Recordings June 2021 | AERO Conference

Thursday

Now that the Education Revolution has happened: What will we do next?

Jerry Mintz has been a leading voice in the alternative school movement since establishing AERO in 1989. In addition to his seventeen years as a public and independent alternative school principal and teacher, he has also helped found more than one hundred public and private alternative schools and organizations. He has lectured and consulted in more than twenty-five countries around the world.
In 1989, he founded the Alternative Education Resource Organization and since then has served as it’s Director. Jerry was also a founding member of the International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC) in 2013.
In addition to several appearances on national radio and TV shows, Jerry’s essays, commentaries, and reviews have appeared in numerous newspapers, journals, and magazines including The New York Times, Newsday, Paths of Learning, Green Money Journal, Communities, Saturday Review, Holistic Education Review as well as the anthology Creating Learning Communities (Foundation for Educational Renewal, 2000).
Jerry was Editor-in-Chief for the Handbook of Alternative Education (Macmillan, 1994), and the Almanac of Education Choices (Macmillan/Simon & Schuster, 1995). He is the author of School’s Over: How to Have Freedom and Democracy in Education (AERO, 2017) and is editor of Turning Points: 35 Visionaries in Education Tell Their Own Story (AERO, 2010).He is the editor of the AERO weekly free e newsletter with 15,000 subscribers.
Jerry Mintz has spoken at Alternative Education Resource Organization Conferences from its inception in 2004 through 2019 in locations such as Troy, NY, Albany, NY, Portland, OR, and Long Island University. He has spoken at the International Democratic Education Conference in locations including Hadera, Israel, Vienna, Austria, Devon, England, Summerhill School, England, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, Tokyo, Japan, Christchurch, New Zealand, Sydney, Australia, Berlin, Germany, Bhubanashwar, India, Vancouver, Canada, Nuestra Escuela, Puerto Rico, Boulder, Colorado, Gwangmyeong, Korea, Mikkeli, Finland, and Kiev, Ukraine. He has done TEDx talks in Brooklyn and Norway. He has also spoken at the Reevo Conference in Bogota, Colombia, the ED Crunch Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Eureka Conferences in Narva, Estonia, Simferipol, Ukraine, and Moscow, Russia, The Green Festival in New York, International Association of Learning Alternatives Conferences in Deluth, MN, Portland, OR, St. Augustine, FL, Atlanta, GA, Des Moines, IA, Denver, CO, Amsterdam, NY. He has spoken a homeschooling conferences such as in Albany, NY, Montreal, Quebec, Dallas, TX. He has spoken at the Montessori Foundation Conference in Sarasota, FL. He spoke at numerous National Coalition of Alternative Community School conferences such as in Salem, OR, Chicago, IL, Santa Fe, NM, Ann Arbor, MI, Bloomington, IN, San Diego, CA, Summertown, TN, Glenmoore, PA. He has done consultations in nearly every state and over 22 countries, most recently in Eger, Hungary, Chalford, England and Kiev, Ukraine.
Articles by Jerry Mintz
Democratic School Governance
Sustainable Education
Ten Signs You Need to Find a Different Kind of Education for Your Child
https://www.educationrevolution.org/store/jerrymintz/

Killing Curiosity

An adventure questioning how we learn - Are schools killing curiosity? Join us in the first official presentation of the documentary film Killing Curiosity (“La Revolución del Aprendizaje” in Spanish), the result of +100 interviews in some of the most innovative learning centers of 12 continentes. Travel, education and a quest for purpose collide in this adventure around the world questioning not only how we learn, but how we live. The creators of the film and founders of Evolving Education, Luz Olid and David Caballero, will guide this interactive session to move from awareness to action.

Luz Olid and David Caballero are the founders of Evolving Education, whose mission is to democratize the most innovative educational practices in the world. They have traveled around the world interviewing +100 educators, parents and learners in some of the most innovative learning centers of 4 continentes. The film “Killing Curiosity” (“La Revolución del Aprendizaje” in Spanish) and the online training experience “Expedición Aprendizaje” are the first outcomes of this adventure. They both trained as scientists and worked in biomedical research before making a big shift in their lives to focus on social entrepreneurship and education. Luz has experience in Spain’s educational system and in agile learning centers (ALC); while David also mentors social entrepreneurs and connects them with university students to inspire them to become change makers through U4Impact. They are originally from Spain and have lived in the UK, Belgium and Mexico.

Creating a Youth-Led Free Learner Movement

Discussing (or presentation) of the Youth Led Free Learning Movement. Currently being initiated as part of a Riipen.com project sponsored by UnSchoolingSchool Youth should have lots to say about how the process of creating the movement and how others can become involved.

Self-Directed Education Youth Advocates

18 year old Selva Lorenz is passionate about creating change, and recently founded the Self-Directed Education Youth Advocates group. She has personal experience of three different public schools, a Montessori school, unschooling, online public school, and a democratic self-directed setting. The contrast of changing back and forth between systems has given her a very clear sense of the key problem with education as well as the solution.

