Collective Education in the from infancy to maturity

edited by

A.I. RABIN & BERTHA HAZAN

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Copyright © 1973 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Springer Publishing Company,Inc in 1973. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1973

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 73-80602 ISBN 978-3-662-38940-9 ISBN 978-3-662-39888-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-39888-3

All Rights Reserved

Acknowledgments We would like to thank the fol- 10wing people for allowing us to use their photo­ graphs in the book. Listed in order of appearance: Moshe Lapidot, Kibbutz Mizra; Dov Amitai, Kibbutz Gal-0n; Hannia Nahor, Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan; Gideon Ras, Kibbutz Revadim; 1. Dranger, Kibbutz ; Dov Amitai, Kibbutz Gal-0n; Asher Ben-Arie, Kibbutz Hazorea; Riva Segal, Kibbutz Barkai; Dov Amitai, Kibbutz Gal-On; 1. Dranger, Kibbutz Sarid. CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION Bertha Hazan

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Frieda Katz and Gideon Lewin 11 The family: parent-child relations 11 - The extended family 14 - The parental role in habit training 15 - The babies' and toddlers' house 16 - The babies' home 17 - The toddlers' house 21 - Persons who influence the child's development 24 - Identification and identity 25 - The positive value of two persons as objects of identification 26 - Education of the "ego" 29

THE KINDERGARTEN Miriam Roth 35 The parents' home 37 - Celebration of holidays 38 - Activities in the kindergarten' 39 - The kindergarten staff 41 - Emotional problems 42 - First grade (the "interim" year) 44 - The kibbutz society 46

THE JUNIOR CHILDREN'S COMMUNITY Hava Shamir 49 Socialization and individualization 50 - The attitude toward the adult world of parents and kibbutz members 51 - How the junior children's society functions 52

THE PROJECT METHOD: ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Lea Alterman 63 Principles of the project method 64 - The annual program of projects 72 - The integration of subjects 78 - Language teaching in the project method 82 - The teaching of math­ ematics in the project method 83 - Teaching outside the frame­ work of the project method 85 - The group and the tea ch er­ counse lor 88 - The desire for achievement rather than com­ petition for grades 90 - The means and goals of education 93- Conclusion 93

iii THE YOUTH SOCIETY Moni Alon 97 Changes in the educational group during adolescence 100 - The role of teacher-counselors 103 - Coeducation and sex edu­ cation 105 - Ideological education 110 - Education for work 117 - Relationships with parents during adolescence 120 - Relationships with the kibbutz, the adult society, and self­ realization 123 - Stability and change 126

METHODS OF STUDY AND INSTRUCTION IN HIGH SCHOOL Zvi Lavi 131 Theoretical origins of the project method 134 - Experimental schools which influence us 135 - Principal modifications of the project method 137 - Principles of learning in the secondary school (ages 12-18) 139 - Social principles. Nonselective edu­ cation 139 - Unity of education and instruction 143 - The peer-group unit 144 - Education for work 145 - Cooperation between teachers and students. Directed independence 146 - Psychological-educational principles 147 - Didactic principles of the project method 156

SPECIAL EDUCATION AND CHILD GUIDANCE CLINIC 161 Rachel Manor

ORANIM-PEDAGOGlCAL CENTER OF THE KIBBUTZIM Menahem Gerson 171 The structure of Oranim. Its advantages 172 - Pedagogical principles 173 - What we emphasize 174 - Problems awaiting solution 175 - Two important courses 176 - The institute of research on kibbutz education 178

EPILOGUE A.I. Rabin 181

References 183 Glossary 184

iv CONTRIBUTORS

Moni Alon. Lecturer in sociology, Oranim; formerly Director, Educa­ tional Department, Kibbutz Artzi. Lea Alterman. Teacher, Supervisor of Elementary Schools, Kibbutz Artzi; editor (deceased). Menahem Gerson, Ph.D. Research Director, Oranim Center for the Study of Kibbutz Education. Bertha Bazan. Editor. Sifriat Poalim (an educational publication), Tel Aviv. Frieda Katz. Supervisor, Department of Early Childhood Education, Kibbutz Artzi. Zvi Lavi. Director, Educational Department, Kibbutz Artzi. GideoD Lewin. Lecturer on child psychology, Kibbutz Teacher Training School, Oranim. Rachel Manor. Director, Oranim Child Guidance Clinic. A.I. Rabin, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University. Miriam Roth, M.A. Teacher of Pedagogics, Oranim. Hava Shamir. Teacher; Supervisor of Elementary Schools, Kibbutz Artzi.

