Author David Albert Speaks on Alternative Education

David Albert is one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming Salem Conference on Education Alternatives. As part of the conference, he, along with author and alternative education activist John Taylor Gatto, hold a workshop and book signing at Tea Party Bookshop on May 15.

The author of many books regarding education and family, his collection includes "And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-Based Education" and "Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow.: Homeschooling and the Curriculum of Love." He is also a well known speaker on those subjects.

According to Albert, his passion for alternative school came despite his own successes within a traditional public education.

“It took me my entire youth and young adulthood to figure out that no amount of information could ever fill the spiritual hole created from having learned to be unfree, which I believe is the real curriculum of public education," he said. "I am still undoing the damage.”

Albert’s views on education are passionate and revolutionary.

“No civilization in the history of the world before ours subjected virtually all young people ages 5-18, and who had not previously been convicted of any crime other than being young, to compulsory imprisonment indoors during daylight hours in cellblocks populated by individuals of the same chronological age, deprived them of basic human rights (even the right to go to the bathroom!), and imposed autocratic rule in the workhouse, and bureaucratic control beyond it in determining what activities and routines they would be compelled to undertake.”

Albert and Gatto will each give lectures on alternative education topics. Albert’s two presentations focus on understanding children and their needs (“Who is Your Child”) and directing abundance and freedom to the process of education (“The Curriculum of Abundance.”)

The workshops, part of the larger conference, are held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is on a sliding scale, $25-$50, and covers all workshops and lunch. The authors are available for book signing after the conference, between 5 and 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or at educationalalternatives.eventbrite.com

Tackling rejection

Marilyn Ebbs and Heather J. Cuthbertson, representatives of the Salem Chapter of Willamette Writers, present a lecture entitled “Easy Editing: Avoid Rejection” on May 13. The lecture focuses on learning to correct the most common mistakes made by novice authors within their submissions.

Ebbs weighs in on the most common misconception a writer can have:

“That as a well-intended writer in love with their own work that everyone (including editors) will automatically love it, too. Their job isn't even to find great, it's to find salable; they only hope for great somewhere in the process. Second, which is just as important, lack of professionalism. This is what distinguishes between writers who go beyond the novelty of their written words to a commitment to the art of writing.”

The workshop seeks to help address these errors with a quick study, discussing many topics including first-sentence-hook, setting, conflict and back-story. Ebbs and Cuthbertson cite their source material as part common sense, part great books on writing, and what they’ve learned from the many agents and editors they've met and talked with.

At the end of the experience Ebbs hopes that writers have a renewed commitment to publishing their work.

“The statistics of writers who never get past the slush pile can be disheartening, but this workshop is meant to empower. Writers can set themselves apart with professionalism and a keen editing eye. Only then will they have a chance for that great story they've written to be shared with the masses.”

The Salem Willamette Writers meets upstairs at the West Salem Roth's on 1130 Wallace Rd. NW. Meetings start at 6:30, costing $10 for non-members, free to members. For more information, visit www.willamettewriters.com.