Democratic School - Qiryat Gat area (closed)
February 6th, Forest picnic with the Dekel community
Another wonderful event that new families joined the community picnic in the forest. In prior gatherings, examples from other Schools in Israel were given. By now we could give examples from the running "Dekel" School, the kids even explained some aspects. Together we created, painted, baked and squeezed (Juice), it was pleasurable and tasty - Waiting for upcoming gatherings!!!
Hanukkah Event with the Children of Dekel 22/12/2014
We were delighted to hold this year's Hannukah event in Yad Natan. Candle lighting, music playing and singing by the children of Dekel School as well as the Play "Shkufi" that so matches with the School's spirit. Included are some photos from that event.
Planting Event in Community Center, Sunday June 22nd
The planting event in the community garden was a great success! It was lovely to see parents and children working together in the garden, most of which was created through similar activities. Some said, "It's really a cure to be here", and some children wanted "to have an overnight" or "build such a garden at home".
The togetherness effect was felt and added a lot of value. About 45 plants were planted in the "Gan Gina" area. Hope to see you all soon at similar events!
The founding team.
Photos from the Meeting:
Summary of Seminar day in Arad, Monday 16th of June
The seminar day in Arad was wonderful. Yuval lead a discussion attended by the majority of the founders and interested parents. He described the "steps" of learning: to allow, to encourage and to force. Explained the axis of the "do not feel like" and "I want" and how to help children find their "I want". He also told of a second grade girl who collected signatures, raised a discussion in the Parliament that approved budget for a
theater lesson. Talked and corresponded with the teacher. Bottom line: There is a theater lesson at school all thanks to Rotem (Second grade Child). Yoav (mentor) and Shay (school counselor) gave their take with lots of examples.
Photos from the Meeting:
Impressions from the Community Gathering, Friday 23rd of May 14:00 @ Shachariya Forest
climbing walls , blowing soap bubbles , forming with clay and materials from nature, drew and painted, played Hide and Seek, and other imaginative games.
For those who have not yet read the post about the importance of Play.
We were delighted to see Yoav (mentor and staff member) come over with his wife and two kids all the way from Arad! Exciting to see the lesson in "Community Involvement" that Yoav and his wife give their kids! A few minutes later, in complete surprise, Yoval, the principal from Kedem School in Arad also arrived to the forest. Thank you for the support and guidance - just unbelievable !
Small discussion circle became a huge circle, with a bit of natural background noise it might have made it difficult to enter a deeper thought process . After a round of introduction, Yoav said some things that might have raised concerns among some of those present. Food for thought: What is the source of the concern or fear? Who really desires/requires to learn X at pace Y? Do we believe in our children and in ourselves? Yoav is at the school in Arad for 14 years (the founders) and sees (day to day and year over year) what happens when we believe in children. For those who have not seen the post on belief.
Yoav maybe is trying to enlighten and make people rethink what is taken for granted. With regards to fear, it might help to read the post about "Fear from the Unknown".
Thanks Yoav for the help! Also for the inspiration for writing the post about Carl Dweck's "Fixed vs Growth Mindset" research.
A shorter version to be posted soon.
One of the parents (also an educator) visited Arad and participated in an Aeronautics lesson Yoav gave, explained that he (Yoav) was "Like a magician!". He then said that his three children "started as spectators, and became fully involved by the end of the lesson".
Yuval, the manager, explained and talked about the school, activities, students, and invited parents to visit Arad, with their children, because in the end that is what really matters :) We recommend those who are interested to read some stuff on the home page and Facebook page to be more prepared for this different educational approach :) Separate from individual visits by families on their free time, we are checking the possibility of an organized tour to Arad.
Towards the end Yuval mentioned the not-widely known fact that the right to choose the education system for children is fully in the hands of parents. This is written in law and reinforced by courts in Israel and around the world time and time again! One classic example is the stunning verdict given in 2001 by Judge Gronis, at that time District Court judge in Tel Aviv, in 2012 Gronis was appointed President of the Supreme Court of Israel. Here is the main points of that verdict, recommended reading for every citizen in the country.
At the time, the Ministry of Education was not satisfied and appealed to the Supreme Court which declined the appeal.
At the Forest gathering there were a lot of side conversations, not all about the school, there was a feeling of trust forged between old and new friends. In the Faith post we talked about faith and belief in our own children and in ourselves... but we did not speak of the faith in the community and its members. We will post about this trust/faith soon.
It was nice to hear a happy Mom who came to the forest say: "It has been many years since we were here last, a little difficult with two small ones". Was pretty easy to see that what is hard to do as a family or single-parent family, becomes much easier as a big group.
People helped, carrying, and cleaning at the end, giving the best personal example.. just like a post on "Teaching and living the values versus teaching of values".
See you soon !
The founding team .
To be honest, it is a bit hard to describe in words the enchanted community gathering in Shahariya forest last Friday. First we wanted to thank all those who made the event possible, and of course the many families who came & brought lots of food, activities for children and good mood! Well done and thank you!
The atmosphere was relaxed , dozens of children became one with the forest, and immediately started their most important task of all - PLAY !
Without prior acquaintances, without judgment, simply played, worked together, gathering wood for the bonfire (yes there was a bonfire with sweet/potatoes :) , swinging on a hammock ,
Photos from the Meeting:
Summary of the prospective parents meeting held at 7pm on Apr 9th 2014 in Kibutz Gat:
As in the prior meeting, our friends from from the democratic school "Kedem" in Arad arrived to help. It is definitely not taken for granted to make that long trip, THANKS!
Here is a summary of the meeting:
Interested parents came from all over the Qiryat Gat area.
A bit after 23:00 when we saw that Penelopa the dog fell asleep it was clear that it is time to say good bye :)
Until the next time, from the bottom of our hearts,
Happy Passover
Photos from the Meeting:
Summary of the prospective parents meeting held at 8pm on Feb 27 2014 in Qiryat Gat at the HaNevi'im Campus:
The meeting was attended by 4 parents, 4 students, the principal and a staff member who came all the way from the democratic school "Kedem" located about 80KM South in Arad. Everyone in their own way brought to light their involvement with the school in Arad, here is a summary of the meeting:
We opened the evening with screening of the video:
"What is a Democratic School?"
The folks from Arad presented themselves and spoke about the school, now in its 14th year of operation.
Alon, parent and chairman of the parent association quoted one of the parents who told him about her kids: "Learn nothing, but know everything!" (It sounds much better in Hebrew :) Alon explained that in his opinion, the school is good for every kid, but not for every parent. Parent support at home is very important.
More in-depth discussion went on, until 11:30pm.
Yuval, the principal of the school in Arad, explained that the democratic system is not the purpose of the school, it is the means to establish a prosperous learning environment. He is also involved in the current negotiations with the Ministry of Education to accept and fully fund all the democratic schools in Israel.
Thanks to all who helped make this evening a success.
We look forward to holding more such joint meetings!
Photos from the Meeting:
