[etni] fw: Re: the war and us
- From: ask@xxxxxxxx
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:56:28 -0700
From: "Mer JH" <mjh_teacher@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: the war and us
Daniel wrote: "Do we really need to address the war
issues with our students in English class?" "They get
enough of the war talks in history, and other classes."
Well dear Daniel- Although I understand you, I strongly disagree.
1. English is a tool of communication, which our students
should master. Being able to speak about and react to the
events around us is one of the most important aims of our
teaching and is part of the English curriculum. Especially
in times of crisis, we need speakers who can present our point
of view in any language the media is willing to hear it. In
this war, when the media was in the battlefield and many
interviews with Israeli soldiers were broadcasted around the
world, I witnessed again the impact the proper usage of the
language had on the interviewer's point of view. We, as a nation,
"picture better" to the world when our speakers speak fluently
in any language. Although we're hoping they wouldn't have to fight,
our students are the soldiers of tomorrow and the speakers of today,
and that is what we have to prepare them for.
2. As for boring the students: Each teacher can and should deal
with the war from a different aspect. In a Yeshiva high school,
you could relate to AHAVAT AHIM, HESED IN WAR TIME, PIKUAH NEFES
related to the war in addition to. The secret is cooperation
between the teachers, to avoid repetition and boring the kids.
During English lessons, you could relate to the war and the situation
in Israel during/after the war through a poem, a story or a newspaper
article or in relation to what you're teaching.
E.g.: When revising "personal details" to my 7th graders in the
central area at the beginning of the year, we're going to discuss
relevance of information in different circumstances, relate to
families from the north who were looking for a place to stay during
the war and as a performance task, the kids will plan and prepare
a form that will assist matching hosting families, fill in details
of imaginary families and try to match them. (We'll introduce/review
vocabulary, review the formation of questions and answering them
- present simple)
You could do with your students a "war journal" - they could share
their feelings in English. (Introduce vocabulary related to the war;
revise/teach the past tenses)
Merav Jerafi-Hochmitz
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