Director, Institute for Democratic Education and
Founder, Hadera Democratic School, Israel

I was five years old when I started to think about democratic education. The kindergarten teacher would lock me up in the store-room as a punishment for the “bad” things I did, and as I was sitting there I had a lot of time to think. I remember thinking that something was completely wrong about the way she behaved. I left high school when I was 16 and it was then that I really entered the world of education because every other person would ask me why I wasn’t going to school. To be able to answer this question I had to start reading books, and I came across the ideas of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Tolstoy, Dewey, Neill, Korczak, Rogers and others, who have all influenced my present outlook.

There are many democratic schools all over the world and each of them is different. But what they have in common is the goal of respecting human rights in school using the following tools:

1. A democratic community that has a parliament, judicial committees, executive committees, etc.

2. Pluralistic learning that allows students to have control over their learning, and offers self-study programs, etc.

3. A dialogical relationship based on models of strong inter-relationship between adults and children.

It is very difficult to point at the most important factor in democratic education because every piece in this mosaic is important for the complete picture. Yet I believe that pluralistic learning is the core of democratic education for two main reasons:

First, when I ask students in Israel and abroad what they see as the most important part in their democratic school they usually come up with a clear answer: it is the freedom to choose what, how and when to learn.

The second reason I chose this subject is that we, at the Institute for Democratic Education, initiate democratization processes in many schools and actually connect the ideas of democratic education with regular schools. Those schools find it quite easy to accept the idea of the parliament or the committees, for example, but the main difficulty is integrating the idea of freedom with the curriculum. This is why it was our top priority to deepen our understanding of the learning process that takes place in democratic schools, and I will now present some of our conclusions and ideas.

What is Pluralistic Learning? It is an approach towards learning that acknowledges the uniqueness of the student and is based on the equal right of every person to express this uniqueness.

Every individual on this planet has a unique learning profile. Human diversity is one of the most beautiful things in our world. It is the fuel that runs our world. An education system that does not acknowledge my uniqueness will not acknowledge me. It might acknowledge those like me but it is not interested in getting to know me. It might acknowledge people my age, people who live in my area, people who buy in the same supermarket. But I am not a copy or a reflection of the sum of qualities that resemble me. As a person I am made of a multi - cellular genetic code that has no human equivalent. Every person is an individual whose contribution to the world is unique.

Before looking further into Pluralistic Learning I would like to clarify some relevant terms:

The World and the “Square” -
This shape represents the world of knowledge:

  
“The Square” represents the knowledge, which is learnt in schools.

This square contains some knowledge of science, for example, yet, most scientific knowledge can be found beyond the limits of the “square.” And so is the case with literature, art and all other school subjects. Entire worlds are missing in the square. Those who believe in the square see it as a magic entity, the starting point for everything in this world. But what is even more dangerous is the fact that they define the square as the only space where a person’s time is “well spent.” When a student is busy in “square” activities he is making the most of his time, but when he is acting outside the square he is actually “wasting his time.”

The crowded space inside the square leads to disaster: here too, like in most other crowded places, people cannot see themselves or anyone else. Inside the “square” we continually try to measure everyone with respect to the ideal concept of the square. What we get is a Bell Curve. A student is excellent, mediocre, or weak according to his or her proximity to the square. Most people are defined as mediocre, a few have been excellent and a few others,” like myself, have been tagged “weak.” Unfortunately, because the “square” is considered “an essential preparation for life” most of its graduates start to see their tag as real.

Time “well spent”
 
Time “wasted”

This is where, I believe, the great “success” of the educational system lies. It has turned us into “squaracists,” into people who are categorized according to the degree of their success within the world of the square.

Let’s consider the difference between the two kinds of learning: Learning in the square is “well spent” and which I call “linear learning,” while learning outside the square where time is “wasted,” I call “pluralistic learning.” Linear learning in the square is based on acquisition of absolute processed and edited knowledge. The journey in the conventional world of linear learning is one leading from ignorance to enlightenment; a journey from not knowing to knowing.

