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Meet AERO’s Newest Keynote Speaker & “America’s Worst Mom”

Lenore Skenazy is “America’s Worst Mom.” (Google it!) The New York City newspaper columnist-turned-reality-TV show host  got that title after letting her 9-year-old son take the subway, alone. In response to the media blowback, she founded the book and blog, “Free-Range Kids” (freerangekids.com), which helped launch the anti-helicopter parenting movement. Her feisty belief that our kids are safer and smarter than our culture gives them credit for has landed her on talk shows from Dr. Phil to The View. She has lectured internationally, from Microsoft Headquarters to the Sydney Opera House, and written for everyone from The New York Daily News (for 14 years) to Mad Magazine. Yep. Mad. On her Discovery/TLC International show World’s Worst Mom she helps overprotective parents loosen the reins — a job she now does on her own, through Free-Range House Calls. She lives in New York City with her husband and two teen sons, who are half Free-Range, half Facebook addicts. Then again, so is she. One thing she understands: None of us is a perfect parent — and that’s okay.

Buy Lenore's book, Free Range Kids from AERO on sale here.

Find out more about AERO conference here.

Meet Lenore below:

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California Parents Discover Educational Innovations at EXPO (EVENT)

California Parents Discover Educational Innovations at EXPO 

Outside of traditional schooling, what educational options do parents have in California?

The Education Options EXPO is an event where parents of PreK-12 students meet with representatives of public and private alternative schools and home schooling groups to learn about the educational options available for their children.

The purpose of the Education Options EXPO is to empower parents and PreK12 students by introducing them to educational experts, innovative programs, and new ideas for learning in a comfortable and friendly environment to ensure that each student reaches the full extent of their unique potential.

Guest speakers include:

  • Mr. Jerry Mintz, Founder, Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO), Roslyn, New York;
  • Mr. Steven Horwich, Founder, www.ConnectTheThoughts.net, Los Angeles, CA;
  • Mr. Vicente Lopez, Staff, Diablo Valley School, Concord, CA;
  • Ms. Kimberly Etter, iLEAD Charter School, Lancaster, CA;
  • Ms. Shauna Reisewitz, Founder Pacific Sands Academy, Mountain View, CA.

With so much innovation happening in the working world, the time has come for parents to discover the innovations in education. This EXPO will empower you as parents as you consider what is the best educational approach for your child. Come get your questions answered by those who are leading the educational changes in California. Learn what every parent must know.

Event Details: 10am-2pm on Saturday, March 15, 2014 at 1195 Clark St., San Jose, CA 95125.

For more info visit www.EducationOptionsEXPO.com or call (415) 939-6768, Dave Rodriguez.  
 

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Trellis Community Learning Partnership School is looking for a dynamic educator to join us in our elementary program this September (2014).

Qualified candidates will need to have experience in an educational setting (beyond homeschooling).

Trellis is a dynamic educational environment, focused on joyful, authentic, hands-on learning.  Our educators embody the following characteristics and skills:

  • treat children with kindness and respect, making every effort to afford each child the maximum potential for growth, both academically and on a social/emotion level 
  • design and implement engaging hands-on learning opportunities that reflect genuine student interest 
  • design and implement lessons that reflect thoughtful consideration of goals, objectives, child audience, and developmental levels 
  • maintain flexibility in teaching, while responding and adjusting topics and approaches based on student interest, feedback, and progress 
  • maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with parents, while sharing pertinent information in an appropriate and professional manner 
  • work with other teachers to integrate material between program classes, when natural and appropriate, with an understanding of the importance of multi-disciplinary connections 

Applications are now being accepted for this position. Interested candidates should submit an application to our program director as soon as possible. More information can be found at http://www.trelliscommunitylearning.com/teaching-opportunities.php

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Exclusive Report from AERO Member School in Kyiv, Ukraine

Jerry Mintz

AERO has member schools in Ukraine, two of which are in Kyiv. So we were concerned about their welfare and recently talked to Yaraslav, whose democratic homeschool resource center we visited in 2010, on our way to helping the Stork Family School in Vinnitsa, celebrate it’s 20th anniversary. Yaroslav said, "We were closed only one day in one school and two days in the second school. All is good, nobody was hurt. I've went to Maidan (the square in Kyiv) when things became peaceful. I saw barricades, made of everything at once, a lot of people in different outfits and good mood. You could see that those were the people who went out to demonstrate for their right to freedom and democracy. You could feel it, actually. There were a lot of campfires (for warmth) and wood for it and a lot of smoke everywhere so if you closed your eyes you could feel like you were at a barbecue. But when you opened them, you could see the real situation. It's just the economics is staggering after all those events. Now, everybody is back at school so we are moving on."

He further wrote to us:

Park school (or DIXI-school – as we named it this year, www.parkschool.com.ua) is doing fine – I am trying to get schools to the next level of student's learning and mutual satisfaction. Coursera courses are extremely valuable for me now – got me thinking and changing a lot in the system. The resource is just absolutely great. So, I'm in the process of intensive learning myself, passing the knowledge to the teachers and upgrading the system.

Unfortunately, I believe due to the recent events, the economic situation in the country really got worse and we lost some kids because their parents couldn't afford the tuition. So we are struggling to keep moving financially right now (I'm laying off one teacher) but we'll pull through, I'm sure of it. I didn't have those problems even in the financial crisis of 2008-2009, but now I feel it.

A couple of words about the general situation in the country. I didn't ask every one of 46 million Ukrainians about their beliefs, but I and all my close and distant friends strongly and unanimously believe two things. 

First: educated and middle-class and upper-class people in Ukraine rose up against the corrupt government and overthrow it (it's really people, not opposition party) and are satisfied with the new government and the changes in the country that are being made by it and general mood after the Revolution.

Second: there's some conspiracy about the situation in Crimea. Two things are clear: Russia destabilizes the situation there, Ukraine doesn't want to give Crimea to Russia and doesn't react to provocations but doesn't have clear positions as well. What are people in Crimea thinking about that – I don't know – too much propaganda is around. What is the Russian plan? – I don't know either. I know for sure that Russian-speaking Ukrainians never were in any danger for all these years.

There's not a person that I know that thinks differently. Hope that everything will come to terms. It's just unfortunately, I don't know how. 

By the way, with new government, it seems to me that the situation with home schools and home education in general might get better. They are very open at the moment. I know at the moment about the existence of about six homeschool centers in Kyiv and region!

We will have our first conference (more a workshop) for about 20 people on the 30th of March.

All the best to AERO!

Best wishes,

Yaroslav