Starts tonight! Great menu of options for Democracy and Education week in Salem

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Democracy and Education Events Begin Today

Please join us on Wednesday, May 12th, at 7pm for a free public forum at the Public Library's Loucks Auditorium, "Democracy and Education."

This event will feature a diverse, bi-partisan panel of experts who will examine the state of public education and alternatives to compulsory schooling with time for questions and dialogue with the public.

Panelists include

• City councilman and mayoral candidate, Chuck Bennett,
  
  
• Conference Keynote Speaker, former 3-time New York State Teacher of the Year and author of "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling," John Taylor Gatto;
  
  
• Candidate for Superintendent of Public Education, Dr. Ron Maurer,
  
  
• Founder and Director of NHERI (National Home Education Research Institute) Dr. Brian Ray,
  
  
• Willamette University History Professor and former Salem City Councilman, Bill Smaldone,
  
  
• 4th Grade teacher Ron Barnes.

"Get ready for plenty of feisty, thoughtful, blunt, and respectful debate amongst these panelists," encourages Dr. Ray. "I don't think you will be bored with the typical and blasé suggestions about school reform so common in education circles."

In addition to the thought-provoking forum, Salem's first Conference on Educational Alternatives events this weekend are as follows:

Friday, May 14th 7:00pm "Hall of Mirrors: An Evening with John Taylor Gatto" - Mission Mill Spinning Room 1313 Mill Street SE, Salem, OR 97301 Cost: $15-$25 sliding scale.

Saturday, May 15th 9am-4pm Workshops with John Taylor Gatto and David H. Albert at Tea Party Bookshop 420 Liberty St. SE Salem, OR 97302

• "A Walk Around London: An Introduction to Open-Sourced Education" -John Gatto
• "Guerilla Curriculum: How to Get an Education in Spite of School"-John Gatto
• "Learning About Learning: Conversations with My Violin"-David Albert
• "The Curriculum of Beauty, Happiness and Abundance"-David Albert
• Cost: $25-$50 sliding - COST COVERS ALL WORKSHOPS AND LUNCH

May 15th 5:00pm-6:00pm Book Signing with John Taylor Gatto and David Albert at Tea Party Bookshop 420 Liberty St. SE Salem, OR 97302.

May 15th 6:30pm-8:30pm Banquet Dinner with John Taylor Gatto and David Albert at the Marco Polo Restaurant 300 Liberty St SE Salem, OR 97302 Cost: $35.

Tickets can be purchased at: http://educationalalternatives.eventbrite.com or at the door.
For more info contact Michele Darr-Babson or call 503 569-7223.