[etni] Fwd: RE: HOTS again
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- Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:34:08 +0300
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From: ELEANOR ZWEBNER <eleanorz541@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: HOTS again
Failing HOTS
You have to work pretty hard to FAIL a log ......
Our opposition to the LOG is multiple
a) as in internal grade it means the Bagrut is no longer a
standardized test - 20% oral, 33% of the written a log --- this means
that the national exam is no longer valid nor reliable.
b) In many schools pressure will be applied to teachers to inflate
grades. This exists already. I was threatened in the teachers' room
in my school because of an F module school grade.
c) Besides the headache of the log over a 3 year period ( or perhaps
2 ...), many of us have experienced the following with regards to the
PROJECT : despite letters home and discussions with parents, projects
are not submitted on time and "all along the process" however they
suddenly appear the day before or the day of the oral bagrut or the
oral bagrut "matkonet" -- if you have one. When the teacher stands
his/her ground -- this project was not according to the rules...
suddenly parents are in school arguing with teacher, rakaz,
vice-principal, principal. Of course these are not all the pupils --
but 1 or 2 in every class and then you have 4,5 8 classes -- Our
principals ( and me -- I'm the Rakezet) are sick of the projects for
this reason --we must brace ourselves every year for the same scenes
DESPITE letters and explanations BEFORE, DURING & AFTER and even on
the report card.
By the way -- in our school we have always done a variety of
projects, performance tasks, mini-projects --each adapted to the level
being taught. In general, we LIKE projects. We do NOT like sending
4 pointers to do RESEARCH in English. And we do not like the scenes I
described above.
d) The log as more work -- many teachers feel that the HOTS has
improved their literature teaching -- great. But those that have been
in touch with us -- MANY MANY MANY -- have said it IS a tremendous
increase in the workload. It is not just a matter of a "new or
different preparation".
e) If neither the log nor the project are more work then why are
Biology and Civics teachers getting MORE HOURS (0.4 of an hour) JUST
FOR DOING A PROJECT. And by the way, since I am "on a roll" kvetching
about the workload -- does the Ministry require 5 book reports for
Hebrew (or comparative --in translation) literature -- even for the
major (megama?). But we do it in EFL!
f) We --the English teachers -- have already been saving the MOE
money on the oral bagrut. Once upon a time -- there were 2 testers
and there was no "school grade" specifically for the oral bagrut. Now
there is ONE tester and an internal grade for the Oral Bagrut. Doing
a LOG over 2 -3 years instead of an external exam means the MOE will
not have to print thousands of exams -- only a few hundreds, fewer
invigilators (proctors), and fewer markers -- and for the F that is 2
markers! Being a true Zionist -- sure, let us English teachers take
the work upon ourselves and save the Ministry money. Of course, it
will end up funnelled back into the schools -- we will have more
hours, smaller classes - right? Yeah, sure, right...
g) Literature was taken OUT of the oral exam for a variety of reasons.
Among them was the complaint that the testers were expecting to hear
the same answers they had been teaching in their classes and that the
testers ( perhaps out of boredom? ) were asking questions about
obscure details in the material. Won't this become the case with the
written D or F exams? And if you say "certainly not !" -- then why
can't the list of literature be more open? Say a required core and
everything else approved by the local inspector? How is this managed
in Hebrew literature? How is this managed in New York State where
there is a State wide Regents examination with essay questions on the
literature?
In short -- there ARE alternatives if one is interested in looking. It
seems no one is interested....
And in long -- inspired teachers inspire their pupils. Angry
teachers who feel bitter and alienated will not inspire their pupils.
In fact, we won't implement the program as it stands now. We will of
course continue to teach literature. We will of course include
literary terms in our teaching as always ( despite the IRONY of the
situation ) and of course, we will continue to teach critical thinking
skills as always -- they too are needed both for a fuller enjoyment
of literature and for the bagrut.
By the way -- this letter talks mostly about work and therefore about
money / time. The issues of weal pupils or where HOTS belongs are not
addressed here --but they are of PARAMOUNT importance!
And I take this opportunity to repeat again to those of you out there
sitting on the fence:
yes, teaching is a profession, not a job and we all want to do our
best. But if our union imposes sanctions and stands by us to enable
us to get full recognition of the investment we make -- only by
complying with the sanctions will we succeed. Otherwise, in 2 years
there WILL BE A NEW BAGRUT according to the objectionable program that
stands now.
So stay on the fence -- DON'T IMPLEMENT.
Eleanor
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