Modern Homeschooling: Tiptoeing from Conventional Education to …

- The decades’ long growth trend in homeschooling has been largely driven by “accidental homeschoolers”, families that shift to homeschooling as a last resort to flee problems in the formal education system. These new homeschoolers are often unprepared and somewhat fearful about homeschooling. They usually decide to “try” homeschooling for a short period which then extends into years or forever. Many of these initially reluctant homeschoolers develop into very enthusiastic ones. Time4Learning has almost two decades facilitating their homeschooling experience with both an automated interactive curriculum and with help to parents understanding the basics and possibilities of homeschool education. In this talk, the founder of Time4Learning will share advice about homeschooling as well as how to blend interest driven education into the mix. Time4Learning provides an online K-12 multi-subject curriculum which includes instruction, practice, assessment, planning, and record-keeping which does much of the heavy lifting of homeschooling. Time4Learning is the leader in modern homeschooling with over 150,000 students and continuous operations since 2004. http://www.time4learning.com

John Edelson is the founder and president of Time4Learning, a leader in modern homeschooling. Prior to starting Time4Learning in 2003, John Edelson spent decades in video game development and technology in Silicon Valley and London. His goals in starting Time4Learning were to enrich the homeschooling space by using game concepts to drive meaningful learning and to deliver the best possible educational programs to support homeschoolers. John Edelson started his career with two years in the Peace Corps in West Africa. John Edelson worked in video games for five years: he was an executive producer on Croc, Legend of the Gobbos,a game that went platinum on the Playstation. He has lived for a decade in Europe. He is the proud father of three children. https://www.time4learning.com/aboutus.htm

Assessing with Respect

Every Day Practices that Meet Students' Social and Emotional Needs - Participants will examine their own implicit biases to improve their relationships with students, deepen their understanding of the impact of grades and assessments on students' self-image and their ability to reach their full potential as learners and develop personalized assessment systems that ensure an accurate, fair, and equitable portrayal of what students know and can do.

Starr Sackstein, a National Board-certified teacher, spent 16 years as a HS English and Journalism Teacher in NY and then was a curriculum leader for two years. She has been passionate about assessment reform and student empowerment for more than a decade.

She completed her advanced leadership certification at SUNY New Paltz and is a certified Master Journalism Educator through the Journalism Education Association.

In 2012, Education Update recognized her as an outstanding educator, and in 2016, she was named one of ASCD's Emerging Leaders.

Sackstein is currently a consultant with the Core Collaborative, working with teams on assessment reform and bringing student voice to the front of classroom learning, and publisher at Mimi & Todd Press. She is the host of AuthorED & InspirED, a video program of author interviews, and the author of the ASCD books Teaching Students to Self-Assess and Peer Feedback in the Classroom and Assessing with Respect. She has written several other education books and has contributed to many others on issues related to assessment.

Democratic Education 2.0: Sociocracy in Schools

Sociocracy is a toolkit that takes democracy a step further, where instead of majority vote or labored consensus agreements, decisions are made by integrating the voices of everyone affected by the decision through consent.
In this workshop, we will explore sociocracy as implemented in a public charter school and a private homeschool community in the US. In schools that use sociocratic tools, one can find students, teachers and staff members coming together in small groups (circles) to make decisions about their school life. Further, we’ll compare majoritarian democracy, consensus, and sociocratic decision-making processes and governance structures in schools.

Hope Wilder is the core founder of Pathfinder Community School (pathfindercommunityschool.com), a self-directed and self-governed learning community for ages 5-14 in Durham, NC, USA. Pathfinder started as a Sudbury-inspired founding group and evolved to use sociocracy. Hope is also a member of the Sociocracy for All (sociocracyforall.org) Academy and Schools and Education Circle and helps support schools to implement sociocracy through training and consulting. (hopewildertraining.com)

Will Gowen is a social studies teacher at Morey Flextech High School (https://www.facebook.com/flextechshepherd/), a small public charter school in Shepherd, MI, USA. In addition to teaching, for the past 3 years Will has been leading an evolving democratic implementation at Morey Flextech that began with consensus and landed on sociocracy. Will is also a member of the Sociocracy for All (sociocracyforall.org) Academy and Schools and Education Circle and is currently on track to become a certified trainer.

Is the Revolution Really Over?

Next, We Can Decolonize Ourselves and Our Education, With Insights From Indigenous Wisdom - What does it mean to decolonize our minds? What does it mean to decolonize education; to throw off the shackles, and arrogance, of the power over, control model, and to have the Inner Wealth to be a part of the movement of healthy living, connection, and being that Indigenous Wisdom is?

In this 90-minute, experiential discussion, we’ll identify the key foundational mindsets of colonized thinking, and how we can grow ourselves together into ways of thinking and being that are whole, healthy, and thriving – with children, with the lands and oceans and critters, and with each other.

Micki O’Brien, M.A. is the Principal & Curator of The Sovereign Heartland: An Alternative Education International Resource Center. She is a leadership coach, writer, spiritual teacher, and student of Indigenous Wisdom. A strengths-based autism expert, who is neurodivergent herself, Micki coined the term “NeuroUniqueness,” and has a documentary and TEDx talk conveying a message of what is possible when we each understand and use our unique neurology well.

She utilizes what is commonly called “hacking” to find the very best, most effective, and most fun ways to engage greatness in leadership, learning, systems, and unique neurology. To this end, she became an Advanced Certified Nurtured Heart Approach® Trainer, a methodology used across the globe for: healthy communication between adults and children, building Inner Wealth™, and being strengths-based. (The state of New Jersey trained their entire Department of Children and Families in NHA.)

People say that Micki is an engaging and enthusiastic teacher. She earned her Master’s in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University (a Buddhist-inspired institution), where she wrote her thesis on applying Integral Theory to Education Systems. She has AMI Montessori Teacher Training, conventional Special Education Teaching Credentials, student taught at Jefferson County Open School, taught the night-shift program at PS1 Charter School in Denver, and served on the board of the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools (NCACS).

