Texas Ed Spectator

One of our three local homeschool teams placed second at state this past weekend and will be going to the World competition.

San Antonio Home Education Resources and Opportunites:

San Antonio HERO will be representing Texas at the Odyssey of the Mind World Competition on May 23rd at Michigan State University. The Division III team, won second place at the state competition in Houston in the technical problem category. They also won a Renatra Fusca award which is the competition’s highest recognition for creativity. Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving competition in which the teams are not allowed to have any outside assistance, ideas, or criticism from non-team members, coaches and parents included. The team members in the picture are from left to right, top row, Hannah Kane, Ellie Pavliska, Katie Kuplac, Galen Schmidt, bottom row, Juliana Hernandez, John Doyle. Congratulations and best of luck at Worlds!

The team will begin raising money to fund the trip to Michigan. We will post all fund raising events on the website and you can contribute directly through Click and Pledge.

And for those of you with children in Odyssey of the Mind, Little League, 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or any organization run by volunteers, be thankful that there are people out there willing to give their time to make these organizations run and provide wonderful experiences (mostly) for your kids that is no where nearly covered by whatever fees you are paying. Some may do it for their ego, some may do it for power, but most do it for the kids and because they believe it makes the world a better place. And you couldn’t afford to pay them what they’re really worth.

Just to let you know I may not post as much this week and next since we’re in the last two weeks before the HERO Roundup. I’m confirming speakers, stuffing bags, pre-registering people, and so on which takes time from tracking news in the education world.

If you are anywhere near San Antonio on July 29th, come to the Roundup at Our Lady of the Lake University. We’ll be posting our speaker sessions tomorrow at www.sahero.org. I think that even non-homeschoolers could get a lot out of attending since so many of our exhibitors are local museums and organizations that provide various types of education outreach programs. When/where else could you get information from the Witte, Institute of Texan Cultures, the Zoo, the State Aquarium, SAWS, CPS, KLRN, Texas Transportation Museum, SA Astronomy Association, and Medina River Park at the same time and place?

Tired of conferences that seem to treat homeschooling just as an extension of a religious agenda? Are there really places in Texas where you can discuss home education without worrying about which church you go to?

Two such conferences are coming up. San Antonio Home Education Resources and Opportunities (HERO) is sponsoring their 3rd Annual Learning Resource Roundup at Our Lady of the Lake University on July 29th. This conference is open to homeschoolers of any religious, education, or political philosophy. Conference sessions focus on the nuts and bolts of homeschooling. Visit www.sahero.org for more information.

San Antonio Home Education Resources and Opportunites:

San Antonio Home Education Resources and Opportunities (HERO) will host the 3rd Annual Learning Resource Roundup, July 29th, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. This year’s Roundup will feature nationally known, award winning, storyteller Jim Weiss who will have presentations and workshops for both children and parents. The conference will include information and activities for new and experienced homeschoolers and their families. There will be workshops, support groups, children’s activities, museums, and much more. ArtsTeach will once again provide art activities for children and we are working on a new teen program as well.

The 10th National Rethinking Education Conference will take place Labor Day weekend (August 31 to September 4) at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving Texas. This is a three and a half day energizing experience for self-learning and unschooling families. David Albert will be presenting multiple sessions over the weekend. Visit http://www.rethinkingeducation.com for more information.

Rethinking Education Conference - About Rethinking Education:

At the heart of Rethinking Education is the awareness that children are supremely capable of absorbing and using knowledge from our complex world. There is no need for arbitrary structure in education; the use of coercion, rewards or other behavior modification techniques as motivation are counterproductive. With freedom, respect and nurturing support, children have a powerful drive to self-direct their own learning; the result being children who direct their own education… indeed, their own futures.