v PREFACE

Much has been written about kibbutz child-rearing and education. Most accounts of this innovative and interesting system in the communal setting have been written by outsiders-"looking in," so to speak-mainly American social scientists: psychologists, anthropologists, psychiatrists, and others. Many of these descriptions have been rather brief and have often been included in the context of broader ethnographic or descriptive studies of kibbutz society as a whole. Other accounts have appeared in conjunction with research reports, of varying degrees of rigor, which have attempted to scrutinize the effects of kibbutz child-rearing. To date there has been no detailed and comprehensive statement of the kibbutz educational approach and experience by those who have been primarily involved in it. It might be said, therefore, that the present volume represents a "look from within"-a statement by'kibbutz educators themselves. Ten veteran educators of the have combined their efforts in presenting this detailed story of various aspects and phases of kibbutz education. Some of the contributors have been associated with this educational effort from its very inception, having witnessed and participated in the gradual evolution of the kibbutz child-rearing and educational process-from infancy to maturity. They have been involved in the development of methods to prepare and create the "new man," the new kibbutz generation that will be ready to take over from those who were brought up in the conventional family setting and in the tra­ ditional educational system. In the introductory chapter, Bertha Hazan, who has been a leading force in kibbutz education for well over a generation, presents the broad historical and philosophical perspectives of that movement. Frieda Katz and Gideon Levin, active educators, researchers, and child psychologists, describe (in Chapter 2) the first four years in the life of the kibbutz child. Both have had considerable experience in working directly with children as well as ih training teachers and metaplot (child-care workers) for the kibbutz children's houses. Chapter 3 was authored by Miriam Roth, a veteran kindergarten teacher and trainer of teachers, with broad experience in and abroad. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with two important aspects of the pre­ adolescent experience in the kibbutz. Hava Shamir describes a fasci­ nating and viable experiment: "the children's society," a sort of junior, semiautonomous kibbutz that is so important in the development of the unique kibbutz character and personality. A parallel statement of the

vi more formal educational and learning procedures of this age group is presented by Lea Alterman. Here the "project method" and progressive education in its successful reincarnation, are highlighted. A similar pair of chapters covers the adolescent period. In Chapter 6, Moni Alon, an experienced high school teacher and sociologist, discusses the society of adolescents in the kibbutz: its ideological training, the question of sex relations, and the preparation of the adolescent peer society for the adult world. This description is followed by the contribUtion, in Chapter 7, of the long-time educator and author, Zvi Lavi, who outlines the theoretical and psychological origins of the educational system and illustrates the sub­ stantive aspects of the study program. In the final chapters, two special and unique programs of the overall educational undertaking are considered. Rachel Manor (Chapter 8) clear­ ly shows that kibbutz children are not "problem-free." She describes a unique special-education project in which a large network of workers is guided by a central professional corps in their day-to-day activities with youngsters who require special help for a wide range of emotional and educational problems. In Chapter 9 Dr. Menahem Gerson, one of the guiding spirits of the kibbutz college of education, offers an interesting analysis of the rationale for a special teacher training institute. Within the structure of the unique kibbutz society, Gerson points out, a somewhat unconventional training program is required for teachers in the inno­ vative schools. The overall impression is that this educational enterprise is not one of an exotic or primitive society which anthropologists and general readers may find "interesting." On the contrary, the reader becomes aware of the conscious effort of a modern society, with a Western orientation, to provide continuity to the social structure it has erected. In these days, when America is casting about for alternative models and solutions in the field of child-rearing and education, there is much that can be gained from the rich experience related in this volume. The modifications in the family structure, and their relationship to the socioeducational matrix of kibbutz society, give the reports presented here a considerable relevance and timeliness. A.1. Rabin East Lansing, Michigan

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The assistance of Mr. Dennis Fox in the editing of the manuscript and of Rita Bernier in its preparation is hereby gratefully acknowledged.

vii collective education encompasses the totality of the child's life