Supporting Neurodivergent Students in Progressive and Radical Educational Contexts

In this workshop, we’ll explore how neurodivergent students needs can be met in non traditional educational contexts — where they may face different challenges than in standardized education. Our emphasis will be on ways educators can uphold & advocate for student autonomy while still providing needed supports.

Tay Arrow is a non-binary, AD(H)D alumni of the self directed education movement, who started participating in youth led direct actions at age 10. They were diagnosed with AD(H)D as a teenager, and after dropping out of four conventional high school programs, learned to thrive within self-directed education. They later worked as a staff in self-directed education schools between 2007 and 2020, and completed 3 college degrees. They currently serve as a board member at Sprig Institute, a nonprofit which seeks to further access to self directed education in Southern California, and are a working artist and copywriter. In their spare time, they maintain a “guerrilla” food garden for their local community. Brian Conner is a queer, nonbinary college student and community organizer, NYRA's Human Resources Lead, and a member of NYRA’s Board of Directors. Brian’s interest in youth rights and self-directed education began their sophomore year of high school, when they participated in a student uprising against their school’s administration. Brian studies film, theatre, music, and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, where they are also a member of the Midnight Cabaret, a sketch comedy group which performs at midnight every Friday. They are a member of the autistic self-advocacy community and hope to found a commune centered on queerness and neurodivergence.

Breaking down global silos in education

CEO & Founder of k20 Educators

Why I didn't stand for the pledge

I’m a black Native American 16 year old and I sat for the pledge at my school. I go by she/ her. I take a lot of AP classes and play a few sports as well. I try my best at everything I do. I’m a very passionate and opinionated person but I like to hear other sides and understand where they’re coming from. I’m really into arts a crafts and like to fix things. I strive to inspire people everyday!

The Generation We Have Been Waiting For

The Youth Rights Day is about much more than youth rights.
It is inspired by youth saying, “We are the generation we
have been waiting for.” It is ultimately about the leadership
needed to put the world on a far better course.
A major reason why youth and their supporters have not
made more progress getting major injustices addressed is that they have remained too
disconnected. The Youth Rights Day is created to change this. By rallying for one
grand show of solidarity on November 20 th , the day the United Nations celebrates its
Convention on the Rights of the Child, a much higher level of public awareness and support for
youth efforts can be achieved.
The Youth Rights Day is conceived as a meeting place, not an organization. It is creating a space
for youth and advocating for social, environmental and learning justice. By bringing them
together under one umbrella, they can better see how to build the alliances that will further
their particular causes. Education is over-riding. As the documentary film Schooling the World
conveys, if you want to change a culture in a single generation, you have to change how it
educates its children. We need for young people to have learning environments that allow
them to use their time learning about what matters to them, and respect their right to
participate as equals in decisions that affect them.
There is still the general perception that young people are to be seen and not heard, or that
they are too irresponsible and inexperienced to be given an equal say. The Youth Rights Day
Movement will help to dispel this misconception by dramatically increasing the opportunities
for the public to meet young people who they not only need not fear, but who they need to
hear.
This session will introduce participants to youth from four corners of the globe: India, the UK,
Canada east, and the US west. They will tell their stories about how they got involved and the
work they are doing. The session serves as one example of a possible Youth Rights Day event.
Panels of local youth activists could be hosted by community associations to build awareness of
how youth are valuable citizens when treated with respect.
After hearing from the panelist, specifics about the Youth Rights Day and how youth and their
supporters can take advantage of it will be covered. A question period will end the session. To
receive updates on the Youth Rights Day, please register at:
https://youthrightsday.wordpress.com/contact/.

Following are brief bios of the people who will be speaking at this session.
Kyrstin Dumont
Kyrstin is a passionate and caring young woman and proud band member of the Algonquins of
Kitigan Zibi. She is an awardee for her dedication to the indigenous community, she has taken
part in sacred walks to protect the water, spoken on Parliament Hill about climate justice and
human rights, created cultural art tutorials during covid for indigenous youth to stay connected
to their cultures as well as continuously raised money for the moose moratorium and low
income families during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has worked with schools, organizations
and churches such as OCDSB, CAS, the child welfare league, UNICEF Canada, the Kitchissippi
church as well as the Woodroffe church and while she is currently completing her high school
education at Urban Aboriginal she works as a strong role model for other students who have
fallen through the cracks of mainstream colonial education systems. She is an advocate, an
aspiring future social worker, and a mentor to her family and community alike.
Yumna Hussen
Yumna is a student advocate and campaigner, elected as the Member of the UK Youth
Parliament for Birmingham and Chair of Birmingham Aspiring Youth Council, representing
200,000+ young people in the UK Youth Parliament. She is also a Bite Back Youth Leader, which
is an organisation which aims to revolutionise the food system and place young people's health
first. An avid writer, public speaker and co-author to the fiction book 'Struggles of War', she is
keen on using creative approaches to explore social justice issues. Currently, she is launching
RESILIENCE - a youth-led organisation, with the mission of elevating key systems in humanity
and in particular, envisioning the future of our education system.

