Five days to learn from those who live it every day.
What does it take to raise a boy?
Teachers, certainly.
Is that enough?
At LiberSchool, we don’t think so.
That is why, every year, during the last week of school—once exams are over—students in the first, second, and third years of middle school take part in the “Arts and Crafts” program.
For five mornings, each student chooses the profession they want to learn more about and shadows someone in their daily work. Not to decide on a career, but because there are things you can only learn by meeting real people.
There are some things that no lesson can replace:
- the patience of a craftsman,
- the care of a teacher,
- the relationship with a customer,
- the satisfaction of creating something with your own hands.
These are experiences that no lesson can replace.
This week exists because every year someone decides to make room.
For a few days, he slows down his own work, answers a hundred questions, delegates small tasks, lets others try, and offers encouragement.
Over the years , our students have worked alongside goldsmiths, educators, herbalists, hairdressers, entrepreneurs, an insurance agent, and ice cream makers… Every year, they choose the path that intrigues them the most.
It doesn’t matter what the profession is. What matters is the act of opening up your world to a young person.
This year, someone came home with a silver bracelet they made themselves.
Someone else found the courage to touch up their fellow apprentice’s haircut, under the hairdresser’s watchful eye.
Some people have discovered that there are many hours of work behind a tub of ice cream… and that cleaning the ice cream machine is the best part.
And who, after a week at daycare, saw the teachers’ work in a whole new light.
And then there’s the ice cream vendor, who found a handwritten note from his apprentices over the weekend: “Scara, we just wanted to thank you for your help and patience.”
— Vanda and Arya
They’re just little incidents. And those are the ones who stay.
A school can teach many things.
But when someone takes a young person under their wing, they offer them something that goes beyond just a trade: time, trust, responsibility, and passion.
It takes a community to support a school.
We would like to thank the artisans, professionals, and organizations of the Damanhur Community who open their world to our young people every year.
During those five days, you didn’t just share a profession with them. You became part of their journey of growth.