I spent this week in Israel with one of my clients, Dror Israel. Dror works with youth in schools, afterschool programs, youth group, and summer camps. It was an amazing four days that both inspired me further with the work they do and also challenged me to ask why we can’t replicate it here in the US. At a time when it’s clear that we have lousy leadership throughout our organizations, local, state, and federal governments, and internationally, why can’t we look to a different model that not only inspires leadership but teaches it. That not only values the individual but also the group. That has proven to work across diverse groups of people. What stops us from actually doing better?

Here is a great example of what we saw in Israel with a Dror school in Ravid. The students wanted to have a music room. There were two challenges to adding a music room. There was no existing room that could be repurposed for a music room and while there was plenty of room to build a music room, there was no money to build a new music room. Simple, right? In America, this would mean there would simply be no music room. Two good reasons, a lack of creativity to figure out a solution, so the answer is simply ‘no’. Not with a Dror school!

The students wanted the music room so they had to figure out a solution. And figure it out they did! They learned that there were old shuttle buses that used to take people from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion airport that no longer worked. They learned that if they could get one of the shuttle buses to the school, they could have the bus for free. The school has a maker space where they use 3D printing and computer software to design things build in a mdoern ‘wood shop’. What did the students do? They used their technology and what they had available to them to make their own drum set! Problem solved. Solution achieved. There is now an amazing music room, housed in the old shuttle bus, that students use all the time. Imagine if our students, leaders, government, etc. used this type of thinking. Imagine if they were empowered to find solutions to our problems

I would love to do something like this at my house to make an art studio for my wife. Put in some air conditioning and she’d have exactly what she wants without having to lose a bedroom in the house, without having to convert our garage and lose that space. Without having to deal with permits and zoning. If you ever see an old bus in my driveway, you will know that I was inspired by the High School students of Ravid and that it is an art studio, not a bus!!

We have so many children struggling in school in the United States and no solutions for them. This was before Covid closed schools for up to 2 years and made it even worse. I was proud when my younger son decided to stay home and go to Community College where he could learn to wake up, do homework, study, and get back into the learning mode without the stress of going away to college. He graduated with his AA Magna Cum Laude and now that he is at a traditional 4-year University, he is doing outstanding academically. He was the minority who made that non-traditional decision. Our education system doesn’t encourage creative thinking or solutions. It doesn’t encourage learning, it is based on test scores.

The Dror schools are based on a different philosophy. Teachers are encouraged to engage students where they are. They are required to listen and learn from their students. They get to know their students as people, not just as test scores. While everybody at Dror is an educator, they play different roles. Listening to those in the classroom talk about their students was enlightening. They knew about their home life. Those who struggled to get to school regularly would get phone calls from their educators every morning to make sure they were awake and coming to school. They call them educators instead of teachers because that’s what they are doing. Educating. Not teaching to a test. Not teaching things to regurgitate on a test when you can simply find the information on your phone when you need it. They are educating them for life. Showing them how to treat people, how to invest in people and relationships. How to succeed in life, not on an exam.

At the school in Ravid, we saw some incredible, creative ways to encourage learning. They have a stable for horses and teach riding. It’s not just riding though. The students are required to do everything for the stables. They get up early to feed the horses. They clean the stables. They rub down the horses. It’s not just a class on horseback riding. It’s a class on life, responsibility, and committment. They teach that joy comes with work. We met Tamar, a wonderful 16 year old young woman there, 16 year. She shared her story with us. She was struggling at a regular school. Nobody paid attention to her. She was lost. She spent too much time out late doing things she ‘shouldn’t have been doing.’ At the Dror school in Ravid, the teachers paid attention to her. She said, “when I need to, I can get up, leave class, smoke a cigarette, and then come back.” Hearing her love for the school and for learning was exciting. She loved the horses but that wasn’t what she wanted to focus on. She told us her goal was to get her certificate in dog training. The school doesn’t just have stables and horses. They have a kennel and an entire dog training curriculum. For those who love animals, they can get a real education in this school and leave with a trade to ensure they have a successful life. Imagine education focused on that instead of test scores to get you into college to get a degree that you can’t find a job with.

We see this type of thinking in Israel all the time. Tel Aviv was an empty beach 115 years ago. Now it’s a thriving city and one of the world centers of technology and innovation.

Israel, an agricultural country just 40 years ago, became known as start-up nation in the 2000s. Computer chips, instant messaging and SMS technology, along with medical innovations and much more all come from Israel. Massive use of desalinization to create drinkable water and water for irrigation is Israel. Drip irrigation is Israel.

Warren Buffet famously said, “If you are looking for brains, energy and dynamism in the Middle East, Israel is the only place you need to go.”

He also said, “In industries ranging from software to textiles, Israelis have shown that they have a special genius for devising creative solutions to problems.”

My final Warren Buffet quote is, “Israel has created a miracle in the desert. It is a miracle of creativity and innovation.

Each of these quotes reinforces what the Dror educational model in Israel does. Creative. Innovation. Solutions. Genius. Brains. Energy. Dynamism. Inspired to use their minds to find solutions. To analyze the situation and be creative to find a resolution.

Faced with 150,000 rockets in the north with the Iran proxy Hezbollah threatening, Israel had a real issue to deal with. This was not Hamas with far fewer rockets and far inferior weapons. This was an existential threat. How did Israel address this? On September 17th, the beepers that Hezbollah was using went off and then exploded, killing, injuring, and maiming thousands of terrorists. The next day, the walkie talkies they switched to exploded, killing, injuring and maiming even more terrorists. Their communications network destroyed, their leaders injured, Hezbollah was weakened. Israel targeted their leadership and eliminated them.

Truly weakened, Israel moved in. They began bombing the Hezbollah military sites where these rockets and the rocket launchers were kept. They destroyed rockets and rocket launchers, limiting what Hezbollah can do to attack them.

This doesn’t mean that Hezbollah can’t attack Israel, they can and have. The area around Haifa is under attack tonight however as big as it is, it could have been worse. They still have plenty of rockets. They are now limited. Hezbollah’s main target tonight was the Ramat David air base, where most of the Israeli jets flying into Lebanon have been based. Half of the rockets were intercepted, some direct hits in Nazareth, but no injuries reported thus far. Ramat David air base was not harmed. Israel used creativity, innovation, genius, and boldness to find a solution to the massive amount of rockets on her northern border.

To give you context, I was in Acre (Akko), Karmiel, and that area just a few days ago. I was in Nazareth, where this video was taken. Israel isn’t a big country and needs to use their creativity and innovation to stay alive.

I started by writing about the creative way students got a music room and ended with the creative way that Israel reduced the threat. It is all about creativity and encouraging the use of minds to find solutions. Despite the rockets falling in Israel tonight, Israelis remain undeterred. They know there is a solution for everything when they put their mind to it. This video was from Nazareth, the same place as the fire above, after the rockets fell.