Zineb Mouhyi
Zineb is the co-founder of YouthxYouth, a global community of youth education activists and
adults dedicated to the reimagination and transformation of education for collective liberation.
She is also one of the co-founders of the Weaving Lab, an international NGO and network of
weavers, i.e. social change-makers pioneering new approaches to collaboration and
ecosystemic transformation. Prior to that, she was the Policy & Partnership Development
officer at WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education), at the Qatar Foundation in Doha,
where she mainly worked on education development, policy research and implementation, and
on bringing together education stakeholders to collectively advocate for changes in education.
Mahi Thakur
I walked out of the conventional education system that was preparing millions of people for so
called mainstream careers untimely to fall into the never ending exploitative, consumerist
culture. I realized that these careers just add up to the modern problems that we are facing
instead of providing any solution to it. It was then, I began to question everything and the
alarming need to reimagine education. I am deeply interested in indigenous knowledge
practices and decolonising education. My search for alternative approaches to learning has led

to me having conversations with educationalists around the globe. I am now an active member
of Ecoversities Alliance. I am also one of the youth signatories of the initial letter launching the
Youth Rights Day movement and I'm committed to uniting youth in their effort to put the world
on a better course.
Richard Fransham
Richard is a supporter of youth. He co-founded Uniting for Children and Youth and The Ottawa
Public Education Remake Initiative (OPERI). Along with members of Unschooling School, he
organized the three-day Child Friendly Community Conference that started on November 20 th ,
2020. He is retired from teaching and has presented at previous AERO conferences.

Mini Talk with Shatiera Porte’e, MA, LAC

As a child, Shatiera always knew what she wanted; inspiring to help people one day. During her academic school years, she fell in love with the study of the mind and behavior.
Shatiera received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Bloomfield College, NJ where she was bestowed with the Bloomfield College Award in Psychology for outstanding academic performance and community service. She holds a Master of Arts in Counseling, and a certificate in play therapy. She received her certification as a school counselor and is a New Jersey Licensed Associate Counselor. Shatiera serves as a member with various organizations that include New Jersey and Union County School Counselor Associations, Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, and Chi Sigma Iota, the International and Professional Counseling Academic Honor Society.
Shatiera has been working in the mental health field for over 14 years. She has successfully rolled out and optimized more than a dozen programs, initiatives, and projects for businesses, and communities. Shatiera has extensive experience in various counseling capacities, corrections, residential treatment facilities with adolescents, long term care facilities, emergency crisis and psychiatric screening services, homeless youth, support needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance abuse treatment centers.
Shatiera enjoys traveling abroad especially for community outreach which includes teaching at a school in Haiti and volunteering at an orphanage in Morocco. She is driven and loves working with at-risk youth. Every year Shatiera gives back to sponsor high school students who need assistance with their senior activities, spending countless hours in her free time mentoring and supporting our youth.
Shatiera, for over three years has been the administrator employed in an urban district K - 12 school as a Director of Student Services and Curriculum, as well as servicing the high school students as their College and Career School Counselor. She has helped design and assess programs to support students with the skills needed to succeed, to overcome challenges, and to cope with traumatic or extenuating life circumstances. Shatiera helped launch a local chapter of the successful school-wide Girls Who Code Program, which is a school program designed to provide STEM training education to teenage girls.
In addition, Shatiera is a co-owner and co-founder of A Dope Girl Vision, L.L.C, where she conducts seminars promoting self-discovery and empowerment to participants to cultivate visions of the person they are destined to become.
Shatiera resides in New Jersey with her son and loves spending time with family. She enjoys cooking, creating new recipes, which includes finding new places to travel, becoming an international foodie. She enjoys dancing while listening to her favorite selections of music. Shatiera is working diligently to one day establish her own nonprofit organization helping young ladies manifest desired dreams while working towards making them a reality.

Mini-Talk with Claire Fraise

Claire Fraise was homeschooled from fourth to twelfth grade, where she was given the freedom to direct her education. This freedom allowed her to experiment with many career paths and interests, eventually helping her realize what she wanted to do most in the world was write. Claire earned her B.A. in English from Tufts University, as well as a minor in Foreign Policy Analysis. She is the author of the YA dystopian novel Imperfect (winner of the San Francisco and Beverly Hills Book Festivals) which she published when she was 16, and is launching a new YA supernatural thriller series called They Stay in October. When Claire’s not writing, she likes crocheting amigurumi animals, reading, and hanging out with her dogs.

Fri

Friday

Children are not Blank Slates

Candy’s interest in democratic schooling was sparked by reading A.S. Neill’s Summerhill in 1967. She co-founded The Highland School in 1981 and learned about Sudbury Valley School in 1983. Doing play therapy with children for 15 years and teaching public school teachers for West Virginia University are two of the professional activities Candy practiced over her career. She also participated in many education conferences as well as serving on staff at The Highland School.

Recently, Candy published Crying Under The Apple Tree: Children, Freedom, and Praxis in Democratic Schools, a book about why we do what we do in democratic education. The book also illustrates examples of life at The Highland School over almost 40 years. Candy is deeply committed to respectful relationships with children.

