. Robert Scott (D-VA) have filed legislation in the Senate (S2348) and House HR4333) that would bar states and districts which receive federal education aid from using test scores as a ‘sole determinant’ in making decisions about ‘the retention, graduation, tracking, or within-class ability grouping of an individual student.’ The legislation also establishes requirements tests must meet if they are used in the decision-making process. While the proposed legislation is given little chance of passage in this Congress, it has helped to attract attention to the issue of high stakes testing.
From Test Opposition Heats up in Massachusetts, FairTest Examiner, Spring 2000: In a testing season marked by dramatic walk-outs, rallies, vigils, and teach-ins, more than 300 students boycotted the high-stakes Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in April and May. Hundreds of students and parents attended an after-school rally on May 15 to express their opposition to the 18-hour test which is given to students in 4th, 8th, and 10th grades. The boycott and rallies represent just the tip of the iceberg of growing opposition to the test. During the test-taking time, boycotters engaged in a range of alternative academic projects: writing essays explaining why they were not taking the test, participating in workshops about authentic and fair assessment systems, developing portfolios, and performing community service. FairTest, 342 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139-1802
The staff members at Vincent C. Scavo High School in Des Moines, IA, created a study called Best Practices in Alternative Education. It is a survey of alternative programs in IA covering a wide range of topics, including participants’ opinions about them. These include such things as program size, facility type, student/staff ratio, length of day, class size, dress code, parent communications, etc. Lots of graphs. 1800 Grand Ave, des Moines, IA 50309. Ph: 515 242-7589.
International News and CommunicationsENGLANDINSPECTION UPDATE FROM ZOE READHEAD OF SUMMERHILLJust a note to share my good news.. Today we received a letter from the Department for Education and Employment saying that we have been removed from the TBW (To Be Watched) list and that there are no outstanding issues from the March 99 inspection and subsequent Notice of Complaint. I think this means we really have won! We will now be visited in spring 2002 with a full reported inspection in 2004. The next things pending are our official complaint to Ofsted which should be filed in a few days (they aren't going to like this. . .) and getting our official representative who can meet with their representative to thrash out any differences which we have over future inspections.
The first Alternatives in Education Fair organized by Human Scale Education was held in London last September. Over 600 people attended the fair, as well as representatives from Small Schools and larger, more established schools. Home education was represented by three different organizations, reflecting the rapid growth of homeschooling in England. Human Scale Education produces a newsletter and can be contacted at 96 Carlingcott, Near Bath, BA2 8AW. Tel: 01275 332516.
On the second day of the Hes Fes, a homeschooling family drove me over to Sands School which was only an hour's drive, and we had a great visit. Founders David and Lynette Gribble came over to greet us. Sands has almost doubled in population to 70 since I was there three years ago! JM
One of the people I met at Hes Fes, Leslie Barstow, has organized The Otherwise Club, a homeschool group of about 40 families that meets a couple of times a week in London. JM
ETHIOPIAI am working intensively to make the Internet media as easy as possible for universities and academic institutions in less developed countries. To that end, I am creating the Internet Library and Media Academy so that they can see at first hand what is going on in other parts of our continent and how others are trying to solve their problems and to face new challenges. To my understanding, it cannot be enough to help just the people who are suffering, but it is necessary to help also the intellectuals working against all the odds. I am trying to connect not only the universities and Libraries, but also the teachers, lecturers, Doctors and Professors in those less developed countries so that they can share their experiences and teaching methods and effectively help their students. I am trying day and night to achieve this goal. If I get a job or any means of income, this will facilitate my targets. Thank you for your attention. Dr. Dawit Berhanu, Mildestieg 28, 22307 Hamburg. E-Mail: gllbr@yahoo.de or fo3a504@uni-hamburg.de. Web: http://www.fly.to/ Dawit.
GERMANYIn Germany, home schooling is virtually illegal. Homeschoolers must meet the same requirements as the public schools or accredited private schools, making it impossible for homeschoolers to operate. Both native German and American missionary homeschoolers are being prosecuted. A German homeschool legal defense association is in the process of being organized. The Harder family lives in the Bavarian region of Germany with their 11 children. Charges have been filed against Mr. Harder for homeschooling. In March 2000, the police broke into the Harder home through a living room window and ransacked their house. The police emptied out closets and drawers and overturned furniture. Two of the children hid on the roof and then jumped out a small window when they heard the police opening the attic door. Their terrified seven-year-old daughter was screaming so much that the police ended up leaving her alone, but the 11-year-old daughter was physically taken from Mr. and Mrs. Harder and escorted to school. For the next two weeks, the police came every day to take the Harder's daughter to public school. Mr. Harder will be facing imprisonment or a fine of $250 per day per child. American homeschoolers can make a difference by writing to Ambassador Juergen Chrobog, German Embassy, 4645 Reservoir Rd., Washington, DC 20007-1998. Tel.: (202) 298-4000. Fax: (202) 298-4249.
