UCY Scholarships Available for Ottawa/Gatineau Youth and Parents
The conference is virtual for the first time – a great time to check it out.
UCY is offering 5 adult and 5 youth scholarships for Ottawa-Gatineau residents to attend the AERO virtual conference from June 25-28.
For information on how to apply, email info@ucyottawa.com.
Much has happened since the UCY Advancing to Our Brave New World event held in January, and now in the midst of the pandemic, people are rethinking school with even greater urgency. UCY is working with international groups including AERO and #JustAskUs to build awareness of alternatives to school as we know it. From the UCY perspective, public education that serves everybody is a nation builder, a pillar of a just society, but as things stand it needs to move in the direction of the Self-Directed Education – SDE model that is promoted by Peter Gray and the Alliance for Self-Directed Education – ASDE. Current practices violate human rights and fail to adhere to democratic principles.
The letter below recently shared in the feed of an AERO think tank subcommittee helps to identify how schools have to change. It is in pursuit of this change that UCY is providing the scholarships to the AERO virtual conference June 25-28. This conference offers to deepen people’s knowledge and understanding of what children and youth need, and it is an opportunity to gain strength and assurance from others who are thinking hard about the schools they want for their communities. For information on how to apply for one of the scholarships, email info@ucyottawa.com. Please share through Facebook, email and Twitter the offer of these scholarships.
The Letter
Dear Parents of Our Graduates:
As you are aware, one of your offspring graduated from our high school this June. Since that time, it has been brought to our attention that certain insufficiencies are present in our graduates, so we are recalling all students for further education.
We have learned that in the process of the instruction we forgot to install one or more of the following:
At least one salable skill
A comprehensive and utilitarian set of values
A readiness for and an understanding of the responsibilities of citizenship
A recent consumer study consisting of a follow-up of our graduates has revealed that many of them have been released with defective parts. Racism and materialism are serious flaws, and we have discovered that they are a part of the makeup of almost all our products. These defects have been determined to be of such magnitude that the model produced in June is considered highly dangerous and should be removed from circulation as a hazard to the nation.
Some of the equipment that was, in the past, classified as optional has been reclassified as standard and should be a part of every product of our school. Therefore, we plan to equip each graduate with:
· A desire to continue to learn;
· A dedication to solving problems of local, national, and international concern;
· Several productive ways to use leisure time;
· A commitment to the democratic way of life;
· Extensive contact with the world outside of school; and
· Experience in making decisions.
In addition, we found that we had inadvertently removed from our graduates their interest, enthusiasm, motivation, trust, and joy. We are sorry to report that these items have been mislaid and have not been turned in at the school Lost and Found Department. If you will inform us as to the value you place on these qualities, we will reimburse you promptly by check or cash.
As you can see, it is to your interest and vitally necessary for your safety and the welfare of all that graduates be returned so that these errors and oversights can be corrected. We admit that it would have been more effective and less costly to have produced the product correctly in the first place but hope you will forgive our errors and continue to respect and support your public schools.
Sincerely,
P. Dantic, Principal
(1971)[1]
Following is a comment from Wayne Jennings who shared the letter:
Lest you think this fictional letter unlikely, consider the following actual letter to parents:
Students of the former Minneapolis Harrison School are eligible for classes and skills training. Students who attended the former Harrison secondary program in Minneapolis can now receive additional educational instruction, vocational training, and/or mental health assistance at no cost to them.
We are looking for people who were students for at least thirty days between September 1, 1992, and June 30, 1998. These students can be current Minneapolis Public School students, graduates, or those who have dropped out or are living anywhere in Minnesota. If you think you are eligible, call…the Minneapolis Schools at…Let us make it up to you.
Reported in School Transformation by Wayne Jennings
[1] Miller, W. C. (1971). Recalled for revision. Detroit, MI: Deputy Superintendent, Intermediate School District.