Reflections From the AERO Conference... Day 1

Today was the first day of the Alternative Education Resource Organization conference, which, luckily for me, happens to be in Portland this year... and also lucky for me, the parents of a little student I worked with last year paid for me to go to! I've already gotten a lot of ideas and inspiration from the first day. I thought I would keep track of my reflections in this blog so that I might be able to hear what others think.

AERO is about different alternatives in education, including democratic schools, microschools, free schools, unschooling, etc. It is definitely a niche that Someday School fits into. Today we got to hear from some local alternative models of schools around Portland.

One of them was Village Free School, a school that is similar in many ways to what I envision for Someday School. The other was Village Home (no connection to Village Free School) which operates similarly to a community college by offering various classes, but is geared towards homeschooling students ages 3 to 18.

Here are some of the things I was particularly inspired by today.

Village Free School's Rules
Take care of myself and others.
Take care of our space and things.
Respect the freedom of others.

This is a variation of the early childhood education class rules I was taught to use back in the day, which were, Keep ourselves safe, keep others safe, and keep our things safe. The idea behind those rules was that if you make very specific rules, there is always a way to get around it, whereas if your rules are broad, they cover many situations.

With Village Free School's rules, children are taught to be mindful of taking care of themselves and others. This includes things like making sure they eat when they are hungry, thinking about what they need when they are feeling upset, and being kind to others.

Respecting the freedom of others is about not letting your freedom interfere with others' freedoms. This also is about dealing with conflicts. For example, if one student is whistling, and another is bothered by the sound, there is a conflict that needs to be worked out. Simply telling the whistling student to knock it off would take away her freedom to express herself musically, and telling the other student to just deal with it would take away his freedom to have peace and quiet. So instead, the two of them need to work it out. Sometimes they may need the assistance of an adult to help them come to an agreement. However, they both get to learn a lesson in dealing with conflict, rather than just being told what to do. If one or both people have been hurt in the conflict, the adult mediating might ask each of them, "What do you need?" and give them a chance to restore the relationship.
Teach the children that saying, "Stop," and "Stop, seriously," are ways of telling the other person that they really want something stopped.

All School Meetings
Every child and staff member at Village Free School has a chance to propose rules and ideas, and vote on them. When voting, they vote once, and then the people with the minority vote get a chance to explain why they voted the way they did. Then, they vote one more time, and that is the final vote. At All School Meetings, they also talk about what is coming up, and any problems that have arisen. Children can learn to run All School Meetings.

Theories And Ideas

• Children have an inherent interest in learning, and an inherent ability to manage their needs and their time. 
• Children will learn what they are ready for. 
• They will encounter a concept (such as multiplication) when it feels real and necessary to them. For instance, when they need it in order to play a game that they want to play, or to solve a problem. 
• Never be a barrier to what kids are ready for. 
• Classes and activities should be based on interest, rather than on age level. One 7-year-old may be ready for algebra, while another 7-year-old has not quite learned to count. 
• Don't adhere strictly to any one model of education or activity. Take a little from everything if it works. 
• Adults can engage children by asking, "What are you doing?" with real interest. 
• Don't provide constant supervision. Children need to learn how to manage their time without an adult a few feet away. 
• Create an environment that is about relationships, growing, and feeling safe. 
• Put more focus on people and community, rather than on having the perfect space. 
• Show Up And Be Real!

Family Conferences
Are held three times a year.
Are a chance for staff members, parents, and children to share their observations.
"Here's what I'm seeing."

Enrollment
Children get a five week conditional enrollment, during which time parents can change their minds. After that, families are asked to sign a contract saying they will stay enrolled for the rest of the school year.

Village Home Ideas
I didn't glean quite as much from them, because they are more of a place where children come and take classes but do not stay the whole day. There was also a lot of focus on teenagers. But I did get some ideas such as these.

Behavior problems are not frequent, but when they do happen, they may be because the child is in an environment or class that he is not developmentally ready for. Meeting them at their developmental level can eliminate the behavior.

When children do have continuous behavioral problems, they may be asked to enter into a behavior agreement. The child has to be the one to come up with a written plan about what they have to do, and how they will do it.

Classes have supportive and involved teachers who inspire children to find new interests.
They encourage authentic interaction among students. There are no set expectations for what students must accomplish in order to pass or be successful in the class. The focus is on helping children learn. There is no yardstick where children are compared to each other. There is no rule saying that a child of a certain age must be able to do these things and not these things.

Homework with agency - If homework is assigned, kids can say what kind of feedback they want. They may want written or verbal feedback or help with the assignment, or they may just want a witness for their work.

I took all of these notes with my colorful glitter gel pens in my green composition notebook, which is quickly filling up with ideas and knowledge. Tomorrow will be a day of mostly "mini-talks" by people who direct alternative models of schools, and also some workshops with acronyms that I have no idea what they are. Tomorrow evening, if I have any energy left at the end of the day, I'll let you know how it went!