Presentation: Pedagogy in the Spirit of Jazz
The brief presentation below is intended to stimulate the imagination and invite deeper engagement with a project led by the Friends of HTH Community in Israel – a project on which we worked intensively for about two years (2024–2025).
The project, ultimately inspired by a visit the author made to the HTH Network, San Diego. It is focused on a unique integration of education in general and pedagogy in particular with the spirit of jazz.
The essence of this approach lies in a constant dynamic oscillation between contrasting poles: individual–society; constraints–freedom; solidity–fluidity; cosmos–chaos, and more.
The presentation includes excerpts from the Pedagogical Manifesto published in the book, together with relevant illustrations. It is accompanied by a phenomenal piece of jazz improvisation (also discussed at length in the book). Its distinctive style – unusual in both tone and form – draws inspiration from the "manifestos of modernism," written mainly in the second and early third decades of the twentieth century.
The book aims to invite partners in the field to take part in transforming the ideas presented into a concrete training and work program, in order to implement them within the education–pedagogy system, thereby reshaping our schools.
I warmly welcome anyone who wishes to reach out – let’s talk, reflect, and collaborate in the directions proposed.
"We are reminded of a story told about the jazz legend John Coltrane (known as “Trane”), who once confessed to his colleague Miles Davis: "I don’t know what it is… It seems like when I get going, I just don’t know how to stop." To which Davis, always direct and to the point, replied: “Why don’t you just take the horn out of your mouth?”
So I will be content with these words, and instead direct you to the sources below, which you are invited to download directly from the site.
Note: To anyone who chooses to join the magical journey to the HTH Network, San Diego, I suggest remaining open to an experience that may be moving, and perhaps even hypnotic.
Live it, draw your lessons, and share your reflections – with us and with others.
Dr. Idan Yaron