Keynote Speaker

Henry Readhead was born in 1977. He is the  grandson of A.S.Neill, founder of Summerhill School, world renowned as a pioneer in democratic, learner-centered education.  His mother is Neill’s daughter, Zöe, current Head of Summerhill. She was famously mentioned as a toddler in Neill’s book, Summerhill, which was a best-seller with millions of copies sold in the early 1960’s. It led to the free school and alternative school movement.
Henry was a pupil at Summerhill from the age of 3 to 16.  He studied sound engineering at SAE Institute in London in 1997 and started a recording studio in 2002.  He returned to Summerhill for several years to help with the successful court case against the Department for Education in 1999.  He was the music teacher at Summerhill between 2002-2012 whilst working in the music industry. 
He is presently Deputy Principal of Summerhill School with his brother Will, in support Zöe, their mother, who is still the principal.
Over the past 6 years Henry has also been the main ambassador for Summerhill School, representing it all over the world. He has been doing talks, workshops and lectures about Summerhill and A.S.Neill’s educational philosophies, speaking in dozens of countries (see list below). He recently said, “I’m very excited about coming to America as it will be my first time and to speak at AERO as I have been friends with Jerry Mintz for many years.”
Here is a list of some of the places where Henry Readhead has presented:
Keynotes, Workshops and Lectures of Henry Readhead
2012

Global HR Forum, Arirang TV
2014
IDEC 2014 Urupia,  University Lecture Conference
2015
Alicante University Lecture INNOVATION 2015,  Free-Learning Education Conference University Lecture
2016
IDEC/EUDEC 2016
Seoul
Seou,l Puglia, Bielefeld Chichester
Madrid, Moscow, Prague, Castellon Valencia
South Korea, Italy, Germany, England
Spain, Russia, Czech, Spain

Mikkeli, Finland
Alicante University Lecture, APDEC 2016 , CAIEV Educational Project
2017
IDEC 2017 , APDEC and S-Hill Promo Events, Conversation for Change , University Lecture  Multiple  APDEC 2017,  EUDEC, 2018  Oasis Movement Tour (9 dates), Poverty & Education, Kings College
2018
Freedom to Learn Forum , Humanity School Campaign Suppor,t Taipei, AERO 2018,  Forgotten Majority, Invisible Minority  New Oriental Education Conference
Madrid, Barcelona
Hadera,  Kyoto & Tokyo, Anton,  Madrid, Moscow, Tokyo,  Paris  Multiple, London
Summerhill
New York Hampshire
Spain, Taiwan, Spain
Israel, Japan, Austria, Spain, Russia, Japan, France, India, England
England, Taiwan, USA, England, China

Note from Henry Readhead to AERO Readers:
The subject of Summerhill School is not always so easy to cover in a short talk. Over the years I have covered most of the elements, so we thought it would be fun to give you all a list of topics I could speak about for my keynote and you can all vote on which ones you would like me to emphasize.
I will be giving a keynote speech with a Q&A, and a separate session later on in the conference. Here is a list of topics I can cover:
100 years of freedom within education
 Social and emotional development 
Community life and boarding at Summerhill 
100 years of democracy at Summerhill
 Learning at Summerhill with non-compulsory lessons
The meeting process, laws and conflict resolution
Parenting and Summerhill

The Good News Science Behind Screen Time

In this session, participants will identify the screen time use of each age group and the benefits and challenges families face. Best practices will be discussed as well as current research on addiction and the affect of screen time on the developing brain at different ages. Don’t worry – it is good news!

Judy Arnall, BA, CCFE, DTM is a certified brain and child development specialist and master of non-punitive parenting and education practices. She is the founder of Unschooling Canada Association and is the bestselling author of 5 print books translated into 5 languages, including Unschooling To University, which is becoming a bestseller in an age of parents seeking educational options. She is the parent of 5 self-directed educated children of which 3 have already graduated university, 1 is halfway through, and 1 is enjoying a Masters program. 3 are in STEM careers in engineering, health science and chemistry. She can be reached at https://www.judyarnall.com or at https://www.unschoolingtouniversity.com

Suvemäe: A democratic branch within a public school in Tallinn, Estonia

- Suvemäe is a pilot project in Estonia, aiming at consolidating a balance between academic learning and youth interests, while promoting self-directed learning, youth participation, age mixing and free play. Suvemäe is a branch within one of the oldest public schools in Estonia.

Charlie is a teacher and anthropologist with 15-year experience in public, private and international schools and universities. His doctoral studies brought him to learn about democratic education in relation to a framework designed to strengthening education actions for social justice and inclusion. Currently he works as the head of studies at Suvemäe, Estonia's first democratic branch within a public school.

Following Your Heart in Education

What does it mean to tune into your heart and deepest calling in your educational journey.
This workshop will give you the chance to tune in with yourself and develop the tools and strategies to support others in following their heart as learners. This workshop will integrate self-reflection, brainstorming, and facilitated dialogue. Looking through the lens of personal experience, research, and teaching experience covering the intersections of social emotional learning, holistic learning, contemplative practices, and educational psychology to make sense of the best practices and challenges in striving for heart centered learning.

Michelle L. Tichy, Ph.D. She earned her doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on Social and Developmental Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Michelle works with and trains teachers to better support neurodiverse students including students who are Highly Sensitive, Gifted, live with anxiety and ADHD. Her heart centered commitment is to create access to holistic and authentic educational opportunities for all students. As a social and developmental psychologist she is fascinated by how people grow and thrive from prenatal development through life. She is also the Mommy to a 17 yo daughter and a 7 yo son.

Using Innovation to Meet Tomorrow's Education Needs Today

Educators must adapt to a changing world. Today's problems are real, complex, and
varied. Traditional thinking is no longer a viable option. Today’s challenges require new
thinking, new tools, and new approaches.