On the journey that takes place within the square students learn that:
     1. There is “correct” knowledge that is in the hands of the authorities.
     2. Their personal quest is of no significance because it is not relevant to learning.
     3. Their personal stand is not relevant and the correct knowledge that was discovered by unique individuals lies in the hands of the right people.
     4. Any discovery that does not reconcile with “correct knowledge” is a mistake.
     5. One is expected to avoid making mistakes. Making mistakes takes off points from the learner’s final score.
     6. It is highly important to prove that one has the right answer.

But when learners hear other answers that contradict their linear knowledge, the “wrong answer” light is turned on in their mind and they may even conclude that not only is the person’s answer not relevant but so is the person himself.

Life, to most people in western society, resembles walking on a rope stretched over an abyss. Being able to walk the rope from beginning to end means great success, and so people focus mainly on the danger of falling into the abyss.

The rope of our culture begins on the day of our birth and some say even earlier, and this rope has many stations along the way. Reading and writing in first grade, for example, matriculation exams between the ages of 16-18, university when you are about 20, marriage, children, professional success, family and so on. I do not underestimate those stations. I’ve visited some in the past, I am staying in some at present, and I intend to visit others in the future. But I call upon people to open their eyes and see that there is no abyss under the rope, and that in fact there actually is no rope!

For those who do wish to walk the imaginary rope I have some important information.

First, some technical details:
     1. Because it is very crowded on the rope, many unnecessary falling disasters happen.
     2. The stations of the rope are designed in a way that will not allow everyone to pass through. These traffic jams lead to the fall of almost everyone at one stage or another.
     3. Professional frighteners are spread along the rope and remind everyone of the danger of falling into the abyss.

And here are some reminders and recommendations for you:
     1. There is plenty of space for everyone outside the rope.
     2. We can always find or create interesting stations that will allow us to experience fulfillment and success.
     3. To reach those stations we need the courage to search beyond the rope.

What is the aim of pluralistic learning?
First and foremost it is the empowerment of the individual-the student can study any subject. The more people are busy in subjects that interest them the greater their belief in themselves. Second, the growing capacity to respect oneself, others, and humanity as a whole, and to see different opinions as opportunities for growth.

We must ask ourselves, how we know that pluralistic learning is indeed successful?
Looking at students and teachers in the Democratic School of Hadera, one notices that a lot of group activities are organized in a spontaneous way for different purposes. A team of the video magazine, for example, the production of a play, organizing a summer camp and so on.

When we have spontaneous teamwork we know that pluralistic learning has succeeded. Why? When a person discovers his uniqueness it is actually only half of the way. Gradually he or she realizes that they live in a community of unique people. Because most of the challenges we are faced with are multi-dimensional it is easier to find people who will complement the missing parts and so create the “winning team” to accomplish whatever mission. Many students have pointed out that the most special thing about democratic schools is the rare collection of exceptional people who are talented in different areas. I believe the same is true for students who spend their time in conventional schools, only in those places they can not see each other due to the crowdedness of the square, and the intensive occupation in square activity.

But do we want to keep it that way? Do we want only a small minority to enjoy the benefits of democratic education? Do we want this gap to grow even further?

Ecologists use the term sustainability to relate to the influence of our actions today on the future of this planet. I believe that in the field of education, pluralistic learning complements the idea of sustainability. I’m sure we are all familiar with groups of people fighting for the protection of species of animals and plants that are about to disappear from the face of this planet thinking that these may hold the future solution to various problems. On the other hand, many people are killed every day while trying to resolve human conflicts by force.
Pluralistic learning is a vaccine that can stop this destruction. A person who is raised on the concepts of pluralistic learning truly understands he is a unique human being who has a special contribution to make. He understands that like those rare species we are struggling to protect, every person around him is as unique as himself even if their hidden potential has not yet manifested itself.

I believe that every person on the face of the earth is here for a reason, that we’re all pieces of one gigantic puzzle of the secret of life. Losing one-piece distances us away from the understanding of this secret. Seeing different people, different societies, and different points of view as a source of growth will serve to guarantee the future of mankind. Just imagine what will happen if only 1 percent of the people in this world consider this approach. Think about the transformation that will take place.

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Referans: http://www.democraticeducation.com/essay-yaacov.htm