[etni] Dovrat revisited, etc
- From: Renee Whal <renew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:31:28 +0200
Hi,
I wonder whether you read the Dovrat report, David? I think that perhaps not
all teachers read it, but a great many did, including a great many English
teachers, who, like me, had to wade through hundreds of pages of Hebrew to do
so.
Dovrat was a bad deal for teachers, but the present program is even worse.
Although it was a long and wordy document, Dovrat was very sparce with details
and vague on how the various 'reforms' were going to be worked out. Just one
example was the sweeping statement that teachers would be provided with their
own workspace at school. There was no mention about when in the reform this
would take place (before the teachers had to start spending 36 hours at school,
one month after, 10 years after); what kind of facilities each teacher would
have at their disposal (desk, chair, room, locker, cubby, computer, printer,
phone) ; who was going to pay for these facilities and how much.
There was not one teacher on the Dovrat committee. Out of the approximately
150 (or was it 250 - It's been a long time since I read it) witnesses who
appeared before the committee (see the list at the end of the report), only 3
principals appeared and 2 pupils. There were no representatives of either of
the teachers' unions on the committee, nor were they invited to appear before
the committee.
Regarding the future of education in this country, I am not willing to trust
the intelligence (or the integrity) of any politician, journalist, Asa-El
included, or Ran Erez. But I'm trusting my own intelligence and considerable
experience.
Just because we are vociferously against the bad deal we're being pressured
into accepting, doesn't mean we're "shooting off our mouths"! Yes, it is hard
to get teachers to agree to any reform. They tend to examine these reforms
(which are usually proposed by politicians in an effort to save money on
education) carefully. I would just like to remind you of a recent reform in
English teaching which teachers were not happy to accept: The whole language
approach to reading.
No reform in education can be successful without the full and enthusiastic
cooperation of the teachers who have to implement it. This cooperation can
only be obtained through a serious discussion of the issues, mutual respect and
serious consideration of teacher input. Never by court order, dictated by
businessmen or politicians, smear campaigns by the media, or delegitimization
of our representatives (even if they aren't perfect).
Renee Wahl
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