Kindezi Philosophy
 
Our school’s approach to pedagogy, school organization, community-building, and much more is inspired by the principles and practices of the Bantu people of Kongo, Africa. Their indigenous pedagogy, Kindezi, literally means to take responsibility for the care and holistic development of other people’s children. They express their commitment to collective responsibility in the following proverb: “The child in the mother’s womb is the burden of one person; outside (born) it belongs to everybody (in the community).”
 
Kindezi, as an educational system, was born when colonizers came to the Kongo region from Belgium and forced both mother and father to work for them. This forced the primary educators, mother and father, to be away from their children during most of the day. However, the remaining figures of the community, those who could not work in the fields (mostly elders), took on the responsibility of caring for the cognitive, social/emotional, and physical development of each child in the community. These mentor/tutors were called Kindezi. What they created was a seamless Kindezi-based educational system that left absolutely no cracks for children to slip through.
 
The most amazing part of this story is that their pedagogical practices are profoundly supported by modern scientific research. For example, we can now scientifically prove that children do learn better in family-sized groups because children benefit more from tutorial than large group instruction, that relationships and community are integral to school success, and that teacher-centered instructional methods should ideally be balanced with child-centered learning. This is more than a coincidence. Kindezi has a lot to teach us about what practices are most natural to all of humanity. By following the researched-based principles and practices of Kindezi, we will put our school community in a position to truly take responsibility for helping all of our students to reach their potential.

Principles and Practices of Kindezi
 
Family-sized groups: Preserve the natural family-like organization of children at all costs. For most of human history children have been nurtured, tutored, and disciplined in families. Even if children must leave their families for education, they should remain in family-style organization.
 
The primacy of tutorial: Adults are naturally gifted tutors and students are naturally able to learn through Socratic tutorial. Schools should deliver as much instruction through tutorial as possible.
 
Relationships: A community that has strong bonds will be united in achieving its aim. Therefore, a school will achieve its mission only if the community is united through trust, respect, and collaboration.
 
Authentic learning: Children should not learn about the world only from books when they could be out in the world seeing it for themselves. It is important to leave the sadula (place of learning) and visit the world and community that children are a part of.
 
Balance child-centered and teacher-centered instructional approaches: There is a time for children to be actively creating, playing, and investigating but there is also a time for teachers to be actively explaining, demonstrating, and revealing. It is important to find the right balance.
 
Holistic development: Healthy cognitive, social/emotional and physical development are linked. Educators must protect and nurture all dimensions of the child.
 
The Arts: The arts hold potential as an effective tool for teaching and reinforcing core academic subjects.
 
Differences are normal: There is nothing unnatural about children being different from one another. We must expect, value, respect, and accommodate all types of children.
 
Demonstrate democracy: The best way to teach children the principles of equality and democracy are through example.