Education Revolution DOUBLE ISSUE
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The Magazine of Alternative Education Education Revolution DOUBLE ISSUE I s s u e N u m b e r T h i r t y S e v e n SUMMER 2003 $4.95 USA/5.95 CDN SAY NO TO HIGH STAKES TESTING FOR KIDS Don’t Miss the IDEC! DETAILS INSIDE! w w w . e d u c a t i o n r e v o l u t i o n . o r g Education Revolution The Magazine of Alternative Educatuion Summer 2003 - Issue Number Thirty Seven - www.educationrevolution.org News What’s an IDEC? The mission of The Education Revolution magazine is based Dana Bennis................................................ 6 on that of the Alternative Education Resource Organization A Harsh Agenda (AERO): “Building the critical mass for the education Paul Wellstone..............................................7 revolution by providing resources which support self- It’s Happening All Over The World............... 7 determination in learning and the natural genius in everyone.” Towards this end, this magazine includes the latest news and David Gribble communications regarding the broad spectrum of educational alternatives: public alternatives, independent and private Being There alternatives, home education, international alternatives, and On the Bounce…………..........................9 more. The common feature in all these educational options is Street Kids……………….........................11 that they are learner-centered, focused on the interest of the child rather than on an arbitrary curriculum. Mail & Communication AERO, which produces this magazine quarterly, is firmly Main Section…………………………....... 15 established as a leader in the field of educational alternatives. News of Schools…………………………. 19 Founded in 1989 in an effort to promote learner-centered High Stakes Testing……………………... 21 education and influence change in the education system, AERO International News & Communication.....23 is an arm of the School of Living, a non-profit organization. Public Alternatives……………………….. 26 AERO provides information, resources and guidance to students, parents, schools and organizations regarding their Home Education News………………….. 28 educational choices. Jobs at Alternative Schools……………...29 Jobs and Internships…………………….. 30 Conferences…………………………….... 30 Education Revolution Revolutionary Times The Magazine of Alternative Education The Changing Face of Childhood 417 Roslyn Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577 Childhood in the 1950’s and Childhood Now Albert Lamb……………………………..... 31 ISSN#: 110679219 Phone: 516-621-2195 / 800-769-4171 Jerry’s Ten Signs that You Need to Find a Fax: 516-625-3257 Different Kind of Education for Your Child....39 Email: [email protected] That Dreadful Educationalist Web Site: http://www.educationrevolution.org Answering A.S. Neill’s Critics Executive Director: Jerry Mintz John Potter……………………………...... 40 Director of Research and Development: Dana Bennis Movin’ On Down – And In Education Revolution Editor: Albert Lamb The Beginnings of the Free School Mail and Communications Editor: Carol Morley Mary Leue……………………………….... 46 Printer: Brenneman Printing Inc., Lancaster, PA Books Etc. AERO Advisory Board Book and CD Reviews............................ 49 Alexander Adamsky, Mary Addams, Chris Balch, Fred Bay, Patrice Creve, Anne Evans, Patrick Farenga, Phil Gang, John Gatto, Herb Goldstein, Dan Greenberg, Jeffrey Kane, Dave Lehman, Mary AERO Books and Videos Leue, Ron Miller, Ann Peery, John Potter, Mary Anne Raywid, Our Special Offers.................................. 14 John Scott, Tim Seldin, Elina Sheppel, Andy Smallman, Nick Stanton, Corinne Steele, Tom Williams 2 Welcome to the Education Revolution! And welcome to our Double Issue for the The Word from Jerry summer. AERO is joining in with democratic schools around the world to host a special On the afternoon of Friday, February 23rd I got a phone call, out of the blue, asking me if I would be able to come on conference in upstate New York this July and the Hannity and Colmes Show on the Fox News Network to you will probably feel our growing excitement talk about a proposal to do away with valedictorians in schools. as you look within these pages. It seems that they had found my name in an old experts book, and looked at our website. They said they would send a limo to I hope we’ll see many of you there! pick me up. It was only later that I found out that the Fox News Network now has twice the viewership of CNN, and that Hannity and Colmes is one of their top rated shows, with three or four million [email protected] watching. I ran out and got a haircut. The woman who cuts my hair two or three times a year laughed that the only time I go there The whole segment was perhaps seven or eight minutes. At is