Hod HaSharon

On Tuesday we visited the Hod HaSharon Democratic School, a 94-student school now in its third year. The school rents the property of an old boarding school, a slightly dilapidated building surrounded on three sides by beautiful green fields. The school has 14 staff and enrolls students in roughly grades K-6.

We spent the day talking with teachers, the principal, parents and any English-speaking students we could find. Despite the language barrier, we left with a good sense and a very positive feeling for the school, after seeing children engaged in chess games, drama rehearsals, a puppet show led by a teacher, a Hebrew class, and much playing in the sandbox and the fields.

Each day at Hod HaSharon begins with a morning meeting, where students meet in a room set aside for their age group. The school is roughly divided into ages K-1, 2-4, and 5-6. Then classes begin – without requirements for attendance and without grades. For each group, the school tries to offer three classes for each period. There is a “shopping period” for the first few weeks of school, and then classes form and define their own rules for attendance and other procedures.

As with the other democratic schools we’ve since seen in Israel, there are two core democratic mechanisms. At Hod HaSharon these are described in a Constitution, which is restricted to general discussions of values and rights. First is the Parliament, which includes parents, teachers and students. Meetings are on Friday, a traditional day off in Israel, so that parents can attend. A simple majority of those attending is required to set laws, and a 60% supermajority of the entire community is needed to amend the Constitution.

The second key is the personal advisor, an adult chosen by each child to be a friend, mentor and guide. One of the few requirements at Hod HaSharon is that each student must meet with his advisor for at least 20 minutes per week, to discuss any topic. The goal of advising is to create a dialogue about the child’s choices. For example, if a child chooses to take no classes, the advisor may ask why, trying to understand whether there is an underlying problem, or whether the child is simply self-managing his own learning. Children also have group advisors, an adult who focuses on one age group in particular.

When conflicts arise, problems are often taken to advisors or adults for resolution, but two formal mechanisms are also available. There is a mediation committee for personal issues and a judicial committee for clear violations of law. Both are staffed with volunteers ratified by parliament. Children can initiate a case in either committee by writing a note, which can require others to attend.

Several teachers mentioned major problems with violence in the first year of the school, which have since lessened dramatically. They credit this above all else to the language of conflict resolution, which children see in each committee meeting. Fighting has reduced in general, and conflicts are increasingly likely to be verbal rather than physical.

Parents are also involved, volunteering to supervise the outdoor areas or, more rarely, to teach classes (one parent recently taught a weekly yoga class). There are also monthly community meetings, led by a community member or an outside guest, discussing a philosophical issue in education. It is rare for a Parliament meeting to have more than a few parents in attendance, though sometimes children bring their parents in to vote on an important issue, and sometimes fundamental school-management questions bring in many parents.

Over a long and delicious Israeli lunch, we discussed with the staff the challenges faced by the school. First is the financial situation: the school is both expensive and under-funded. Tuition is 1200 shekels per month, or about $270, which is considered quite expensive. As we will describe later, there are few private schools in Israel, and even fewer private secular schools, so parents are not accustomed to paying this much for education. As a result, Hod HaSharon and other democratic schools have a reputation of serving the wealthy.

Despite the high tuition, the school is counting on receiving government recognition and the partial funding which comes with it. Recently several Israeli democratic schools have won court cases to receive recognition, which requires the government to help fund the school, though without the ability to require curricular or structural changes. The teachers hope this recognition will allow them to lower the tuition, offer more scholarships, and improve the appearance of the school.

Hadera

We had heard a lot about Hadera School, the first and largest democratic school in Israel, and we finally have a chance to see it in action. Yaacov Hecht, now director of the Institute for Democratic Education, began the school with a group of parents in 1987. On our arrival we were swept away by a dozen middle- and high-school kids, some eager to try their English on us and some simply interested in meeting the visitors. We immediately sensed the energy in the school, as mixed-age groups of students played football, chatted at the snack bar, listened to music, and talked with staff members.

The school occupies several small, single-story buildings set around a spacious central playing field. With 369 students and 50 staff members, the site is filled with motion and voices throughout the day. Students have only one requirement: be present at school from 8:30am to 1:30pm.

The school runs on a three branch structure, incorporating the legislative, executive and judicial bodies.

The Legislative body: This consists of students, staff and parents who meet every Friday for 2 hours. There are no classes for students during that time and adults in Israel traditionally do not work on Fridays. Elections are held every three months, to choose three administrators for each meeting: the secretary, the person in charge of discipline, and the moderator. These three decide, create and publicize each meeting’s agenda. Average participation is about 30-50 people, varying widely based on the issues discussed.

The Executive body: This consists of various committees, which can be formed by any student or teacher. These range from the scheduling committee to the student admissions committee, which has full authority over accepting new students.

The Judicial body: This consists of the mediation, discipline and appeals committees. Mediation is still rarely used, though the adults at the school are trying to change this. The discipline committee meets everyday at 10 o'clock to take cases on first-come-first-served basis. There is a rotation of mixed aged students to serve on the discipline committee. The appeals committee deals with cases which the pupils feel are not dealt with properly.

Academically, the school is built around three approaches to learning:

Frontal System: Variations on the conventional method of teacher-led classes. Classes offered by anyone in the community are presented to students at the beginning of the year.

Self Directed Learning: Several rooms on campus are designated for this purpose, with adults always present to help students organize, research and implement their ideas. Two times a year students can propose for a budget for their projects, to be debated in the legislature.

Learning Centers: There are various centers for learning art, music, ceramics, film making, English, etc. Here, students often take the lead in teaching other students. In our walks around the campus we witnessed many projects taking shape in the centers, from a construction group working on a set of clay stairs to a thunderous band rehearsal.

Each loosely defined age range is given a house of its own at Hadera. Kindergarten, middle-school and high-school children each have this space as a relaxed, multi-use environment. Each child has a mentor, or “honech,” whom they meet with whenever needed, or at least once per week.

Our day came to an end with a wonderful meal cooked by a group of students and adults, under the culinary guidance of a teacher with a passion for cooking. We finished off an excellent visit around a huge table, talking with the thirty children and staff members present. Without a doubt, Hadera has a special energy and vibrancy to it.

Keshet

On Thursday morning, Gali-ya, our student guide from the Institute, led us to the premises of a nature field school, on which we found the campus of Keshet School.  It is located near a nature preserve, where teachers, students, and the various dogs roaming the school go to spend time next to a beautiful, green stream.  Unfortunately, it was windy and sporadically raining, so we spent very little time outdoors.

We were greeted by Inbar, the principal or manager of the school, who we found out was Gali-ya’s officer 10 years ago, during her time in the army.  After the brief reunion, we were led into the office where we had our formal introductions and were briefed on the history and philosophy of the school.  The school is in the middle of its second year, and has just won its court case to be recognized by the government.  This means that it will receive government money, which will reduce the tuition – currently, 1200 shekels per month – and allow them to move into a building in the nearby town of Zichron Ya’acov.

Keshet School is unique among the other democratic schools – and schools in general within Israel – because it is a blend of religious and secular Jews.  Another difference between the school and other democratic schools is that it does require students to take certain subjects.  Students must study Hebrew, English, and mathematics; however, they have various choices available to them for how they may satisfy these requirements.  For instance, they may choose from the academic classes available to them, work one-on-one with a tutor, or study independently at home and bring in their work. 

This compromise arose from the concern of the parents that the children would not be prepared for the high school matriculation exams or academics in general.  There aren’t really any alternatives to the government schools in Israel besides the democratic schools, so many of the parents are initially drawn to them by the quality of the staff and the genuine care for the children.  Later on, they begin to understand and believe in the philosophy and values of the school.  A consequence of this compromise, though, is that when the school began, the students would always ask whether a class or activity was mandatory or not, and would ignore the ones that weren’t.  The students seem to have eventually adjusted and now choose classes even if they’re not mandatory.  The staff views the compromise as a temporary state because the students do have the power to change this in the parliament.  In fact, one student did bring this up in parliament, but it was voted down at the time because the parents weren’t ready to accept it yet.

After the formal introductions with Inbar, four students, including the head of the Parliament, came in as guides to show us around the school.  One of our student guides at the school was the brother of a student we had met at the Hadera School.  The beginning of the period was marked by the sound of a bell, carried around and rung by one of the students.  We were told, it was the students, in fact, that wanted to have a bell because they didn’t want to miss out on their classes.

As they showed us around, we could see the ample classes going on within the 4 or 5 buildings.  One was even a Dungeons & Dragons class organized by some of the students.  There seemed to be around 80-90 students there that day, but the total enrollment is 125.  We were also able to witness one of their Judicial Council meetings, and after that, we talked with two of the teachers for about an hour.

Our visit ended fairly abruptly because it started to rain heavily, so they needed all of their staff to help with all of the students indoors.  Overall, I had a good impression of the school; however, I left with a concern on my mind about the power the parents had over the school.  As it stands, the parents have two votes in the parliament, even if they only have one child in the school, so they can easily have the majority if they feel a particular issue is important and show up en force.

K'Far Saba

After four days in Israel, we had visited four democratic schools.  The fourth was K'Far Saba, located 30 minutes northeast from Tel Aviv.  Stepping onto the K'Far Saba campus felt like stepping on to a well-equipped college campus.  Although it was raining and quite windy, we walked through the beautiful new buildings (designed by the school members and the Institute for Democratic Education), including space for a dance studio, two music rehearsal rooms, a theater, a large space for parliament meetings, and many classroom and learning spaces.  Surrounding the buildings is a large outdoor area overlooking the scenic landscape and suburbs of Israel.

 We were greeted by three older students aged 16 or 17, including Or Levi, whom we had met in New York at the 2003 International Democratic Education Conference.  We were late due to the weather, and they had been waiting for us.  After warm greetings and introductions, the school principal, Yael, joined us for discussion. 

K'Far Saba has 44 staff and 300 students, although since we were visiting on a Friday, a day-off for most adults, fewer students were there.  This size makes it the second largest democratic school in Israel, behind Hadera.  The students are organized into age groups: K-2, 3-6, 7-9, and 10-12.  Each group has a "house" or homeroom, large comfortable rooms with some cooking appliances, cozy couches and space for students to keep their belongings.  Within these houses, the students are organized into groups of 15 students based on who they choose as their "honech," or personal advisor/mentor/guide/tutor.  The chonech and his or her group of advisees meet together each morning for 15 minutes before each student embarks on their days.

The curriculum and schedule system at K'Far Saba is similar to that at Hadera. There is an extensive schedule of classes in traditional and non-traditional areas. The subjects and schedule is decided in the Spring of the previous year in the parliament.  All classes are optional.  The learning centers that appear in other schools are also present at K'Far Saba.

The new buildings and equipment really stood out at this school.  The main reason for this is that K'Far Saba began from day one as a "recognized" school, meaning it has always received full funding from the government.  It also charges tuition and receives many donations.  One third of the tuition costs go directly to scholarships for families who can not pay the full tuition. To provide more support for families, the school is considering providing new families of the school with a mentor family.  The "honech" family would serve as a resource for the new family regarding questions on school philosophy, structures and more.  K'Far Saba is already instituting a "honech" teacher for each new teacher at the school.

During the tour of the school, we saw many students engaged in different activities including a physics lecture, a theater group, TV watching, outside play, and a jazz combo rehearsal. 

One very interesting discussion occured between Yael and Or on the subject of classes and teaching.  Yael described the full class schedule, mentioning that most teachers were quite busy throughout the day teaching classes or spending time in the learning centers with students, and that sometimes students want to learn some "common knowledge."  Or spoke up saying that most students at the school were going to classes and not learning on their own.  He said the school has too many classes and does not provide a space or encouragement for that independent learning.  It was clear that Yael and Or had discussed this at length many times before.  Yet they were both open to renewing the conversation and comfortably talking and considering the others' point of view. Although there was no resolution, this open and respectful conversation made it clear that K'Far Saba is doing something right.

Kedem

After a long drive through the Negev Desert, we arrived in the small city of Arad to visit the Kedem School. Our first glance into the school revealed a large bulletin board directly in front of the entrance. It was covered with colorful posters, each advertising a particular course created by a student or staff member. Each course creator had reserved a time on the schedule, a continually evolving document on one side of the board. Add in a Parliament, the Honech and a Judicial Committee, similar to what we’ve seen before, and you have the essential institutions of the school. It is one of the least structured we’ve seen so far.

Arad is one of the poorest regions in a country already struggling with a weak economy. Kedem battles continually with the Education Ministry, and still receives no funding from the government (as we’ve described earlier, that is unusual in Israel, even for what would be considered a private school in the US). The school’s 54 students, aged 5 to 15,  often come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the 7 staff members often work second jobs to augment their salaries.

Walking through the halls of Kedem, we appreciated the students’ artwork shown throughout, and the open and free atmosphere. All rooms are mixed-use, all classes multi-age. None are mandatory. Students roamed freely. Many played soccer outdoors, others relaxed with friends in the halls, and a T’ai Chi class went on with three students in the Parliament room. The classrooms felt more like small, colorful conference rooms. In one we found a small French class, in another a few computers where a teacher was working with two students. In addition to 7 paid staff members, there are 7 volunteers working part-time at Kedem.

Kedem was started in 2000 by a group of parents, and all the staff today are parents. There is a rule that teachers must enroll their children in the school – to do otherwise would be hypocritical, the staff believes. As a community, a decision was made early on that parents could not be involved in their children’s disputes on campus.

We felt less of a traditional academic orientation at Kedem than at many other democratic schools. Classes were not the default activity for most students at any given moment, though many classes were going on during our visit. In some ways it felt more like a large house, with each group of students adopting a particular room.

Ma'ale Shaharut

After a day of rest at the Dead Sea, we made our way south to the Ma’ale Shaharut school in Kibbutz Yotveta. It’s our first public school visit. The school sits on an odd sort of fence – like many high schools it has a tracking system, but since last year, “democratic education” has been one of the tracks. It was set in motion by a group of then-tenth grade students, some of the most academically successful in the school, who began refusing to attend the traditional classes. The principal and staff have a generally progressive attitude, and they listened to the students’ concerns.

Before we could meet this group, we attended a traditional, “frontal” English class. The difference was shocking for us, having spent so much time at democratic schools. The teacher dominated discussion, telling some students to be quiet, letting others speak as she saw fit. It should have been no surprise to the five of us, all having gone through public schools ourselves, but we couldn’t help but notice the effect on the students. They often faced down, were shy when called upon, would not volunteer, and seemed less confident in speaking with us or the teacher. There are of course many exceptions, but the themes were clear.

After our class and a brief tour, we met with the students who instigated the democratic track. About a third of their class, or twenty students, chose the track. They still must take a full course load in required areas, but the difference comes within each class. Democratic-track students have some flexibility in their choice of teacher, fewer exams, and a classroom environment based more on their interests than the education ministry’s curriculum. As one student told us, taking the “democratic stream” meant risking less preparation for the matriculation exams in exchange for more interesting classes.

The students who began the stream spoke passionately and eloquently about the program, but their personal ambitions are not in education. As a result, several students and staff told us that the program may not take root in future years. Nevertheless, Yaacov’s lecture to the student body that morning attracted about 75 interested students, and most of the staff stayed well after the school day to hear him describe the concepts of democratic education.

As we learn more about the Institute’s democratization work, we see that they approach schools like this without a prepared set of answers. Their original approach was to arrive with a list of programs – a Parliament, mentorship system, mediation committee, etc – to be grafted onto the existing school structure. As they learned from their initial projects, the Institute began to focus on a process of defining each community’s vision, adding in democratic education elements only when or if the community recognizes a need. As a result, Yaacov’s presentation was more about general concepts and stories from his experience as a school founder, followed by questions from the audience.

Our visit also demonstrated the power of the matriculation exams. They are required by nearly all Israeli universities for entrance, and even the students who began the democratic track spent most of their last years preparing for the exams. As with the United States, the Israeli government is adding on more standardized tests, and other democratic schools are facing pressure to institute reading and writing exams for young children.

Makif Het School in Be'er Sheva

After a relaxing day on the beach at Eilat, the southernmost city of Israel, we headed to Be'er Sheva to visit an experimental school. Public schools apply to be granted experimental status in Israel, which allows them five years of extra funding to implement a new pedagogical approach.

We met with several students, the principal and two English-speaking teachers to hear their perspectives on the school. As the experimental title implies, Makif Het appears from the exterior to be a traditional school, but there are several projects underway to make the community more democratic. Like many urban public schools, they face issues of violence, low achievement, and poor relationships inside the school -- between teachers and students, students to students, and teacher to materials.

To work on these problems they have come up with several solutions to build better relationships and communication. First, they increased the student-teacher contact time. Instead of having 2 hours/week per subject for 6 years they have changed it to 6 hours/week per subject for 2 years and students take only 3 subjects at a time. In doing so they give students and teachers opportunities to build stronger connections, and both have fewer subjects to deal with per semester. Combined with an effort to lower student-teacher ratios, this policy has seen an increase in the number of students taking higher level exams for their matriculation. We questioned whether this was a suitable measurement, but there can be no doubt that the community sees it as a satisfying result.

To make the school experience more well-rounded, the staff came up with the idea of having three teachers in each classroom for a certain amount of time every week. Each teacher has been recognized for a certain special ability – in emotional intelligence, moral values, or educational philosophy – thus filling various needs of the student. These groups meet at least two hours per week, a time set aside for students to talk about any issue they would like. One on one time is freely scheduled when students want. Finally, a weekly parents’ day was put in place, not as a mandatory meeting but simply to provide a time for parents, students and teachers to meet and discuss.

In a very unique way this school has integrated the idea of preparing students for real life experience. Recognizing that the matriculation exams fail to do this, the staff devised a breakdown of five core under-addressed areas: technology, writing, training, rhetoric and research. In each subject and class, teachers try to work these areas into the curriculum. Often this becomes clear in assessment – one teacher described replacing traditional tests with presentations and research projects to build on the five core areas.

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