The Connection-Knowledge-Stance approach was developed at Gann Academy as a new paradigm for Israel education. It combines storytelling with a stance of inquiry to guide participants how they want to engage civically.
This approach can be used by participants of all ages to better decipher the world and their place within it.
Let’s work together to find the right options for your institution.
CONNECTION-KNOWLEDGE-STANCE
Consulting services options
Facilitate the Connection-Knowledge-Stance conversation method
Conduct a Connection-Knowledge-Stance Audit
Analyze the responses and information from the audit with leaders and identify next steps
Create or co-create new curriculum/programs/concepts based on the findings of the audit
Serve as a guest speaker on key historical or political topics
Background: The Story of Connection-Knowledge Stance
Ten years ago, Israel and American Jewish politics about Israel emerged definitively as the pluralism issue of the American Jewish community. In the fall of 2016, Rabbi Marc Baker, then Head of School at Gann Academy charged a team of educators to revise Gann Academy’s approach to Israel education to meet the needs of Gann’s students and, more broadly, a new generation of American Jews. After 9 months of hard work, a team of History, Hebrew, and Jewish Studies teachers arrived at the Connection-Knowledge-Stance approach.
Connection encompasses how students feel about Israel, their personal connections to Israel, and the personal stories that they can tell about Israel. One goal of Gann’s program was for students to have more personal connections and personal stories about Israel when they graduated than they had when they entered the school.
Knowledge refers to all that the school wanted students to learn about Israel. Gann took an inventory approach rather than a deficit model, focusing on what students learned rather than what they did not learn. The program also focused on the authentic questions that students would ask rather than giving them pat answers. Another goal of Gann’s program was for students to have more knowledge when they graduated than when they entered the school.
Stance is the unique contribution of Gann Academy to the field. While the school wanted students to grow in connection and knowledge, they did not predetermine the political stance. Students could explore any political stance, provided that it was rooted in their connections and knowledge. Gann educators noted that students form politics between the ages of 15-25. A high school education was only the beginning, not the end of the story. Stances change over that 10 year period and the goal of education is to give students the tools to develop their stances thoughtfully over that entire 10 year time period.
Reach out to me and find out how the Connection-Knowledge-Stance approach can benefit you, your colleagues, and your institution.