Learn in this session how to use innovative thinking to deliver educational experiences that:
- Engage students and inspire them to make right-brain thinking more a part of their education and future
- Help educators can implement new thinking to empower and stimulate students and help teach them more about ""how"" to think"" than only ""what"" to think.

"Jeff Warren is the President of Barkley Consulting Group, a Management Consulting Firm that combines real-world experience with thought leadership to bring transformative solutions to organizations. He is a creative and innovative thinker who uses a Design Thinking approach to help businesses and academic institutions explore possibilities of what could be – and to create desired outcomes that benefit the end-user. Jeff has a successful track record of using creativity and innovation to unlock the potential found within people to help them think differently and design solutions that meet the unmet needs of their customers.

Jeff has over 30 years of leadership and innovation experience in the Consumer-Packaged Goods industry, with a focus on business and technology. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Hofstra University and a Certificate of Professional Development from Wharton School of Management, University of Pennsylvania. Jeff received his training in Design Thinking at the Design School at Stanford University. He is a guest lecturer and speaker and works in an advisory capacity for start-ups in the technology sector.

What is school?

Over the course of history, different cultures have known a wide variety of schools. But when and where were the first schools actually established? What kinds of schools were there, and which ones still exist today? How were, say, the Prussian schools of the nineteenth century different from the schools that the European settlers built for North America’s native people? Did Native Americans have schools before the colonial era? How did their children learn? How do the monks in Tibet teach, and what’s it like to study at Summerhill, one of the most famous schools in the world, where the students go to class only when they feel like it and no one ever gets any grades?
The a4kids book 'What is school?" introduces you to schools in different countries and eras in history and to the ideas, observations, and drawings of children who participated in the project “The School of the Future.” There’s also a lot of room for you to participate. During the workshop you can print out pages from the book, answer questions, draw and make up ideas. Watch what other children have made and invented and share the results of their comments by posting them on the project website.
https://a4kids.org/book/shkola/

Nika Dubrovsky is the author of A4kids. She started it for her son Ben, when he was 6 years old in 2008.
Her practice evolved from visual arts, journalism and publishing.

Her critical position on educational regimes led to the development and publishing of interactive children books. Anthropology For Kids aims at creating an open educational platform with a participatory approach. Reframing crucial aspects of human life – family, money, citizenship, beauty, and alike – Anthropology For Kids seeks to deconstruct conditioned notions of how we (should) live, demonstrating the diversity of perspectives and possibilities that exist in different cultures.

As an artist Nika showed her works in deferent museums and galleries around the world. Most recently in ShowRoom (London, UK), KryakK (Krasnoyarsk, Russia). Nika writes for such publications as eflux, artnet, publishing house of Hermitage St. Petersburg and others. Her books have been published in Russian, Finish, English, Polish and now in Japanese.

Nika Dubrovsky was born in Leningrad / St. Petersburg. She currently lives and works in Berlin and London.

Building Momentum After the Pandemic!

A panel of teens and a staff member from various Liberated Learners centers will share their thoughts about how we can support the trend towards more self-directed learning. What were some positive impacts on learning and independence for young people during the pandemic? How will homeschooling grow and evolve as we are able to return to public gatherings, in-person classes, and group activities? What do the young people that loved the opportunity to have more control over the time, pace, and content of their learning need to continue with this lifestyle? Hear from the participants on our youth panel about their own choices and their views on what is needed to include more of their friends, families, and neighbors to choose a self-directed path rather than return-to-school-as-normal.

A group of Liberated Learner Teens and the Founder of Liberated Learners - Ken Danford

Does your pedagogy include healthy integrative, interactive, and expressive learning?

This arts based workshop includes an introduction to innovative presentation tools. This engaging discussion will explain to the teacher or parent how to successfully inspire academic learning for the whole child. You will learn how to stand back and observe while fully supporting student engagement and expression. Join with others and learn by doing while having fun. Brighten your day... act, sing, and play!

Jan Magray has combined her love for music, traditional musicianship training, and contemporary improvisational techniques into a unique method of learning musical skills while making music with others. Realizing the challenge facing most educational and after-school programs, she sought to design and test effective yet affordable ways to incorporate positive music expression to share musical success through singing and playing games in a safe and supportive context.

The outcome of this effort is the production of video songs prepared and presented by children for children. Jan holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota, an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College, completed a graduate certificate in Music Education at The Kodaly Center of America, Boston, and is a graduate of the musicianship program at Music for People.

Education for Emotional Resilience

Education for Emotional Resilience - We teach a lot of information, but very little skills for being human. We also often pass on a dependency on approval which thwarts emotional freedom. In this workshop we will discuss education for self-awareness, such that students can grow to be able to handle intense emotions, failures and successes, relationships, and life's unpredictable twists, with power that results from not seeking approval. This will include communication skills; avoiding blame and defense; dealing with anxiety, emotional hurts, and, a technique to free oneself from victimhood, and from needing approval; enabling the power of inner peace and loving connections.

