Happy Summer! I'm just returning from the AERO conference in Albany NY. The theme was "Learning Center Alternatives for Everyone." It was an extraordinary weekend and we came face to face over the debate over "Everyone." John Gatto opened the conference with a critique of public schooling - how they are oppressive, impersonal, and propagandize the poor into corporatism and materialism. The following day, 19-year-old black Matthew Davis ended his keynote address with, "I don't want to hear any more criticism of public schools. Look at the faces in this room. Alternative education is serving you. White middle & upper middle class kids will graduate from Democratic Schools and can go on to Harvard and Yale but for people like me, public schools are all we have. Learning to read is power."

The challenge that those of us face working to change the current status of standardization, high-stakes testing, and expensive accountability schemes that further remove students, teachers, and parents from the opportunity to solve the challenges unique to our own communities, is that we become too closely locked into our own agendas and versions of what education ought to look like. Although we had a lengthy spirited debate, by the end of the conference we found some harmony.

If we are to be successful in defeating damaging education policies and budget allocations that don't address the real needs of our children, then we'll have to find common ground and shared values that can unite us. In my workshop on cultural inclusion I said the most important lesson is to help children learn how to live in the world together. This newsletter is dedicated to that lesson, not just for children but for each of us - young, old, teachers, parents and students.

There is a wide array of leaders and organizations working on various aspect of education: teacher jobs and salaries; school funding - adequacy and equity; high-stakes testing and standardization; parent involvement; student's rights, alternative school options, school closures, and so forth. I believe that if we can agree on some general unifying principles, that we can build on one another's good work and catalyze change on behalf of "everyone's" children. Over the next year, I am dedicating myself to this work.
In the spirit of building I'd like to share the mission of the Fresno California 2010 Cesar Chavez Conference; Literacy and the Professional Teacher.

To live up to the broadest definition of freedom of thought, the highest standards of professionalism and the democratic promise of educational reform, taking special care to address the needs of the poor and marginalized.

The following are the student and teacher goals that have successfully guided the Jeffco Open School in Jefferson County over the past 40 years:

- Rediscover the joy of learning
- Engage in the search for meaning in your life
- Adapt to the world that is
- Prepare for the world that might be
- Help create the world that ought to be
Source: Lives of Passion, School of Hope - Rick Posner, PhD

Perhaps this mission and these goals can inform our work as we begin to join efforts and move forward. Whatever your position, I think we can all agree that our society functions optimally when citizens are engaged. More opportunities to come.

For your summer enjoyment
On a separate note, I'd like to share my favorite film list. Those listed are mostly international films. My daughters, Grace and Sophie, will reveal that I hate television. They have one hour a day in the summer to choose between phone, TV, and computer. While much of mainstream programming is desensitizing, films can sensitize us, bringing us right up to the challenges of others and closer to our own humanity. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink, writes, "Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions." Enriching films create new experiences and new opportunities within us. Enjoy!

Family Film List:
Children of Heaven
Into the Arms of Strangers
Akeelah and the Bee
Please Vote for Me
Under the Same Moon
Emmanuel's Gift
The Beauty Academy of Kabul
Paper Clips
Warrior of Light
God Grew Tired of Us
Freedom Writers

To add to this film list or make a book recommendation for an upcoming newsletter, please visit my blog at:
http://www.angelaengel.com/blog/
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Featured Education Leader Lynn Stoddard, author of Educating for Human Greatness:
Lynn Stoddard, 83, is now retired and has spent 36 years in the public schools as both a teacher and principal. His friend and fellow writer, Dr. Anthony Dallmann-Jones (author of The Handbook of Effective Teaching and Assessment Strategies) has been assisting by editing a new second and expanded revision of Lynn’s 2004 (sold out and out of print) Educating for Human Greatness. --

The 7 Dimensions of Educating for Human Greatness are as follows:

Identity – Help students learn who they are – as individuals with unlimited potential; develop their unique talents, abilities and gifts to realize their personal worth; and, develop a strong desire to be contributors to family, school and community.Inquiry – Stimulate curiosity; awaken a sense of wonder and appreciation for nature and humankind; help students develop the power to ask important questions; and, how and where to search for Truth.  
Interaction – Promote the forming of healthy, cooperative relationships that are courteous and caring; and, develop the powers of thoughtful communication.
Initiative – Foster self-directed learning, will power and self-evaluation.
Imagination – Nurture creativity in its many forms.
Intuition – Help students learn how to feel and recognize truth with their hearts as well as with their minds; and, develop spirituality and humility.
Integrity – Develop honesty, character, morality and responsibility for self.

Read more at: http://www.angelaengel.com/blog/
And order your copy today at www.EfHG.org

An update on Seeds of Tomorrow and note of Thanks:
Seeds of Tomorrow has sold out at the last two conferences. I'm booking several more conferences for this coming year. I've been invited to be a contributing author for a new book. I recently appeared as a moderator on the Educator Roundtable on Assessment hosted by Teachers Letters to Obama. Coming soon I will be a featured "expert" in the parent resource blog as part of EdNewsColorado.org. On Saturday, July 24, there will be a graduation for the Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI). This spring I facilitated the Denver FLTI class. To learn more or apply for next year's program visit: http://www.coloradomedicalhome.com/FamilyLeadership/aboutFLTI.html Thank you all for recommending Seeds of Tomorrow and for requesting the book in book stores and libraries.