INDIA Amukta Mahapatra, amu_54@yahoo.com I met Jerry at the IDEC conference in Japan this July..I am associated with organizations taking up issues of child workers in India. Being an educator I have been involved in planning and organizing education programs for working children so that they can continue with their education instead of dropping out. Would like to network, discuss...about these issues. In most of my work I have used the Montessori methodology as a framework since it takes into account the needs of the children at different stages.
ISRAEL Yaacov Hecht, after having started the Democratic School of Hadera, has now started nine other schools and is starting many others around Israel, which are democratic, and is working on democratizing the whole public school system with the Minister of Education. He is doing this through the new Institute for Democratic Education. However, while we were in Japan, the Minister of Education quit the Cabinet so we don’t know what the future of that will be.
JAPAN From Truancy Reaches Record High, The Japan Times, Aug. 5, 2000: More than 130,000 elementary and junior high school students were truant for 30 or more school days during the 1999-2000 academic year, according to an Education Ministry survey. A total of 130,208 students missed school without permission between April 1999 and March this year, up about 2,500, or 2 percent, from the previous academic year and the most since the statistics were first taken in the 1991-1992 year. The rate of increase in the number of absentees slowed significantly, however, from the more than 10 percent rises posted in the three consecutive years starting with the 1996-1997 year. The figures correspond to 2.45 percent of all junior high school students in Japan -- one in every 41 -- meaning roughly one student in each class refused to attend school. The figure for elementary school students was 0.35 percent, according to the survey. One of the reasons often cited is bullying by other students. Meanwhile, the number of people who neither landed full-time jobs nor continued their education after graduating from high school, junior college or university increased to about 295,000, due in part to the continuing economic recession. The employment rate of new university graduates dropped 4.3 percentage points to a record low 55.8 percent, with only 301,000 out of the 539,000 graduates taking full-time jobs and with many of the remaining students continuing on to graduate school. Between 30 percent and 40 percent of the combined 163,000 university and junior college graduates who neither landed full-time jobs nor continued on to graduate school went to vocational schools, indicating a growing number of youths are hoping to gain special qualifications to help in their search for work.
NEW ZEALANDThe Tamoriki School in New Zealand grew to 60 students. The parents thought that 60 was big enough and so they started a second school which now has 20 students.
NORWAYThe Forsoksgymnaset is a school that was founded in 1966 by three Oslo students who were dissatisfied with what they felt to be the authoritarian atmospheres of their own schools. They wrote an appeal to all Oslo gymnasium students and teachers for the creation of a new type of school where "... pupils and teachers would have equal rights and together decide the necessary rules of the school and judge when the rules are broken." They got official approval and the school opened in September 1967 with 140 students. Their numbers are now down to around 75, but the school has had an influence on the Norwegian upper secondary school system out of all proportion to its size and student numbers. This year, the Oslo county administration wanted to cut out the first of the three years at the school due to low numbers applying at the start of the year. The school said this would cripple recruitment into the upper two years and eventually bring about the closure of the school. The Oslo city council finally agreed to continue to fund the first year at FGO, which means that there need be no staff redundancies/cuts and that should be an end to the crisis – for the time being anyway.
SCOTLANDWe are a fairly militant bunch in Scotland and managed to muster considerable political support for changing the law on consent to home educate (different from England) during the passage of the new Scots Education Bill. Not quite enough to succeed this time, sadly, but we are working hard on the Executive and are asking home educators internationally to e-mail bomb the Scottish Education Minister, Sam Galbraith, on the day of the march (September 7) to show solidarity and support for home education generally and legislative change in particular. Ed note: The Scottish home educators mounted a successful march on September 7th to protest the fact that they have to get permission to start home educating. Three Members of Parliament joined them, with a group of children out front, marching to a drumbeat of an eight year old home educated student. There was much media coverage Alison Preuss, Email: bookcave@mistral.co.uk or events@schoolhouse.org.uk. Schoolhouse Home Education Association, Tel: 01382 646964. Web: www.schoolhouse.org.uk.
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