Naomi Aldort is the author of Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves, (published in 19 languages). Aldort guides parents by Phone/Skype sessions and workshops internationally. Her guidance is not about gentle ways to control a child, but about how to have peace without having to control. It is about a way of being and of understanding children so they can do their best, not because they fear us or seek our approval, but because they want to, of their own free will.
Aldort brings peace and clarity to difficult situations as well as to ordinary parenting issues, including marriage, pregnancy, birth, baby care, toddlers children, teens, adult kids and relatives. She also guides families about diet and lifestyle that promotes emotional and physical wellbeing and impacts a child’s behavior and development. From attachment parenting to optimal learning, siblings, aggression, sleep, tantrums, teens, marriage, educational choices and more; Naomi works holistically toward a peaceful and powerful parent-child relationships. Her SALVE communication formula has been praised as providing the best of The Work of Byron Katie and Nonviolent communication combined, and more. http://NaomiAldort.com or, AuthenticChild.com

Learner Community at Outschool

Creating a place for kids to connect and inspire one another - Outschool is a platform where learners can connect with educators who teach to their passions. What happens when we build ways for learners to connect and inspire each other outside of those classes? In this presentation we want to tell you about some of the incredible interactions our learners are having, some of the learner community features we've already built and where we think it's all going.

Fernando Tarango is known to Outschool learners as Fernando, the Learner Community Guy. From working for a Grammy award-winning boychoir school, to music edutainment, to online teaching and learning communities, Fernando has a unique approach to creating safe spaces where learners feel comfortable, creative and collaborative. Check out what Fernando is up to in the Learner Community here: https://info.outschool.com/learner-community

Re-Evaluating and Re-Designing for Thriving and Sustainable Wellness

The Maui Aloha Project EcoVillage Initiative. - Evolution and core principles of the Maui Aloha Project (MAP) living, learning and healing EcoVillage initiative will be highlighted. Participants can explore values with regard to setting and realizing priorities.

New opportunities for the cultivation of sustainable wellness and thriving will be explored through intersections of health, wellness, indigenous wisdoms, cultural and cognitive diversity, holistic learning, psychology, community relations, housing and food security, permaculture, play, inclusive design, happiness, multiliteracies, ancient and modern technologies, and stewardship of the planet.

MAP offers itself as a catalyst for the expansion of human potential and for responsible paradigms for peaceful living on planet Earth.

Stephanie is the mother of three young adults and lives in Toronto, Canada. She is in the final year of her Doctoral studies in education that explores Parent Narratives of Their Experience with Their Child’s Language based Learning Difficulties.

As a Learning and Community Design Consultant, Stephanie’s research explores sustainable wellness, thriving, neuroscience, multi-literacies, socio-emotional development, inclusive and growth-based design. Merging the intersections of education and health and wellness, Stephanie is an active participant of many global initiatives pursuing the co-construction new paradigms that encourage meaningful and peaceful coexistence.

Stephanie has spent much of her life as a holistic educator designing, guiding, visiting and participating in hundreds of diverse living and learning spaces. Stephanie promotes play, permaculture principles and the forging of relationships with each other and the natural world.

Stephanie is a founder and Co-Director of Maui Aloha Project (mauialohaproject.org), an intergenerational living, learning and healing EcoVillage initiative in Maui, Hawaii.

As a social entrepreneur, Stephanie’s research in the area of thriving interrogates value systems and identifies personal and communal hierarchies for children, society and the planet.

The Forgotten History of Froebel Kindergarten

A surprising few educators know the story of the Froebel Kindergarten and the battle that raged a century ago which put the American education system on its current trajectory. We've always known the best way for children to learn, so why isn't available to all? To chart a course to that goal, we need to know how we got here in the first place. Scott Bultman has begun a documentary series to tell this story and he'll encapsulate that story for you.

After graduating from the Univ. of Michigan with a degree in Film/Video Studies, Scott was diverted from film-making into the family toy manufacturing business (Uncle Goose) unexpected death of his father in 1992. A chance 1996 meeting with representatives from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, introduced Scott to the story of Froebel Kindergarten. He has amassed a large archive of historical research and artifacts, and with a diverse network of experts on the subject, has launched a documentary series.

Keynote - Zak Stein

Zak Stein is a philosopher of education working at the interface of psychology, metaphysics, and politics. He has published two books, including Education in Time Between Worlds, along with dozens of articles. He has worked co-founding a non-profit and think tank, teaching graduate students at Harvard, and consulting with technology start-ups. Zak is a long time meditator, musician and caregiver, which has shaped him more than any professional engagements.

Mental Health & Trauma Informed Pracitces in Alternative Education

Dr. Peter Berg, the founder of Youth Transformations, works with teenagers as a mental health and transition counselor at an alternative high school.
He is an adjunct instructor at Southern New Hampshire University, in the Doctor of Educational Leadership program. Previously he was a Principal at a democratic school in Maine.
The author of the best-selling book The Tao of Teenagers: A Guide to Teen Health, Happiness & Empowerment, his work includes helping teenagers empower themselves so they can take charge of their health and happiness and be the masters of their own lives. His mission is to guide youth and families to create transformations that lead to health, happiness and empowerment.
He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and has written extensively on alternative, holistic, integrated educational theory and integrated health.
Peter organizes the Alternative Education Resource Organization representatives worldwide, as well as AERO events and is a reviewer for the American Educational Research Association. He has consulted on many school and organizational startups.

The Sacrifices of a Valedictorian

Jada Polard is a high school student and an aspiring part-time author. Although she is a passionate writer, she also enjoys reading and drawing in her free time

Saturday

On the School System & Testing

My name is Liam Berell and I am a 17 year old student at St. John's College which is situated in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I am a hard working student with decent grades however I disagree with the current school system for a number of reasons and I believe that there are far better ways for students to be taught which are more interesting and exciting.

Keynote Speaker

Yaacov Hecht (married and father of 4 sons) founded in 1987 the Democratic School in Hadera, Israel - the first school in the world to be called a democratic school.

