Israel Arts and Science Academy (IASA) () is an Israeli boarding school for gifted high school students.

History

The Israel Arts and Science Academy (''Beit Hasefer Ha'tichon Hayisraeli Lemada'im Vela'omanuyot'') was founded in September 1990 by Mary Jane and Robert H. Asher and Raphi Amram. The students are religious and secular Jews,

Israeli Arabs The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

. They come from over 100 communities across Israel. The student body numbers approximately 300, including day students from Jerusalem, in addition to residential students. IASA students are accepted without regard for their financial ability; 70% receive scholarship assistance. Admission is based solely on merit. IASA's goals are excellence, leadership and community service. Pluralism and mutual respect are natural outcomes of living in the IASA community. Students may major in either

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

, or

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, though they study most subjects (those which are not related to their area of interest) in mixed classes. The science students choose one main subject, such as

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, or

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, and they must also learn

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and/or another subject. IASA's Music Department was shaped by the visions of three educators: Israeli composer and ethnomusicologist

Andre Hajdu André Hajdu (; ; 5 March 1932 – 1 August 2016) was a Hungarian-born Israeli composer and Ethnomusicology, ethnomusicologist. Biography Hajdu studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Endre Szervánszky and Ferenc Szabó (c ...

(student of

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

and

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

), composer and educator Michael Wolpe, and teacher of ear-training Bat Sheva Rubinstein. The Music Department has produced a generation of young Israeli musicians. The studies in the Art Department consist of painting, sculpting, photography, and video art classes. Students also study the history of modern art and classic art. In their second year, students write their own academic paper about any art topic they choose. In their third year, students work on their final practical exhibit. The

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

Department was opened in the 2007–2008

school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...

. It was opened in a partial experimental format in 2006-2007. The students learn by the "

Great books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

" curriculum, which emphasizes reading

primary sources In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

, group discussions, commentary,

analysis Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

and

academic writing Academic writing or scholarly writing refers primarily to nonfiction writing that is produced as part of academic work in accordance with the standards of a particular academic subject or discipline, including: * reports on empirical fieldwork o ...

. The department's "Unique Program" includes several courses arranged in a chrono-

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

order, from

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

to the

Modern Era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

. Each course has a different dominant

discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

, but the program is

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

in its nature. The students submit during every course several academic papers. Besides this program, the students must fulfill three other requirements: * Study of a second

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...

: Besides the mandatory

English studies English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries. This is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a dis ...

in Israel's school system, The Department's students are obliged to learn

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, French or

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Students with a background knowledge of another language may learn it instead. * Enhanced studies of two subjects: The student may choose from

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

Jewish thought Jewish thought (, ''Machshevet Yisrael''), also known as Judaic thought or Hebraic thought, is a field of Jewish studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, and their historical development. The field a ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. A student who wishes to study an

exact science The exact sciences or quantitative sciences, sometimes called the exact mathematical sciences, are those sciences "which admit of absolute precision in their results"; especially the mathematical sciences. Examples of the exact sciences are ma ...

may do so within the Science Department's "secondary science" studies. * Writing a final dissertation: The students write a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

in any field of knowledge of the humanities. Dissertations are held to a high academic standard, and are written under the instruction of M.A.s and PhD.s from academic institutes and from the school's staff. Students often participate and win in competitions for remarkable dissertations held by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and other research institutes. Israel Arts and Science Academy dormitory

The students often go on school trips, usually to locations which are relevant to the "Unique Program" studies (e.g.

Judaean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert (, ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that stretches east of the ridge of the Judaean Mountains and in their rain shadow, so east of Jerusalem, and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, ...

Jerusalem's Old City The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...

). Since the 2012–2013 school year, students and teachers of the department hold a Book Club in which they read a

literary work Literary work is a generic term for works of literature, i.e. texts such as fiction and non-fiction books, essays, screenplays''.'' In the philosophy of art and the field of aesthetics there is some debate about what that means, precisely. What a ...

and conduct a meeting where they discuss and analyze the piece.

Service programs

Sh’nat Sherut is a voluntary year of public service which graduates of Israeli high schools may undertake in addition to their army service. Nationally, 2.8% of high school graduates volunteer for this program. Recently, with permission granted by appropriate army offices, 42% of IASA graduates volunteered for Sh’nat Sherut. This is a result of IASA's unique Crown Community Service Program. Every student provides community service every Tuesday afternoon during the three years at IASA.

Alumni

Notable alumni include the Israeli Arab journalist

Sayed Kashua Sayed Kashua (, ; born 1975) is an author and journalist. He is a Palestinian people, Palestinian citizen of Israel, born in Tira, Israel. He is known for his books and humorous columns in Hebrew and English. Early life Kashua was born in Tira, ...

; composers Aviya Kopelman and Matti Kovler; historian Yair Mintzker; and Eran Shir, the founder of Dapper. Inc. Saying that following Israel's actions in Gaza, "courageous civic activism" had become necessary, dozens of IASA graduates published a letter in December 2014 calling on Israelis to refuse serving in the IDF, become

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

s and stop what they view as oppression of Palestinians. Deputy Education Minister Avi Wortzman protested the letter, saying, "The signers of the letter are using the name of the school to gain media attention, and this is a terrible act"."Yarden Skop 'Graduates of elite Jerusalem high school call for draft refusal'" (28 December 2014) Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.634184

References

External links

The Society for Excellence through Education official siteIASA's official site
{{coord, 31.7515253, N, 35.1769567, E, source:hewiki_region:IL_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Gifted education Education in Jerusalem High schools in Israel Boarding schools in Israel Educational institutions established in 1990 1990 establishments in Israel

History

Service programs

Alumni

See also

References

External links