On behalf of Schoolhouse, Scotland’s national home education support organisation (and great friends of HEM!) I am delighted to confirm that we are planning to hold a conference to celebrate International Freedom in Education Day in Arbroath, Angus, over the weekend of 12th/13th/14th September 2008.
We are all especially delighted to announce that John Taylor Gatto has agreed to be our keynote speaker, with other speakers to be confirmed shortly.
A formal conference for individuals and public, private and voluntary sector representatives will run alongside a more family orientated gathering on the Friday, while an informal conference for families and interested individuals will run throughout Saturday and on Sunday morning.
We will be teaming up with local charity Angus Arts (run by home educators) to put together an exciting and varied programme of activities. We also hope to secure assistance from members of the Arbroath Pageant Society to cover the historical perspective.
Coincidentally, the date of our announcement happens to be the 688th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath.
“Given at Arbroath Abbey on the sixth day of April AD 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was seminal in its eloquent plea for the liberty of man. It affirmed Scotland’s Nobles’ allegiance to Robert the Bruce as their king and declared the right of the Scottish nation to self-determination. This created a tradition in the Scottish understanding of rights which reached its peak in the Scottish Enlightenment, and the philosophers of the eighteenth century who set the tone for our modern understanding of human rights. Many now see it as a precursor to the US Constitution and the UN Declaration of Human Rights.” http://www.angusahead.com/VisitAngus/AboutAngus/History.asp
All who have already expressed an interest in attending the conference will be sent full details as soon as they are available. We would ask you to please bear with us a little longer while these are finalised as we have only just received confirmation of the required top-up funding for this event and there is still some number crunching to do.
Please email media@schoolhouse.org.uk if you wish to be added to the mailing list for updates.
We look forward to welcoming home educators and all those with an interest in education to this international celebration of diversity and freedom in education.
Alison for the Schoolhouse Management Committee
