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SKOLE: the Journal of Alternative Education, 1996. ISSN ISSN-1056-9197 PUB DATE 1996-00-00 NOTE 547P.; Photographs Will Not Reproduce Adequately

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SKOLE: the Journal of Alternative Education, 1996. ISSN ISSN-1056-9197 PUB DATE 1996-00-00 NOTE 547P.; Photographs Will Not Reproduce Adequately DOCUMENT RESUME ED 424 039 RC 021 116 AUTHOR Leue, Mary, Ed. TITLE SKOLE: The Journal of Alternative Education, 1996. ISSN ISSN-1056-9197 PUB DATE 1996-00-00 NOTE 547p.; Photographs will not reproduce adequately. For volume 12, see ED 399 099. AVAILABLE FROM Down-to-Earth Books, P.O. Box 163, Goshen, MA 01032; Tel: 413-628-0227 (1-year subscription, $24; 2-year subscription, $34; institutions; $28 per year). PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT SKOLE: The Journal of Alternativo. Education; v13 n1-4 1996 EDRS PRICE MF02/PC22 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Book Reviews; Childrens Writing; Compulsory Education; Conferences; *Educational Philosophy; Educational Practices; Elementary Secondary Education; *Free Schools; *Home Schooling; Interviews; *Nontraditional Education; Public Education; Small Schools ABSTRACT The four issues of "SKOLE" published in 1996 include articles about alternatives to public education, the value of free schools and home-schooling, and children's learning experiences. Feature articles include profiles of alternative schools and educational programs; descriptions of learning experiences and teaching practices; a study of full inclusion; discussions of the renewal of education and culture, the power of nonviolence, and Japanese education; suggestions on child rearing; a history of how the current system of compulsory "factory schooling" came about; criticism of the growing use of Ritalin and other drugs with children; interviews with educators and social scientists; and descriptions of three alternative education conferences. Two of the journal issues are devoted to children's poems, writings, and artwo:7k produced by students at free schools and other small alternative schools. Also included al:e reviews of books, movies, magazines, and audiotapes; commentaries; and photographs. (SV) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. **************************************-***************************************** tie Joitritirfc/Alierffiatiae Ed-twat/off "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDL4ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1/11 e_AA This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to ithprove reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. von17),,, - ^ :;,s-sfag':-;-. L. 0 0 2 EKOAE the Journca of Alternative Education Editorial Staff Mary Leue Chris Mercogliano Larry Becker Connie Frisbee Houde Betsy Mercogliano Ellen Becker Publisher Down-to-Earth Books Photographs Ted Strunck Connie Frisbee Houde Betsy Mercogliano Printer Ed Hamilton, Celecom Corp. 375 Shaker Rd., E. Longmeadow, MA 01028 EKOAE is printed quarterly by Down-to-Earth Books, a spin-off of the Free School, 8 Elm St., Albany, NY 12202, an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt assoociation dedicated to the lives of children in families. Editorial and Subscription address 72 Philip St., Albany, NY 12202 Tel. (518) 432-1578; Fax (518) 462-6836 ISSN: 91-001139 Copyright © 1995 by Down-to-Earth Books All rights reserved. Subscriptions, $20/yr., 2 yrs. $30; institutions $25/yr. Requests for permission to reprint should be made in writing . We welcome all reader contributions.Submit manuscripts to the editorial address.above. Deadlines are November 15, February 15, May 15 and August 15. Send on a Mac disk if possible, or use black type, so we can scan. Advertising rates will be sent on request. TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Comment SECTION I: School Profiles: 1 East Hill School, in Andover, Vermont, by Jon & Laura Bliss, Leslie Cassano, Katie Harris, Lyle Axel and Hunt Carlyle 1 Shiprock Alternative High School, Santa Fe, New, Mexico: Thoughts ... onEducation by Bill Kaul 9 A Program To Help Teen Parents Finish High School by Toni Mail- loux 14 School with Forest and Meadow, by Ikue Tezuka, rev. by Nancy Ost 17 SECTION II:Teaching And Learning: 20 A Natural Wonder: Perspectives of the Grand Canyon, by Robert L. Kastelic, Ed. D 20 The Grand Canyon Trip, by Nathaniel Kastelic, 10 years old 24 Caritas in the Classroom, by John D. Lawry 26 The Educated Heart, by Daniel Goleman, rev. by Ellen Becker 37 The Art of Education, by Linda Dobson, rev. by Chris Mercogliano 42 Dangerous Minds, by Lou Anne Johnson, rev. by Connie FrisbeeHoude 45 SECTION III: The Lives Of Children: 5 1 The Debilitating Malady Called Boyhood, by Natalie Angier 5 1 Making It Up as We Go Along, Introduction, by Chris Mercogliano 5 7 The Trouble With Boys, by Angela Phillips, rev. by