Systemic

Education through
the influence of the
Environment

Realizing a meaningful continuum of education-values-uniformity at school and at home, is the factor that most influences the shaping of behavior, the acquisition of social skills, and the assimilation of values.

A uniform environment possessing the appropriate organizational language, measured on the basis of the principle of Group Connection, will help the students to transform learned values into a way of life.

Personal Example

The Character of the Educator
An educator who has experience with Group Connection will be prepared to construct the class as a group and will become a living example of the values and norms that he seeks to instill in his class.

Educators are the Leaders of Change
A team of empowered educators constructed as a group with cohesive values, possessing a common goal, and upholding a sense of responsibility for the totality of what is done at the school.

“According to the Circles Method™, the educator is first and foremost a personal example of the value of Group Connection which is what he radiates towards his fellow teachers, to the children that he educates, and to their parents. The educator transforms the learning experience into an intriguing process of investigation, both authentic and relevant to everyday life, which thereby brings the students to full participation in the process of learning.”

“The educator knows how to distill the full social capital inherent in children. He leads the class to educational and social excellence by way of creating an atmosphere of equality among the children. At the same time, he brings the ability of the individual to a maximum and empowers his uniqueness through his connection to a group possessing a common goal. He does this while taking into account the unique ways of each child, and providing a space for the expression of each child’s natural talents.”

Social

Education through
the Group

The group becomes a kind of laboratory that represents human society with all its layers. Through it, the child will learn to relate to a variety of relevant groups which he will join during his life. His work and progress are measured relative to the principle of Group Connection and in light of the values of reciprocity and cooperation.

The Group is the Guide

The children in the classroom are molded into a group that in partnership with the educator, crystallizes principles of value, and learning. The educator gradually delegates the position of educational leadership to the class, according to its readiness and independence.

Building the Characteristic of Leadership

Experience in teamwork leads to the acquisition of the skills of transference and empathy for others. The students practically earn the ability to build for themselves the best environment and to act through it in order to attain educational and social goals.

Empowering the Uniqueness of Each Child

The approach of Group Connection makes it possible for every student to locate his strong points and to realize them through his links with others. The approach develops in the child, a sense of stability and certainty in his personal competence; he learns to appreciate belonging to the group and internalizes how much the contribution of his uniqueness is crucial to the progress of the society in which he lives.

“The graduate of the Circles Method™ is a proactive autonomous person, possessing the power of judgment and critical thought, aspires to excellence, and possesses a developed ability of personal and social insight. The group connection builds in him a relationship of respect; the ability to listen to others and to instill a feeling of equality and reciprocity.”

Relevance

Preparation for Life

The school provides the child with the key to a world based upon integrated systems of connection and interdependence. Education for life is done in two primary ways:

1. Schooling: The transference of curricular information through a broad integrative worldview will demonstrate to the student the interdependence of all systems in society and in the nation that surrounds it.

2. Education: The emotional translation and internalization of what is acquired in the process of the schooling increases the student’s sensitivity to interdependence and will lead to the assimilation of a feeling of partnership, the development of responsibility, and desire to initiate involvement and action.

The Acquisition of Authentic and Meaningful Information

Cultivating Curiosity and aptitude for Learning
Knowledge presented to students in a meaningful and relevant manner will bring pleasure from learning and a desire to continue to explore and develop.

Developing Integrative Thinking
There is a link between the various areas of knowledge which can be organized into a continuous and complete picture. Acquisition of knowledge in this linked manner will develop in the student an interdisciplinary and integrative worldview.

Learning in a Social Context
The process of learning that is assimilated through the social links between the children in the class makes the knowledge that is transmitted in school meaningful and authentic; it prepares the student to integrate with the various systems in his life.

Meaningful Learning
The acquisition of knowledge is done by the members of the class through sharing of its usefulness and meaningfulness to their world. Learning like this awakens an inner motivation in the students, and transforms the knowledge into readily available tools useful in a variety of situations in their lives.