----- Original Message ----- From: tessa shrem - tessashrem@xxxxxxxxx Subject: sanctions Michelle is absolutely right in saying the issue at hand is not whether the program is good or not. Many of us are delighted that literature will be back in the Bagrut exam. Still, there clearly are problems that need to be ironed out before the programme starts, and riding roughshod over teachers' concerns and saying the programme WILL start, so you had all better get the course done if you want to teach 11th and 12th grades is insulting and unprofessional. No, as Michelle and so many others have said, the main issue is money. The English teachers have seen their work-load increase at a dizzying rate over the last few years. The modular Bagrut forces us into hours of extra admin work – calculating THREE different magen garades, plus a magen for the Oral Bagrut, which we never had to do in the past. It also allows for many pupils who have done the first module in the 11th grade, to re-do the exam in the winter, with all the extra marking and admin this entails. Then there is the project. Also, the number of LD pupils increases from year to year, resulting in an increased number of kids requiring us to prepare cassettes and examine orally in our free time. The strike of the Irgun teachers at the beginning of last year while not achieving much else, at least changed my, and I believe, many other teachers' attitudes. Previously, most of us would moan and groan, but go ahead and do whatever extra work was demanded. Now, we are asking ourselves why we should carry on doing more and more without being remunerated for the extra work. The sanctions that went into effect at the beginning of the last school year are still in place and though some teachers have been saying that the Irgun hasn't come up with any improvement, and have begun to break ranks, it is ONLY through the Irgun that any change will come about. The extra gmul we will be getting on each module and the agreement that was signed concerning the LD pupils, although only partly implemented (not the Union's fault) will not make us rich, but at least it's a step in the right direction. If people break the sanctions, the Irgun is weakened and we will get NOTHING ! Judy is perfectly aware of how much more we are doing, and I'm sure she would pay us extra if it were up to her. Unfortunately this government (as well as the last few) does not put education very high on the list of its priorities, although from the speeches you would think otherwise, and it is only through threats and sanctions through the teachers' unions that we can hope for any improvement. ----------------------------------------------- ** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org or - http://www.etni.org.il ** ** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx ** ** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** -----------------------------------------------