This is Iliana, our generously approachable, warmly present, and keenly observant Supplemental Staff focused on Arts (although she has also taught psychology at school). Iliana grew up in the Hudson Valley and has been drawn to the path of art since she was a teeny-tiny; she studied Art Therapy and Multimedia Art during her university days and has experience working with children in therapeutic and educational contexts. In Zena Democratic School she has found a perfect match for her temperament and her beliefs about education, and she is excited to pursue Masters work in Art Therapy. She likes to read the last page of a book before beginning.
Opportunities
At Zena Democratic School, we pride ourselves on offering our students endless opportunities; they are free to pursue their interests, dabble in this and that, or to fall head over heels into a subject without interruption – for as long as the interest remains, or to follow it wherever it may lead.
But the most valuable opportunity we offer students is the time and space to discover who they are. Students at ZDS have time to be, to think, to talk, to play, to discover what they enjoy and appreciate and, equally importantly, what they don’t enjoy or appreciate. We offer an opportunity to practice crucial skills such as motivation, persistence, articulation, and humility, to be part of a democratic community, and to experience acceptance, cooperation, recognition, and celebration. This unstructured time is where the real beauty of the ZDS experience lies and where the most important learning usually takes place.
However, many people do love content and instruction, and there is plenty of organized and formal activity at school. Students often organize this on their own, or with the assistance or leadership of a Staff Member, but they may also request the Programming Clerk to facilitate whatever kind of instruction or activity they’d like to have, from basic reading instruction to skateboarding lessons to sex education; every topic under the sun is theoretically available for our students to explore and to receive instruction upon.