YAACOV HECHT - LECTURES

When Yaacov was 10, he borrowed his father’s Leica camera and took photos of the coachmen station near his parents’ home in Hadera, Israel. When he was asked why was he doing it, he had said that it’s a good idea to take a photo of things that will soon disappear. Yaacov’s parents laughed and explained to him that coachmen will never disappear from our world… Disruptive Innovation, a force that poses a constant threat to many, a tsunami that washes the world and undermines the pillars of our existence is a clear and familiar language for Yaacov.

Yaacov was born and raised in Hadera, Israel. He is married and a father of four.  Yaacov founded and ran the Democratic School in Hadera – the first school in the world to use this title – for 10 years. A school that inspired the foundation of additional 27 democratic schools in Israel.

In 1993, Yaacov founded IDEC – International Democratic Education Conference that assembles since then every year in a different country and has more than 1,000 member-schools.

In 1996, Yaacov founded and led the Institute for Democratic Education in Israel (IDE). As part of his work in IDE, Yaacov opened an academic program for democratic education teachers’ training in Kibbutzim College, and the “Pioneer” program for school principals’ training which includes developing and leading initiatives in schools located in underprivileged neighborhoods.

In 2005, Yaacov published his book, Democratic Education – The Beginning of a Story. The book was translated to English, Bulgarian, and Portuguese and inspires groundbreaking educators and entrepreneurs around the world.

In 2010, Yaacov founded Education Cities – The Art of Collaboration. Under Yaacov’s management, it leads national programs in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Education – Mathematics Education Teams and an innovative MOOC learning model.

Yaacov has been serving as an expert advisor to Israeli Ministers of Education for many years, as an expert in creating connections and interfaces between the state and alternative education.

In his lectures – It is important and fascinating to see how Yaacov identifies the “coachmen stations” of today’s education systems and describes the near and distant future.

The big question is how to move from an Education System that prepares its students for life in the past to an Education System that prepares its students to life in the future.

The answer lies in the idea that different is beautiful!

In a rapidly changing world, collaborations between different entities are key for a pleasant and effective transition from The Pyramid Paradigm to The Network Paradigm.

This lecture will attempt to explain this shift (including exposure of “hot off the press” innovation projects in the world) and the different aspects that are required for its success in terms of pedagogy, design, and organization.

That is while examining two fascinating dimensions of global educational innovation:

– The Democratic Education – the missing piece in the Democratic State puzzle

– The entailed shift from a teaching based school to a learning based school

• Review of current trends in economy and society, such as:

– The emergence of the Knowledge Wave and its implications on society and economy – describing Disruptive Innovation and its devastating consequences (i.e. the collapse of companies like Kodak, Nokia, and others)

– The development of the New Economy and the emergence of the Startup Culture.

• Making sense of this insanity:

Despite all the turmoil, we do not live in chaos. We live in an era of a paradigm shift in society and economy – we are in a transition from a Pyramid Paradigm to a Network Paradigm – examples for the new paradigm in education, trade, science, and culture.

• Why is Education the key? How does the key to life in a better world look like?.

Yaacov Hecht’s personal story – from leaving school to creating and leading processes of educational innovation in the world

• The story about life in school without knowing how to write or read.

• The decision to leave school at age 16
• Founding the Democratic School in Hadera – which was part of the national education system from day one
• Building a national and international network of Democratic Education – 2000 schools in 60 countries
• Leading global innovation processes
• From Yaacov’s personal journey – Ten Principles for Dream Realization

Introducing the model of “Expanding the Limits of Imagination” – One cannot implement what one cannot imagine. Therefore, before planning and implementing we must first expand our ability to imagine.

The accelerated rate of changes in which we live, is expressed in the accelerated development of different technologies: Social Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Block-Chain, Digital Coin Economy, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Autonomous Cars, VR, Drones, etc.

This lecture will focus on examples for groundbreaking trends in learning, technology, and economy and the ways in which they are implemented in the pedagogy of innovative education systems in the world today.

Exposure to these examples as well as to current trends and ventures in the world, is an important stage in the quest for expanding the limits of imagination.