Education Revolution – Alternative Education Resource Organization – Page 44

Posted on by AERO Webmaster

AERO Black Friday Schedule.

Dear AERO Readers!

Although it’s been a very difficult week for me, it’s important that we count our blessings. We thank all the AERO supporters out there who believe, as we do, that learner-centered education should be available everywhere. If that can happen it would solve a lot of the world’s problems.

November 27th is Giving Tuesday, a time to support your favorite nonprofit. And we could use your help now. There are a few ways that you can support us on Giving Tuesday: You can become an AERO sustainer or make a one-time donation. You can also reach out to people in your network and encourage them to do the same.

Also, we’ll be announcing a list of AERO products at ridiculously low prices for Black Friday that will be available just for a few days. We’ll feature the appropriate ones on each day, but you can order them any time during this period. Also, there will be some surprises with each announcement. Please consider purchasing them and supporting us (and yourself, if it meets your needs).

This week we heard of the deaths of several people in our movement who were important to us. We plan to memorialize them at the AERO Conference in Portland, along with John Gatto.

Personally. I just had eye surgery and at the moment can only use one eye, but the blurriness from the other is supposed to go away. What this means for AERO is that I need to take my small salary this year, to cover my bills. Last year AERO didn’t take in enough to cover any compensation for me.

We know you don’t take our work for granted. Please mark us down for a Giving Tuesday donation and let others know.

Thanks, and have a great holiday season!

Jerry and the AERO Team

AERO Black Friday Schedule

Black Friday is upon us again. So AERO will be offering the obligatory ridiculous sale offers never to be seen again!

Starting Thursday

Book Sales 50% off all books! use code aerobf2018

Friday

School Starters auditing for only $199

Saturday

Package of the audios and live streams from the 2018 AERO Conference

Monday

AERO Conference registration discounts – $175 for adults and $150 for students

Posted on by AERO Webmaster

Never Before Seen Letters From Summerhill’s A.S. Neill

There has recently been a fascinating and fortuitous series of communications, starting with an introduction by one of our school starter course students to an amazing man named Kent Bicknell. Kent was a founder of an alternative school in New Hampshire that combined alternative and progressive education with the teachings of important spiritual leaders in India. This led to the establishment of the Sant Bani School in 1971 which Kent directed for the next 44 years. As he said in his e mail to me he founded it “when I was 26 and retired when I turned 70.” He has written a remarkable book about it called Stepping Stones: The First Five Years of Sant Bani School.

In our far-ranging conversations Kent also mentioned to me that he has in his possession some rare and unpublished letters from A.S, Neill of Summerhill. They were written to a fellow progressive school Head, Otto Shaw, from 1953 to 1960. Kent mailed photocopies to me which we have scanned and have put in the AERO online museum, with his permission.

I think you will find that they show an amazing insight to A.S. Neill and his thinking at the time, and we are very grateful to Kent for sharing them with us. Readers after you read these unique letters from Neill, write to us and let us know what you think.

I look forward to reading Kent’s book, which he also sent, and will post a review when I have read it.

In her note introducing Kent to me, our school starter wrote about Kent’s book, “Stepping Stones is so inspiring and informative. I enjoyed the details you provided in terms of everyday operations, the struggle in scaling up, the way in which the team came together and laid the foundations of Sant Bani. The unwavering commitment to the philosophy and the dedication with which each of you have upheld those values, are hard to find – which is why it is critical to share this more widely, and inspire the new generations. I want to recommend this as a reading to the School Starters course.”

The AERO Online Museum now has these newly discovered letters from A.S, Neill. It also has letters from Ivan Illich and Emma Goldman, as well as the dramatic paintings of Bill Mintz.

Posted on by AERO Webmaster

Honduras Child Alliance Seeks Outreach Manager and Intern

Description: As part the in-country management team in El Porvenir, the Outreach Manager works in partnership with the Project Manager and reports to the Executive Director (and other directors when applicable).

The role of the Outreach Manager is essential to maintaining Honduras Child Alliance’s reputation and credibility both within the local and global community. The Outreach Manager resides in a volunteer house and is an on-site resource for international volunteers working on HCA programs. The Outreach Manager is actively involved in planning, implementing and sustaining our programs.

In addition to working in HCA classes and modeling a high level of volunteer performance, the Outreach Manager will focus on:

• Promoting HCA face-to-face within the local community:
The Outreach Manager is instrumental in promoting HCA programs to the parents, teachers and children in El Porvenir. The Outreach Manager helps facilitate community partnerships and foster relationships with community leaders such as the bomberos, policia nacional, pastors, landlords, maintenance professionals, and administrative hierarchy in El Porvenir.

• Promoting HCA internationally via social media, blog posts, newsletters, volunteer postings, soliciting reviews, and assisting with fundraising. Via our online presence, HCA reaches out to attract an ongoing supply of incoming volunteers, financial donors and likeminded organizations to partner with. The Outreach Manager maintains an active and ongoing stream of updates and promotional materials to facilitate these essential connections.

It is understood that the Outreach Manager is a role model for our international volunteers in regard to appropriate appearance and behavior and will embody the values that we look for in a volunteer. This job requires you to be professional, conscientious, responsible, organized and personable.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate all social media, newsletters, and other online outreach. Schedule volunteers to help! • Welcome and help train the international volunteers who staff our programs. •In conjunction with the Project Manager, organize and facilitate weekly meetings of all staff. • Organize community outreach activities such as class registrations or partnerships with local community organizations. • Regularly collaborate with Executive Director on fundraising appeals.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written • Intermediate+ ability to speak Spanish • Some experience managing social media and fundraising. • Experience and comfort working in a supervisory role • Creative problem solver • Positive attitude • Honest and open-minded. • Ready to work hard and laugh often!

Compensation

The project manager receives free housing, wifi, and phone, and a stipend of 750 HNL each week. The outreach manager also receives a fabulous letter of recommendation and our ongoing gratitude!

HELP WANTED / Outreach Manager Intern –Honduras Child Alliance seeks a high-energy, great communicator, who has a passion for promoting HCA to potential volunteers and donors via social media, newsletters, and other posts. The Outreach Manager also develops and nurtures HCA’s in-country relationships in El Porvenir.

Posted on by AERO Webmaster

The Council of Europe (CoE) is holding a conference to launch its ‘Free to Speak; Safe to Learn – Democratic Schools for All’ project at the Wergeland Centre in Oslo

FROM DERRY HANNAM – Another piece of news from Europe. The Council of Europe (CoE) is holding a conference to launch its ‘Free to Speak; Safe to Learn – Democratic Schools for All’ project at the Wergeland Centre in Oslo this week. This project is an offshoot of the long-running Education for Democratic Citizenship/Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE) for which I used to work when a UK school inspector some years ago. On behalf of EUDEC Council I have been negotiating with CoE that the conference would be greatly enhanced if some of the very democratic schools from EUDEC’s network were to be invited. They listened and the Netzwerk Schule, Berlin has been invited to join 10 state schools from across Europe. This will be the first time that a EUDEC network democratic school has participated with a Europe wide gathering of progressively inclined state schools to discuss how democracy and human rights can be better developed as day-to -day practice in schools. There will be an official post-conference report that I will post here in due course.

Here are the attending schools –

The schools selected to participate in the campaign launch conference in Oslo, from 14 to 16 November,
are: