Democratic School of Hadera

Democratic School of Hadera
	Exterior of the school
type of school	democratic school
founding	1987
place	Hadera
district	Haifa
Country	Israel
Coordinates	32 ° 25 '17 " N , 34 ° 55' 22" E Coordinates: 32 ° 25 '17 " N , 34 ° 55' 22" E
student	400
Website	www.democratics.org.il (English)

The Democratic School of Hadera (Hebrew .: bet ha-sefer ha-be-democratic Hadera ) is a democratic school in the Israeli city of Hadera . Founded in 1987, it is the oldest of the approximately 26 democratic schools in Israel . With around 400 students between the ages of four and 18, it is also the largest democratic school in the country and the second largest in the world. It is the first school in the world to call itself a Democratic School .

School basics

The school is run through a weekly school assembly called parliament. Every employee / teacher and every student has one vote. In addition, the parents of current students and former students are also entitled to vote. The school parliament decides according to the majority principle . Committees whose members are elected at the beginning of the school year are responsible for implementing resolutions and for organizational tasks. Complaints about violations of school rules are investigated in the Discipline Committee (Wa'adat mishma'at), a kind of internal school court.

A few years after the school was founded, the school parliament decided that participation in classes should be voluntary. At the beginning of the school year, the students decide which courses or projects they want to take part in. In addition, so-called learning centers (library, music, theater, art room) are available to them during the school day from 8.15 a.m. to 1 p.m. They can also spend their time playing soccer, basketball, computer or card games, talking to their friends or doing other activities of their own choosing.

The school is not divided into individual grade levels. The younger pupils (4 to around 7 years old) and the middle-aged pupils (up to around 12 years of age) have their own areas in the school, but can move freely around the school premises, use the learning centers and take part in courses that are more likely to be judge older students. Each student has a teacher as a personal contact (mentor / tutor).

School success

A study by the Institute for Democratic Education of former students at the Democratic School of Hadera shows that the school's approach is also successful according to conventional criteria. Most of the graduates between 30 and 40 years of age at the time of the study have achieved top positions in their respective fields of interest; 20% have earned a doctorate; 90% work in the profession of their choice. The former students include the Olympic champion Gal Fridman and the singer Sarit Hadad .

IDEC

In 1992, the Democratic School of Hadera won the President's Education Award, considered Israel's most prestigious award in education. Representatives of the school and other democratic schools were then invited to a conference in 1993. Since this was unsatisfactory from the point of view of the democratic schools, they then organized their own conference in the Democratic School of Hadera, which is now known as the International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC) and takes place every year in a different country.

In 1995 the Democratic School of Hadera was named School of the Year among all schools in Israel.

documentary

In 2004 the children's rights project Krätzä visited the school and shot the 41-minute documentary film Pretty Cool System , which shows everyday school life and lets some students, employees and graduates talk about their experiences.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Yaacov Hecht, Democratic Education - A beginning of a story, 2010, ISBN 9780974525297 , p. 323 (Hecht mentions that he was 29 years old when the school was founded) or the back cover ("In 1987, Hecht founded the Democratic School in Hadera , Israel. "). The book was published in 2011 with the same title, cover and ISBN.
^ About democratic schools in Israel: The children of Givat Olga. Retrieved April 23, 2019 .
↑ Uriel Kashi: Democracy Education in Israel - History and Current Approaches. (PDF) Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation , 2008, p. 36 , accessed on April 23, 2019 . The Democratic School of Hadera is presented in detail on pp. 36-40.

^ History and Vision. In: www.democratics.org.il. Retrieved April 24, 2019 (English, Hebrew).

↑ Ken Robinson , Lou Aronica: Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education . 2015, p. 152 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

[1] Yaacov Hecht, Democratic Education - A beginning of a story, 2010, ISBN 9780974525297 , p. 323 (Hecht mentions that he was 29 years old when the school was founded) or the back cover ("In 1987, Hecht founded the Democratic School in Hadera , Israel. "). The book was published in 2011 with the same title, cover and ISBN.

[2] About democratic schools in Israel: The children of Givat Olga. Retrieved April 23, 2019 .

[Kashi-3] Uriel Kashi: Democracy Education in Israel - History and Current Approaches. (PDF) Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation , 2008, p. 36 , accessed on April 23, 2019 . The Democratic School of Hadera is presented in detail on pp. 36-40.

[4] History and Vision. In: www.democratics.org.il. Retrieved April 24, 2019 (English, Hebrew).

[5] Ken Robinson , Lou Aronica: Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education . 2015, p. 152 ( limited preview in Google Book search).