The Inspiration of a Child-centered School

May 7, 2009

We took the #480 to Jerusalem and then a taxi to the Ilanot School where Miriam Weil, the niece of Simone Lipman, has taught for 30 years, developing the use of computers for children with severe physical disabilities. About 80 children, aged 5-21 attend the school, and they are taught by a staff of 90, including volunteers. Jewish, Muslim, and Christian children (even one Armenian child) come not only from Jerusalem, but as far away as Ashkelon. At 8:30 each morning about 45 especially equipped vans pull up, because most of the children use wheelchairs and similar devices for any mobility that they have. The staff is also quite diverse. There are perhaps 6-8 schools for children with severe physical disabilities in Israel.

This is a child-centered school, without question. As Miriam walked us through the 3 buildings of the school, pointing out the main classrooms and the rooms for special activities like art, music, computer study, physical therapy, occupational therapy and etc., it was apparent that everything begins by looking at the child and asking the question “what does s/he need?” One of the fundamental principles of the school is that every child has the capacity to do something, to participate in some way, in individual projects or group projects. For example, one child may be able to paint with a brush, while another’s capacity may limit their contribution to choosing a color, but at the core the child is involved and can feel the pride of having made a difference. This is truly an interdisciplinary environment. Miriam described one anecdote that characterizes interdisciplinary care beautifully. Miriam was working with one student who was able to use a computer only with her feet. In observing her abduct and adduct her leg (move it sideways away from the center of her body and toward the center) to work the horizontal (east to west) keyboard, an occupational therapist noted that a more natural motion for the leg and knee is to flex, not to abduct. They realized that a keyboard laid out north to south would enable this student to use the keyboard more effectively. There’s no reason that a keyboard has to be laid out east to west, other than that’s the way it has always been done.