Career
In 1909, he founded the Dusturiyyah school, which became known for its Arab nationalist approach. He pioneered a progressive education system: no grades, prizes or punishments for students, and an emphasis on music education and athletics. He also introduced new methods of teaching Arabic, and made it the primary language of instruction instead of Turkish. Sakakini led a movement to reform and Arabize what he saw as a corrupt Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, and wrote a pamphlet in 1913 titled "The Orthodox Renaissance in Palestine", which led to his excommunication. Ottoman authorities arrested him on the last day of their rule in 1917 after he sheltered a Polish-American Jew and fellow Jerusalemite, Alter Levine. They were sent to prison in Damascus. Levine was declared an enemy when the United States joined the Allies of World War I. The two became close friends during their incarceration. After his release, Sakakini boarded for a brief time with Musa Alami, a former pupil, and then joined the Arab Revolt, whose anthem he composed.
In 1919, Sakakini and his wife began to work for the Educational Authority of Palestine in Jerusalem, and Sakakinin was appointed head of the Jerusalem Teachers’ College. He later became Inspector for Education for Palestine, a post he held for 12 years, until his resignation in protest at the appointment of a Jew as High Commissioner of the Palestine Mandate, Herbert Samuel. After working as a school principal in Cairo, he returned in 1926 and became an educational inspector. This allowed him to bring his educational philosophy to rural villages. At the same time, he wrote political commentaries for the newspapers al-Muqtataf, al-Hilal and al-Siyassa al-Usbu'iyya, composed patriotic poems and spoke at political rallies. In 1925, he founded the Wataniyya school, and in 1938 the Nahda College in Jerusalem. In May 1934, Sakakini invested much time and energy in building a new home in the Katamon neighbourhood, which took three years to complete.
Read more about this topic: Khalil Al-Sakakini
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