when I’m going to be on TV. the very end they let me get in a mention of our website. The limo came, took me to the studio in New York, and Afterward the producer said she was very happy with the they brought me to the Green Room to get ready. I briefly said segment and would be happy to have me back some time. hello to Hannity and to Colmes as they went through to makeup. The limo driver was waiting for me outside. He said that he Then it was my turn. hadn’t heard the show, but could see the TV show in the This is a “left wing/right wing” show, with Hannity on the windows from the limo. He said he could tell from the body right on Colmes on the left. I was warned that Hannity could language that I had done very well. Clearly I had held my own. be pretty rough. I knew I’d only have a few minutes. I hoped to In the next 24 hours we received 3500 hits on our website get in as much as I could. and a lot of email. Some of the first email was nasty, but most I waited through most of the show in the Green Room.. I of the emails were from distraught parents who hadn’t realized was afraid I’d be preempted by Iraq news, or news of the Rhode Island club fire. They put me at the end. they have educational options. After I was seated between them and the microphone hooked up, before we were on the air, Hannity looked at his notes, [email protected] looked at me and said, “Oh! A liberal!” I shot back, “You’ll have a lot of trouble figuring out just what I am!” DOWN-TO-EARTH BOOKS Then we were on the air. It didn’t take me too long to shift from the basic topic to the general concept that Publisher of the four-volume anthology education should not be a competition. I pointed out CHALLENGING THE GIANT: than when someone goes to the library they do not sit ΣΚΟΛΕ them down, test and rank them on the way out. That’s The Best of (“SKOLE”), not the purpose of the library. It isn’t competitive. The The Journal of Alternative Education same should be true of schools. “So, you are against all competition. I suppose you Each volume$14.95 plus $2 shipping & handling; don’t think they should keep score in soccer games!” or all four $40 plus $5 s&h. they both said. One the contrary, I replied, “In fact I’m taking a Mary Leue, group of students tomorrow to a ping pong tournament!” Down-to-Earth Books At that point, a fellow member of my table tennis P.O. Box 488 club, Dan Green, told me later: “I was watching my Ashfield, MA 01330 favorite TV show, Hannity and Colmes and reading a Tel: 413-628-0227 book. Suddenly someone on the show said “ping pong!” Email: [email protected] I looked up and it was you! During the break Hannity said he was just he could OR, order from our website, beat me in ping pong. Then he asked a bit about my which offers a wide selection level of competition. “Oh,” he said. “Well, maybe not.” of hard-to-find books on After the break I went further into descriptions of educational and lifestyle democratic education, mentioned the International alternatives, at: Democratic Education Conference, and talked about the virtues of homeschooling. Now Hannity was really www.spinninglobe.net disarmed and at one point wound up defending me to Colmes! 3 The goal of IDEC 2003, www.IDEC2003.com is to gather a critical News mass of people deter- mined to push the momentum of education in a different direction, towards an approach Troy, New York, USA based on respect, July 16 - July 24 equality and democracy. The central themes for IDEC 2003 are to John Taylor Gatto IDECchallenge the high2003 stakes The 2003 testing movement, discuss International democratic schooling, Democratic Education Conference (IDEC) and learn about the will be held at Russell Sage College in approaches taken by Troy, New York from July 16-24. This educational alternatives will be the first IDEC in the United States throughout the United in the 10-year States and the world. history of the IDEC 2003 unites conference. The those from diverse conference is areas of education, Monty Neill being hosted by such as democratic The Albany Free schools, public alternatives, private Bill Ayers School in alternatives, international schools, charter association with schools, AERO, and the homeschooling, holistic organizers include approaches to education, Free School and more. What teachers, students, Pat Montgomery these educators graduates, parents, share is a caring and AERO staff. approach towards Although there is much focus on standardization, children that there is also good reason for hope. The Bill and respects their Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Founda- interests and tion and the Annenberg Institute, among other opinions. Michael Klonsky foundations, have provided funds for the creation of small, innovative schools.