Matching Fund Thank You's and End of Conference DVDs and CDs
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| This week we've sent out almost all of the workshop CDs that we had made and half of the keynote DVDs. You can still order them and see the whole list here and we will fill all orders that come in this week. Also, see article below this about additional conference CDs we could make. We also mentioned last week that we still had $3620 to go to make our match for the year from the New Visions Foundation. With the donations from this week we now have $3064 to go toward the $10,000 for this calendar year. So this week we would like to finish the match, and as a thank you to our donors we will give the rest of the CDs and DVDs away that people don't order this week. A $50 donation will receive their choice of conference DVD or CD. A $100 donor will receive any three DVDs or CDs. A $250 donor will receive a full set of 8 DVD keynotes. Any donation above $300 will receive the full set of keynote DVDs and a choice of any two books from our library. Make your contribution to our matching fund here. |
Additional Conference CDs
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The ultimate in school choice or school as a commodity?
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By Lyndsey Layton and Emma Brown
Starting next school year, any parent in Nevada can pull a child from the state's public schools and take tax dollars with them, giving families the option to use public money to pay for private or parochial school or even for home schooling. The new law, which the state's Republican-controlled legislature passed with help from the education foundation created by former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R), is a breakthrough for conservatives, who call it the ultimate in school choice. And they are working to spread it nationwide: Lawmakers in Georgia, Iowa and Rhode Island considered similar legislation this year. Democrats, teachers unions, public school superintendents and administrators are alarmed, saying that the Nevada law to provide private school vouchers is the first step toward dismantling the nation's public schools.
Read the rest here.
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Kindergartens Ringing the Bell for Play Inside the Classroom
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By MOTOKO RICH
PASADENA, Md. - Mucking around with sand and water. Playing Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. Cooking pretend meals in a child-size kitchen. Dancing on the rug, building with blocks and painting on easels. Call it Kindergarten 2.0. Concerned that kindergarten has become overly academic in recent years, this suburban school district south of Baltimore is introducing a new curriculum in the fall for 5-year-olds. Chief among its features is a most old-fashioned concept: play.
"I feel like we have been driving the car in the wrong direction for a long time," said Carolyn Pillow, who has taught kindergarten for 15 years and attended a training session here on the new curriculum last month. "We can't forget about the basics of what these kids need, which is movement and opportunities to play and explore."
Read the rest here.
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| Student Insights Guiding Districts on Policy and Practice |
| When leaders of the 63,000-student Washoe County school district in Reno, Nev., sought to bring down a high dropout rate, they found limits in relying solely on research and strategies used in other school systems. What was missing, they determined, were real, unvarnished insights of their own students who'd faced challenges with finishing high school. So they went straight to the source for answers, and what they got was an honest, student-produced video that featured a series of interviews with students who had dropped out and later returned to school. Read the rest here. |
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Thank you for your ongoing support. With
your help, we will make learner-centered alternatives available to everyone!
Sincerely,
Jerry Mintz
Executive Director
Alternative Education Resource Organization
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 The Ten Signs You Need to Find a Different Kind of Education for Your Child
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Many parents don't realize that the education world has changed drastically since they were in school. Schools and class sizes used to be smaller, dropout rates lower, in-school violence almost unheard of, and teachers weren't terrified of showing affection to their students, or of discussing moral values. Of course, even then, school was far from perfect, but at least the teachers-and usually the principal-knew every student by name, something that is increasingly rare today.
Because our public school system has deteriorated considerably, many parents, teachers, and individuals have taken it upon themselves to create public and private alternatives to that system; and it is important for parents to know that they now have choices.
So how do you know that it's time to look for another educational approach for your child? Here are some of the signs:
1. Does your child say he or she hates school?
If so, something is probably wrong with the school. Children are natural learners, and when they're young, you can hardly stop them from learning. If your child says they hate school, listen to them.
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