[etni] So... Let's speak up!
- From: דינה ברקוביץ' <dina2b@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Etni <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 02:24:58 +0200
Dear English teachers,
I admit I'm new. A third year English teacher, and first time starting the
Log. And I thought to myself that all the pressure I'm under derives from
my inexpereience. However, reading the last few complaints of brave
teachers who dared speak their minds, I see I'm not alone.
I have never expected teaching to be easy. Nonetheless, this was always
what I've wanted to do. My goals in becoming an English teacher were to
make English lessons as interesting and enjoable for my students as they
were for me, and on the process to try and bring out the best in my
students, encouraging them to accept difficulties as challenges.
Instead, I'm finding myself spending most of my "free" time trying to keep
up with the new requirements, writing and re-writing exams, (and checking
them). Insead of enabling my students to use creative thinking, to get
exposed to other materials besides the text books and to happily use their
language skills on topics which are relevant for their lives, I'm finding
myself trying to make them do, think and write as expected in the
teacher's Handbook and cover the material. Instead of having my weak
highschool students aquire English in a way they would find enjoyable and
satisfying, I'm having them parroting back to me answers that they are
required to answer like robots, and dreading bridging questions that-
let's be honest- some of the English teachers don't know how to begin to
answer.
And we all want our students to do best, and to ensure *that* we need to
keep evaluating them, so we find ourselves spending a lifetime of checking.
And when we don't check exams and quizes, we are filling out forms, or
speak to parents, or plan our lessons in such a way that G-d forbid
something will be missing in our student's logs... Because it's really us
who are being checked, and not the students.
Being a good English teacher these days requires to give up free time
whatsoever. We English teachers are becoming slaves to irrational and
endless tasks, which we're not even being paid for.
A happy teacher makes creative and ambitious students. The new
developments in the English Bagrut are making the exact opposite. Teachers
are out of their ways to meet the requirments of the Ministry, the schools
and the pupils.
Instead of encouraging English teachers to use their creativity and
relationship with their students to make them curious and more proficient,
the people who are in charge of the new Bagrut and the inspectors are
making us trying to keep up with the material and we crave for one single
moment in which we do *not* have to do something which is somehow related
to school and being affraid of getting fired.
It is time for English teachers to speak up. We want to do our job well.
But we cannot be treated like slaves. If this situations continues, let us
not wonder how there are hardly English teachers left.
And don't forget, THEY NEED US.
So... I know you are all over busy, trying to do your jobs as best as you
can, not to mention you all have your personal lives to take care of
(apparantly no one has bothered to consider that...) but we must look
ahead, and if we do not act now things will remain the same and possibly
get worse.
I think we should demonstrate. Letters of complaints do not seem to help.
And if you, like me, want to continue being an English teacher, aspire to
improve as such, make a proper living but not suffer throughout your entire
career, it is time to act now.
Compalining in teachers rooms and forums doesn't help.
What do we do?
Concerned,
Dina Berkovich
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- » [etni] So... Let's speak up! - דינה ברקוביץ'