You may or may not have noticed the links down at the bottom of the right column on this blog page, but I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about each. I have found the internet to be an incredible tool for researching, making connections, and pursuing my own development in ways I could never imagine doing before the Web…

* Alternative Education Resource Org – This is the website for the organization founded and led by my friend and fellow activist Jerry Mintz to help promote, launch and support alternative schools and democratic process in all schools. AERO has a yearly conference, which I have attended for the last three years that brings alternative educators and other supporters of educational alternatives together for great work shops and other opportunities to exchange information and ideas and otherwise collaborate. AERO also maintains a database of alternative schools around the country. AERO membership gives you access to their listservs where you can tap into a nationwide community and also their very good quarterly “The Education Revolution” publication edited by my other friend and comrade Ron Miller, the author of “What are Schools For?” and the “Self-Organizaing Revolution: TBD”.

* Discover UU – A site promoting religious and spiritual tolerance, education, and inspiration under the pluralistic spiritual umbrella of Unitarian Universalism, founded and managed by my fellow UU congregation member Aaron Sawyer. DiscoverUU.com is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization developed to promote, encourage and foster Unitarian Universalist communities on the World Wide Web. The site has a number of blogs and other links related to a humanistic approach to life.

* Educating for Human Greatness – A web forum used as a focal point for an informal online community of mostly alternative educators, started and led by longtime teacher Lynn Stoddard (a fellow education activist I have gotten to know at AERO conferences), who are collaborating to move the American education system in more of a humanistic direction. Lots of provocative discussion on educational policy, issues, and networking.

* Leftyparent Blog on Daily Kos – Pretty much everything I post here I also post on this progressive political blog site. What is fun about Daily KOS is that I often get a lot of responses (pro and con) on my posts and have the opportunity to respond myself and dialog. The back and forth can be very interesting and you may get dragged into the fray yourself. And if you are so inclined, you can start your own blog on this site and you can put your own ideas “on the table” for this community to respond.

* Pat Farenga on Unschooling – Pat is another friend and comrade who I met at an AERO conference. He is a a thoughtful and tireless advocate for homeschooling and particular the more learner-led “unschooling” variety. His site has lots of information on and advocacy for this very unorthodox but effective learning path.

* UU Homeschooling Discussion Group – This is a listserv of Unitarian Universalist parents that are homeschooling their kids and exchanging information and support to help each other do this successfully.