Salmonberry School Hosts Education Symposium

One-day education conference, the National Holistic Education Symposium, Saturday, May 15.

By Paul Freedman,
Program Director, Salmonberry School

How do parents and educators reconcile the fervent clamor for rigorous national standards in education, with a simultaneous groundswell of yearning for greater diversity and educational choice: homeschooling, Montessori, Waldorf, democratic schools, charters and other alternatives?  As educators struggle to “Race to the Top” and “leave no child behind” why are schools also working increasingly hard to include farm-to-school programs, school gardens, experiential education, and environmental education?  Does the need to educate for competitiveness in the global economy come into conflict with the need to educate for creativity, compassion, connection, and caring?  Does this apparent tension have any relationship to wider social movements?

The  Salmonberry School symposium will be an exciting and inspiring one-day education conference that will begin to answer some of these questions.  The gathering will feature some of the country’s leading speakers, scholars, educators and activists in the fields of holistic education and the educational alternatives movement.

The conference, titled “Orcas Holistic Education Convergence” (OHEC), will focus on the current global consciousness shift and its implications within the field of education.  Alongside widely recognized movements such as holistic health care, organic agriculture, green building, localism, and green business, education is both responding to and in many cases leading a significant paradigm shift.  People around the world are seeking out human-scale and sustainable alternatives to large corporate and governmental bureaucracies.  Public school districts are engaged in an ongoing process of deep and complex reflection and reform; independent schools, and homeschooling movements are gaining momentum as all people working thoughtfully with children try to take seriously an emerging ecological, integral and holistic world view.

This symposium will take a close look at some of the diverse approaches to education during this era of social change.  It will also help to place the entire educational landscape into a framework of broader social movements.

Ron Miller, author of What Are Schools For and many other books on the history, theory and practice of progressive and holistic education will lead the visiting speakers.  He will discuss the phenomenon of the Self-Organizing Revolution (the title of his most recent book) within the field of education.

Mike Seymour, author of Educating for Humanity and Director of The Heritage Institute will discuss integral education and the shift towards holism.

David Marshak, author of Common Vision: Parenting and Educating for Wholeness will speak about a range of post-modern approaches to education for adolescents.

All three speakers are lively, compelling, extremely knowledgeable and very accessible.  The event will include serious dialogue and deep reflection, but will also be tons of fun.  Participants will come away feeling hopeful and renewed as we all struggle together as parents and teachers to find our place within a shifting and dynamic landscape.

Other educators and activists will lead small workshops and conversations ranging from science education for young learners to the Aurobindo schools in India.

Salmonberry’s Program Director Paul Freedman remarks, “I am so excited to be able to bring this incredible assembly of people to our island.  In many ways it represents my ‘dream team’ of inspiring writers and speakers.  Regardless of your background or prior knowledge in this field, I know conference attendees will be inspired and invigorated by the day’s end.  I hope many islanders will come and help to welcome our traveling visitors.”

Parents, educators, and all others who are interested in taking a thoughtful and broad perspective on education from early childhood through adult education are all most welcome at this event.

Cost for the 9:30-5:15 day is $30-50 on a sliding scale.  Discounts are available for small groups attending together.  On-site childcare is available for a nominal fee.

Salmonberry School is at 867 North Beach Rd, in Eastsound.

For more information contact Paul Freedman at 376-5111.