In 1993 he initiated IDEC - International Democratic Education Conference which convenes every year in a different continent. IDEC has facilitated the establishment of hundreds of innovative democratic schools around the globe, 30 of them in Israel.

In 1996, Yaacov Hecht founded IDE - the Institute for Democratic Education and within it a groundbreaking academic faculty for teachers training in the Kibuzim college, the biggest academic institute for teachers in Israel.
His book "Democratic Education - A Beginning of a Story", which has been translated into English, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Korean, is a worldwide source of inspiration for groundbreaking educators and entrepreneurs.
In 2010 he founded Education Cities – the Art of Collaborations that weaves and maintains municipal collaborations that aim to turn the city into “one big school”. It also promotes collaborations and networking in the classroom, in the school, in the city, in the state, and in the world. WIRED magazine has chosen Education Cities' MOOC learning model (How2MOOC) to one of the leading trends in 2015. In January 2017 Education Cities was chosen to one of the 10 leading innovations in the world, by HundrED the Finish initiative for globally promoting educational innovation.

Yaacov has served as an advisor to 6 Ministers of Education in Israel, as an expert in interfacing between the state and alternative education. He regards the preparing and directing of the educational system towards the future, as his main mission today.

Build Resilience Through Strength-Based Learning

Have the events of the past year brought you feelings of stress and uncertainty? We have all experienced traumas, both big and little, in our lives. Discover the importance of co-regulation to build resilience and lean into your strengths. Join two experienced strength-based practitioners to help you understand the effect of trauma, the importance of co-regulation, and the identification of strengths to support learners and families in reaching their learning goals.

Kathy Magnusson, M. Ed. believes learning is an adventure. She has over 25 years of working with youth in a variety of formal and informal settings. Kathy taught as a public school science teacher and developed a leadership program for girls ages 10 and up. Kathy has earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Minnesota.

As the owner of Wildewood Learning, Kathy develops tailor-made professional development opportunities for educators and youth professionals that will support them in developing the skills for resilience. Kathy is an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) Interface trainer, she provides training to professionals in trauma-informed and resilience-based practices. Kathy believes educators and youth professionals need to develop their own social and emotional learning skills to create meaningful relationships with students, creating a ripple effect that changes the process of learning for all.

Monica Cochran, M.Ed has worked with children, parents, and other adults in a wide variety of educational, hospital, and business settings for over 40 years. She has been active in alternative education since 1978, home-educated two of her own children, and has worked with other home-educating and distance learning families since 1997. She has vast experience in helping learners of all ages and abilities enjoy learning. She especially enjoys helping learners who have both unique talents and unique challenges develop their strengths and create learning experiences that work for them. Currently, Monica works with learners and their families around the world through her private practice, Learning Without Borders.

Monica earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh in a multi-disciplinary program in child development, social work, and early childhood education and a Master’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University in special education with certifications in learning disabilities and emotional impairment. She also earned a Primary Montessori Certification from the American Montessori Society and is an Advanced DIR practitioner. Since 1997, following her youngest son’s auto accident, she has also been active in supporting survivors of brain injuries and learners with other health and developmental issues, as they redesign their lives.

Homeschooling and Unschooling in 2021: A Summary of the Research

The future of education is here! In this workshop, we will discuss current academic research focusing on homeschooling and unschooling, including the increase in the number of homeschoolers and unschoolers due to COVID 19.

We will also celebrate and discuss the publication of The Homeschooling Starter Guide, published by Rockridge Press (publication date June 15, 2021), created especially for new home learners! 10 free copies will be given away to workshop participants.

Gina Riley, Ph.D. is an educational psychologist, Clinical Professor, and Program Leader of the Adolescent Special Education Program at CUNY – Hunter College. Dr. Riley has over fifteen years experience working with teens diagnosed with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders. She is also a seasoned academic, with years of teaching, research, and supervisory experience within the fields of special education, psychology, school psychology, and mental health counseling. In addition, Dr. Riley has extensive experience in online education and distance learning at the college/university level. She is known internationally for her work in the fields of homeschooling, unschooling, and self-directed learning. She is the author of Unschooling: Exploring Learning Beyond the Classroom (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) as well as The Homeschooling Starter Guide (Rockridge Press, 2021).

*No Recording Available* A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO READING

Do you have readers who struggle with words, make wild guesses and don't understand what they read? Would you like to learn a different approach that will quickly enable your discouraged reader to read with fluency and comprehension? You and your reader can relax and enjoy practicing with material that is interesting and well above grade level. Using THE MAKING SENSE APPROACH TO READING, featured in this interactive workshop, you will be able to give the gift of reading to people of all ages for the rest of your life!

Vera Goodman, a retired teacher living in Calgary, Alberta, is recognized as a leading authority on teaching how to become competent readers and writers. She has taken her cutting-edge strategies to audiences around the world. The sparkle and energy she brings to her work has endeared her to the thousands who have been impacted by her books and dynamic presentation.
Vera is the author of a bestseller SIMPLY READ! An Innovative Way to Read with Fluency and Comprehension. Her second book, SIMPLY WRITE! Enjoying Personal and Family Writing, shares inspiring stories and practical tips. SIMPLY TOO MUCH HOMEWORK! What can we do? completes the trilogy. Vera's unique insights into reading are shared in THE READING WINGS ONLINE COURSE that guarantees to quickly enable those who don't read well to read with confidence and comprehension.