Frank Houde 6 6 Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher, rev. by Nancy Ost 7 0 Raising a Son, by Don and Joanne Elium, rev. by Larry Becker 7 6 Parents on the Run, by Willard and Marguerite Beecher, rev. by Char- lene Therrien 7 9 SECTION IV: Issues In Education: 8 1 The Renewal of Education and Culture, by Ron Miller 8 1 The Power of Non-Violence, by Mary Ellen Bowen 8 9 Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Kozol, rev. by Mary Leue 9 9 4 Educational Freedom for a Democratic Society, by Ron Miller, rev. by Chris Mercogliano 104 Deschooling Our Lives, ed. by Matt Hem., rev. by Mary Leue 106 SECTION V: Studies: 110 Full Inclusion, by Rodney Machado, Anthony Belew, Michelle Jans and Allyn Cunha 110 SECTION VI: Reviews. 125 Books and audiotapes, reviewed by Chris Mercogliano. 125 Boomerang, The Private Eye, Talking Walls, Who Belongs Here, Wel- coming Babies The Double Life of Pocahontas, by Jean Fritze, rev. by Leslie Cassano..128 SECTION VII: Humor: 130 Fish Have Power to Reason But Are "Dumb" in School, fromPopular Mechanics 130 EDITORIAL COMMENT I got a letter early in October from Bill Ellis, up in Rangeley, Maine, who has been publishing a very good international newsletter called TRANET, for at least as long as I've been doing ZKOAE, which is to say, since 1985. Reading Jerry Mintz's current AERO yesterday, I was saddened to learn that Bill is retiring from this task. We'll miss receiving it, unless someone else decides to take it up! Butin the meanwhile, I'd like to reply to Bill's comment, which I published in the Fall issue but felt odd about taking up editorial space to answer, since it was a Children's issueso I'd like to do it now. Sorry it took so long!Here's Bill's letter again, to refresh your memory: Dear. Mary, Thanks for the recent issue of SKOLE.It's going home with me to read at more leisure. But I'm getting overfilled with the critiques of the monopolistic teaching systems. We need to move beyond criticism and invent the future learning system. That's what I'll be looking for in SKOLE. My own visionofthe LEARNING COMMUNITY is enclosed in the attached.If you know of others who move beyond criticism,alternative schools and homeschooling, I would like to hear of them. KEEP UP YOUR GOOD WORKS. Bill Ellis I've written a response to him, but I thought some of you might like to take it on too. His address is: Bill Ellis c/ o TRANET PO Box 567 Rangeley, ME 04970 And here's my reply: Gee, Bill, I thought I was doing that! My own way of looking at needed changes is that, first, one needs to know for sure that one has a very broad grasp of the problems, as seen by a great many people (which would most assuredly come under the heading of "criticism"). But second, my belief is that we Americans have made far too many changes in national educational policy based on some one person or group's notion of how to solve the problemsas we did when the Russians launched Sputnick and we decided there wasn't enough math or science in our schoolsor when the book Why Johnny Can't Read came out, and teachers. across the land were told to teach kids phonics! And now the "experts" are blaming "whole language" teaching for lowered SAT scores!Surely it would be a good thing to hear from a lot of people who are DOING what you suggest, not just poritificating about it, before we begin promulgating or int enting "the future learning system." It strikes me that labeling a critique of the present system as overkill misses the point. So, I appreciate your criticism, and hope other readers will feel free to comment, but in the meanwhile I will go on doing what I believe innamely, "reporting out" on schools that work, as the only way I really believe in for dealing with learning systems, and giving "house" to people who have thoughtful criticisms to make on the status quo. Maybe I'm just not enough of an ideologue to play the intellectual game, but my experience with people who invent "learning systems of the future," as George Leonard did with his glowing image of education as ecstasy, is that in some cases they look to the future because they know they can't cope with the prblems of the present. And school boards, superintendents, principals have no ilterest in innovation. They have jobs to do. Whatever "innovation" filters down to the practical level of school as politics is likely to be a purely political decision. Nothing else is relevant at that level. When you ask that we "move beyond ... alternative schools and homeschooling," I hear you really saying, "I- eyfocus on public schooling. Nothing else is really relevant." f ine, if you believe that.I do too, but I don't seem to draw the same conclusions from that notion you do. I truly believe, as John Gatto has pointed out endlessly, that public educaticn was not set up to accomplish the job you would like it to do.I don't think it ever will.
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