Israel Speaks
Same as in other Western countries also Israel has compulsory education
obligating parents to give their children legal basic education.
Major responsibility of educating the growing generation lies on the
teachers' shoulders.
In Israel teachers have for a long time not been a popular profession.
It has decreased the level of education and students' performance.
In recent years, the country's lea- ders have tried to improve the level
of education and teachers, in particular.
Katzrin is the biggest settlement in the Golan area in Northern Israel.
Zvi Bodenheimer is the principal of the religious Darkei Noam school.
Our school is an elementary school which has 200 students
from ages 6 to 12.
Because this is a religious school, from 4th grade onwards
boys and girls study separately.
We also have students who are new immigrants.
We have immigrants from 3 continents.
They have immigrated from Ethiopia, the Netherlands, North America and
Canada in recent years.
The education system in Israel inclu- des religious and general education.
Religious education in Israel is consi- dered a part of the state's values.
We study the same things: mathematics, English and science
according to the general study program but there are more religious studies.
Teachers in religious schools are generally motivated to work,
because it supports their religious values.
Therefore, there are much more male teachers in religious schools
than in general schools.
The school also requires boys to use kipa.
Religious schools also put more emphasis on respect.
The children stand up when the teacher enters the classroom.
The Israeli system requires a lot of work from the teachers
outside of school hours.
They prepare for classes, talk on the phone with parents
and check homework. It takes up a lot of time in the evenings.
Even though the school day ends at 1 or 2 pm, there is still 2-3 hours
of work to be done at home.
People speak of the teachers' long vacations, but they trully need rest
and even then they use part of their time to prepare for the next phase.
Everyone knows that teachers have a great significance in the education
of the country's youth. Nevertheless, respect for teachers
and their salaries are not equal to the workload.
Now we are trying to have the teachers spend more hours in school.
They work more hours and also the salaries rise accordingly.
This new method has raised the sala- ries and the requirements slightly.
However, there is still much to do.
The difficulty in teachers' work is also connected with the children
themselves. Numerous people in the education field say that recently
the behaviour of school children has changed drastically.
In recent years children have become more self-centered.
Today, every child has a cellphone whose style and colour he can choose.
If we teach the children that they can decide about everything
it's hard for them to listen in school where they are no longer in charge.
Here you encounter the change in children's attitude.
It has to be acknowledged and you need to use a slightly different
language with them.
The school won't compromise on the requirements of communication.
Schools in Israel take children's individual needs well into account.
The schools take responsibility.
There are school councellors and psychologists who give great
individual treatment to the students.
There has been a change for the better.
Children's different needs are taken into account.
If a child cannot study, he is not necessarily lazy, but he needs help
because he might have a disorder or a special need.
I think religion and education have a similar message.
There is an authority, whom you have to listen to, whether you
like it or not.
In a religious atmosphere, you have to obey God even if you don't
understand. The same applies to teachers and parents.
When we received the ten commandments
they were written on two tables.
The first table included laws between man and God
and the second between men.
On first side it says: Respect your father and mother
because it has the same idea: There is an authority above me.
There are many institutions in Israel where the country's future teachers
and educators are studying.
Shimon Amar leads the Ohalo University in Katzrin.
This university educates teachers for the needs of Northern Israel.
We offer high education for teachers in Northern Israel.
The institution has a great influence on the Upper Galilee and
the Golan regions.
We educate teachers who will work as educators in schools
in Israel's Northern peripherial areas.
There are many developing cities in the area such as Hazor, Kiryat Shmona
Beit Shean and Afula, some of which are located right on the Northern
or Eastern border of the state.
We educate teachers for elementary and secondary schools, -
kindergartens as well as educators for children with special needs
such as Asperger syndrome or autism.
We educate teachers also for mathe- matics, English, Jewish philosophy
and other fields required in school education.
Currently our institution has approximately 1200 students.
Some 800 of them graduate to become teachers and 400-500
do supplementary studies.
So there are 800 future teachers.
It's important for me to promote our students employment in places
where they can influence the future of Israel.
I believe that every teacher graduate receives knowledge here
which helps them to shape Israel's future.
Earlier about 80% of the students were women and 20% were men.
Now the situation is changing and over 30% are men.
In supplementary education the majority are men.
In the beginning, there were more women applying to the field, -
but the majority of those working in the education field later on are men.
We want to be a pluralistic institu- tion drawing students from every
population group.
We have Druze students from the Golan and Galilee, -
as well as Bedouin, Mouslim and Christian students.
All in all the, we feel that the institution is taking its role
in influencing the Northern Israeli school system.
Tal Chabad comes from the Mediterranean shore city of Naharya.
She is a 2nd year physical education student in the Ohalo University.
I chose the education field, because I love children.
I believe I can give a lot to my country in this field.
Physical education is very close to my heart.
It's a good way to connect with the children.
Currently I study 3 days a week and teach one day in a school in Acre.
The studies are based a lot on pedagogics
as well as on the physiology of the human body.
Every sport has a course: -
football, basketball, handball, athletics and volley ball.
