On Monday we hiked one small section of Rails to Trails, located in Portland NY.

Morning! I have neglected my blog, my excuse is simple- I have been cooking up goodies using our CSA bounty and oh, starting a school.

Here is what I am making using CSA and other local products-

Green bean and black beans over rice-fry a few strips of bacon (set aside)

While the bacon is cooking start your black beans. add beans to a pan, cover with water (roughly ten times the water to beans). cook slowly until it comes to a rolling boil. turn off- remove from heat and cover. let set or an hour and a half. drain and discard water.

Break green beans into thirds. place in pan with crumbled bacon and a tiny bit grease. add black beans. Cook until beans are tender.

Serve over basmati or brown rice.

Yumy
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Tater, swiss chard, bacon, green bean stew

Use a bit of bacon from previous recipe. cut out taters into cubes and place in crock. Add boulion/broth over taters and set on slow cook 8hrs. You can add onion, garlic and salt/pepper to taste.

Before serving add green beans, swiss chard and other veggies.

You might want to thicken this mixture by adding a bit of warm water to cornstarch/arrowroot and slowly stir into stew.

This came my way over a year ago- just sharing!

What is Holistic Education?
by Ron Miller
* * * * *

Throughout the two hundred year history of public schooling, a widely
scattered group of critics have pointed out that the education of young
human beings should involve much more than simply molding them into future
workers or citizens. The Swiss humanitarian Johann Pestalozzi, the American
transcendentalists Thoreau, Emerson, and Alcott, many of those in the
³progressive² education movement, and pioneers such as Maria Montessori and
Rudolf Steiner, among others, all insisted that education should be
understood as the art of cultivating the moral, emotional, physical,
psychological, artistic, and spiritual‹as well as intellectual‹dimensions of
the developing child. During the 1970s, an emerging body of literature in
science, philosophy, and cultural history provided an overarching concept to
describe this way of understanding education‹a perspective often termed
³holism.² A holistic way of thinking seeks to encompass and integrate
multiple layers of meaning and experience rather than defining human
possibilities narrowly. Every child is more than a future employee; every
person¹s intelligence and abilities are far more complex than his or her
scores on standardized tests.

Holistic education is based on the premise that each person finds identity,
meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the
natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace.
Holistic education aims to call forth from young people an intrinsic
reverence for life and a passionate love of learning. This is done not
through an academic ³curriculum² that condenses the world into instructional
packages, but through direct engagement with the environment. Holistic
education nurtures a sense of wonder. Montessori, for example, spoke of
³cosmic² education‹help the young person feel a part of the wholeness of the
universe, and learning will naturally be enchanted and inviting. There is no
one best way to accomplish this goal, there are many paths of learning and
the holistic educator values them all; what is appropriate for some
children, in some situations, in some historical and social contexts, may
not be best for others. The art of holistic education lies in its
responsiveness to the diverse learning styles and needs of evolving human
beings.

This attitude toward teaching and learning inspires many homeschooling
families as well as educators in public and alternative schools. While few
public schools are entirely committed to holistic principles, many teachers
try hard to put many of these ideas into practice. By fostering
collaboration rather than competition in classrooms, teachers help young
people feel connected. By using real-life experiences, current events, the
dramatic arts and other lively sources of knowledge in place of textbook
information, teachers can kindle the love of learning. By encouraging
reflection and questioning rather than passive memorization of ³facts,²
teachers keep alive the ³flame of intelligence² that is so much more than
abstract problem-solving skill. By accommodating differences and refusing to
label children as ³learning disabled² or ³hyperactive,² teachers bring out
the unique gifts contained within each child¹s spirit.

The community learning center model is not necessarily bound to a fully
developed ³holistic² philosophy of education‹any given community could
decide to set up a resource center with an emphasis on helping people
acquire job skills, for example. Even so, any transition from a
hierarchically managed system of mass schooling to local,
participant-controlled places of learning is likely to foster more
experiential, more cooperative, more personal forms of learning, and would
thereby produce a more holistic educational system, in the broad sense of
the term.

For further reading on holistic education, see:
Krishnamurti, Education and the Significance of Life (orig. 1953; San
Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1981.)
David Marshak, The Common Vision: Parenting and Educating for Wholeness (New
York: Peter Lang, 1997)
Jane Roland Martin, The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for Changing Families
(Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1992)
John P. Miller, The Holistic Curriculum (2nd edition; Toronto: Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education Press, 1996) and Education and the Soul:
Towards a Spiritual Curriculum (Albany: State University of New York Press,
1999)
Ron Miller, What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture
(3rd edition; Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press, 1997).
James Moffett, The Universal Schoolhouse: Spiritual Awakening Through
Education (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1994)
Parker Palmer, To Know as We are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey
(orig. 1983; San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1993)
Holistic Education Press carries additional books and publishes the journal
Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, the primary periodical
in holistic education. Contact them at P.O. Box 328, Brandon, Vermont 05733;
800-639-4122; www.great-ideas.org

* * * * *

^
Table of Contents

© Copyright 2000. Ron Miller – All Rights Reserved.
milleron@together.net

Good Afternoon! I am writing to you from Albany, New York where it is cool and rainy.I am here at the AERO Conference, while the weather is gloomy, my report is not.