-Shalom, this is Shira. She is very cute.
After graduation I hope to find my place in the Israeli education system
to contribute to many children.
I also want to instruct free time activities which support
the children's fitness and individual situation.
This is a calling for me because I really want to change things
even if I would be able to change the situation of only a few children.
Tahrir Soad comes from the Galilean Bedouin village of Wadi Salame.
I study sciences; biology, chemistry and other sciences.
In the future I will work as a science teacher
in secondary schools.
The study material is not hard for me, -
because I studied biology and chemistry already in high school.
It gave me a basis. I have also studied the chemical food industry.
The teaching is clear and it includes Power Point presentations, -
laboratory and study tours.
My relatives were against my studies.
My father, however, is one of those who supports
his children to study.
He wants us to make our living in a respectable profession.
My uncles were against my studies, because they are religious
and do not accept the fact that the daughter of the family
is outside of the house.
My parents' support, however, gave me the courage to continue.
Aharoni Dorel is a father of three who lives in the Golan.
This is my first year of academic studies.
My field is special education, but because the first year includes
general basic studies, they include very many subjects.
There is philosophy, democracy, education and also teacher training.
One day a week we are in schools and have practice lessons with the
students to get a little bit acquainted with the teaching.
We also have to improve our English in order to be able to
read the texts.
We study everything general related to the education field
which give basis for us to be good teachers.
It was clear that I would study this field because the future of
Israel and the whole world is in education.
I chose special education, because I feel my mission are youth
with special problems.
There are many young people who have grown up in difficult circumstances
and to whom life has not smiled.
My vision is to establish a home for young people who have dropped out
of school or society.
In this institution I would like to give individual support for every
young person and encourage them in their own field.
I also want to help them finish their education
and to help them advance towards a better future.
There are many steps on the way towards a dream.
As a special education teacher you have to be able to see every individual's
difficulty, situation and background.
You have the opportunity to help people move forward
and also earn your living in a respectable job.
There are those to whom being a teacher is a calling.
For others the field seems nice.
The institution can also be situated close by.
For some people teachers' vacations and other benefits sound nice
and enable the combination of family life and work.
An interesting trend, however, is that more and more people have
a clear calling and a desire to influence.
Some people who served in the army's special units, -
earlier went to the IT business.
There are still those who change technology to education.
Many academic people apply to us for supplementary studies.
Education draws people who want to contribute to society
and have an influence.
I am one of those as well.
As an academically educated person, I work in the private and public
sectors and I decided to supplement my studies in the education field
where I feel I can influence.
I have brought many ways of thinking into my leadership style from
my previous jobs, such as Intel.
I include different perspectives in my study programs
than I would have had I come to my position through the education institute.
One of the biggest challenges is bringing the country's education
up to date with the rapidly developing Western technology.
This creates difficulties for many teachers used to teaching
through traditional methods.
Just a few years ago Israel was way behind many Western countries.
Classrooms in England had already 5 years ago interactive boards.
Here we didn't have them anywhere.
A year ago the government decided to invest 5 billion ¤ in a national
program which changes the pattern into a technology based system
with regards to classroom equipment.
The greatest change, however, is the increase in teachers' professionality.
Teachers are being educated to adopt the new working patterns.
It was necessary, because children are oriented towards the 21st century
when the school was from the 19th century.
The change occurs both in the material and its presentation.
Teachers who use Power Point and videos say that the interest
of their students has grown.
Even the students special needs can better be taken into account.
Each teacher goes through a change.
One teacher who made her first Power Point presentation was very
excited about her achievement.
Every teacher has his own pace of change.
I hope the teacher education institutes are updated on this
because we have to prepare the children for the 21st century.
The Israeli school system is constantly searching for itself.
20-30 years ago our school system was one of the best in the world.
Something happened throughout the years and gradually Israel fell
behind from Europe.
During the last decade our Education Ministers have invested a lot
to change the situation.
It is interesting that although the Israeli school system is not the
best in the world, the individuals who go through it, however, are.
Many high tech businesses who have graduates from this institution
are world leaders in their field.
What is the reason? Apparently life after school has
prepared them to face problematic situations in a different way.
The question is how the school system can predict these situations
and include them into the education of the younger generation.
Ohalo University tries to apply pedagogics to the 21st century.
We believe that we as an educational institution have a word to say
in the whole country and why not in the whole world as well.
We educate the future teacher generation.
The future will probably be very different.
It includes a lot of technology and less knowledge.
It has many changing situations and not much dealing with the past.
It doesn't mean that you shouldn't teach history or anything else.
New ways of acquiring information have to be taught.
We have instructed lectureres whose task is to educate
the new generation of educators.
A good teacher is the one whose student after a few years remembers
and notices that where he is now was influenced by the teacher.
It can include a little bit of his teaching and a lot of his attitude.
A good teacher masters his field and is a person who wants to take
the child forward in life.
It doesn't mean always saying yes to the child.
I set boundaries, but believe in him and require certain things from him -
this together with knowledge sharing.
Translation: Sonja Mattayev