I am going to highlight the workshops I attend, and report on the state of education in the United States. I admit, I am skeptic, when it comes to conferences but so far, I am feel optimistic that we can change the climate and political structures surrounding our educational institution and I will give you a hint- change has nothing to do with merit pay or testing. Want to know more?

Workshop Title________________________Presenter

Teacher Professionalism At Risk-           Susan Ohanian

I attended the above referenced workshop by Susan Ohanian.  Please note that my commentary is reflective of her talk and other information and not a direct quote unless noted.

I learned something new today, something beyond NCLB, Race to the Top, the 2009 Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Listen, it sounds good, but given Arne Duncan’s strict adherence to high stakes testing and standards, I highly doubt the ability of this or any act to address poverty.  While I believe in the alternative education movement, I stress that it is not a model.  There are few models that can be moved from one context to another and see similar or even a close proximity to the original results.  Models can serve as a starting point from which organizations and schools can begin to build their own curriculum.

I have bolded a sentence in section A, a1,  and a2.

1. Improve student achievement through school improvement and reform. ARRA funds should be used to improve student achievement. In addition, the SFSF provides funds to close the achievement gap, help students from all backgrounds achieve high standards, and address four specific areas that are authorized under bipartisan education legislation – including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the America Competes Act of 2007:
   1. Making progress toward rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities;
   2. Establishing pre-K-to college and career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement;
   3. Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and in the equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students, particularly students who are most in need;
   4. Providing intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools

   The standards movement is under much criticism, though in New York, I have found that good teachers can work within the context of the standards, while still meeting the needs of the whole child. Personally, while I find the high stakes standards to be part of a broken system, having broad standards that can be truly individualized to meet the needs of the community, are in and of themselves, not bad. However, the need for National Standards that track students from pre-k to college is a disturbing relatively new plan. In some states, they are even considering tracking prenatal to college. (I have written about this in the past).  So my question to you is, “can standards that are nationalized, meet the needs of the whole child in a culturally, respectful way?”

It is time to dig deeper and really question why the Obama administration and those who have gone before him, find competing in the global economy to be the most important factor for school reform.  I believe we are ignoring the real issue, which is poverty.  How can a child who has no home, no food or no access to resources going to care whether he/she can compete with something they will never see, hear or taste?

So while this subject wasn’t directly addressed in Ohanian’s talk, the general discussion revolved around what children should be able to do and know, which is a pivotal part of the greater National Standards movement. Should all children do and know exactly the same information regardless of geographic location?  Will the above referenced information help to close the achievement gap?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

How DO Children Learn Mathematics-         Gilles Laverdure

What can I say about this workshop? Wow!!! I can honestly say, I love Math now! If you know me, you know I can do everyday math well (you know grocery budgeting, cooking etc) but why I can do those things has always been a mystery to me.  Math is a conceptual discipline, it is about how we learn new ideas and how we connect these ideas to existing knowledge. This is the kind of math, I can get behind.

Looking at the evolution of math through history, the sequence of numeral concept development is critical to our understanding of how to teach math.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

AERO’S Start a School Workshop-              Jerry Mintz

Important Points to remember when starting a school:

Set up your network, keep them updated and included regularily. Use website, email and social networking sites.

Do not go into debt.

Get yourself out there, get into every children’s magazine, newspaper etc but make sure you lead the media, do not let them lead you.

Get a lawyer on your board.

Know the law and refer to it.

Advertise in kindred circles but don’t rely on them for your client base.

Visit schools, lots of independent schools and observe how they operate.

Once the school is running, allow children decompression time. This is especially true for children who have been in the system for many years.

Sell yourself, use your strengths.

Create a one sentence description of your school that highlights the core of your program.

–

This workshop was empowering! I met with several people who are starting schools just like us and have similar questions, concerns and tons of energy. I am blessed to have a supportive network, a supportive family and a great co-teacher and co-owner.

Points for the school to work on:

1. Create and memorize our one sentence description

2. Use the Starting SMall Project as our main component, as well as the nature aspect.

3. Decide what titles we will use, co-owners, co-teachers, co-directors?

4. Enhance our website, use facebook more and get more media time

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Payroll and Taxes-      Scott Nine and Jack Mesplay

I want to thank Scott and Jack for demystifying the tax and payroll process for me!

I now have the tools we need to make informed financial decisions.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/21/schools

I have written President Obama several times, over the last four months about my concerns with our idea of good, quality education in the United States. Sadly, we are still allowing business to formulate our idea of what good schools look like, and what children really need to succeed in life.

Please do not assume what Arne Duncan says about our schools and education system to be accurate. Do the research yourself.

I really feel silly even typing this. We have completed our required time/hours/days for the school year and Bella is done. I am finalizing her portfolio so that I can submit it in June but it isn’t like the child has stopped learning.

I will try and post Bella’s portfolio write up once it is done. Though as you can see, I haven’t kept my blog up to date.

Every child does it.

Bella did.

And now Gillian did- yes, she cut her hair.

The last picture shows how much she cut. Lots of chunks

In my inbox this morning from Everday Exchange

April 13, 2009