[etni] Re: ETAI Newsletter 30 - May, 2010
- From: laurie ornstein <laurenmadeline@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lev.abramov@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 12:23:15 +0300
Shalom Lev,
I think you are wrong here. ETNI is not the place for the sarcasm you write
of. Criticism, yes, and there's been plenty of professional criticism made
over the years on the list.
David initiated and has built this list over the years, maintains it and
spends endless hours to keep it updated and working, even on his vacation
time abroad. This is all voluntary.
Perhaps, if you feel the need for another list-serve which will address the
issues as you see them, start one of your own!
Laurie
On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 10:19 AM, Lev Abramov <lev.abramov@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 9:30 AM, Graham Richards <grichards03@xxxxxxxxx
> >wrote:
> > To the ETNI list,
> >
> > A few days ago, I sent the following message to the ETNI list:
> >
> > "I was surprised to read in the ETAI Newsletter that there is no room
> > in ETAI conferences for a discussion of issues such as Ministry policy
> > and programs, or teacher conditions and pay. Aren't these issues also
> > related to teacher professional development and support?
> > Does anybody else find this strange?"
> >
> > I was surprised at the amount of mail that I personally received in
> > response to this message. It appears that it is a hot issue that
> > people are not talking about publicly. I have been considering, these
> > past few days, whether to follow up on this. I know that ETAI is
> > performing a very important function in running these conferences. For
> > many teachers, I imagine that these conferences help them recharge the
> > batteries and keep going. But it also appears that ETAI could do more,
> > but has decided not to. If it were simply that there is just not
> > enough time to do everything, this wouldn't bother me. But it seems
> > that there is more to this.
> >
>
> Dear Graham -
>
> There is much, much more to it. ETAI does not do enough for professional
> representation of English teachers. The trade unions - the Irgun and
> especially the Histadrut - do not do nearly enough to protect the
> professional status of their members. No wonder that so many (if not all)
> feel like the author of the Tired of Being a Sucker article in the Teacher
> Magazine (the link
>
> http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/05/19/tln_jones_suckerteacher.html?tkn=SVZDw0%2FV2UcBuNCZbeO2Z2Gij8XM7eb2F5a7&print=1
> was
> sent to the list yesterday).
>
> For years, I have been calling others to follow my example and quit the
> trade union - a step which would almost certainly cause the latter to
> become
> much more militant. The call does not seem to have been heard. "This is the
> only kind of representation we have!" was the most frequent response.
> "Better this than no union at all!" With a reaction like that, how do you
> expect to make a difference, to initiate a change?!
>
> Well, the unions have positioned themselves between teachers and their
> kronot hishtalmut, to ensure that those who quit are financially
> disadvantaged, And the unions have created the indirect electoral system
> which enables the same people to remain "elected" for many years (reminds
> me
> of the decades of Brezhnev's rule, when he was the only "candidate" for the
> position of the leader, and 99.9% of the votes were inevitably his...).
>
> And if you call for "mass defection" from ETAI, with the same purpose of
> making a change, the overall reaction will be similar, if not totally
> identical. Teachers are the most conservative bunch I have seen - they will
> not move until the ground under their feet starts burning.
>
> Worse still: this very list is run by a person who could do much more - but
> decided to keep this list "professional" = to exclude criticism against
> MOE
> and the English Inspectorate. Many time my messages to this list were
> "filtered" because they contained sarcastic remarks about Judy Steiner or
> Avi Tsur. I would not be surprised if this message did not reach the list
> either (which is why I am sending a copy to you and to a few other people
> on
> the list I know personally).
>
> My conclusion is: OK, suppose the unions have been "bought." Suppose ETAI
> has been intimidated.
>
> But what stops ETNI from becoming more proactive and filling the void?!
>
> best regards -
>
> Lev
>
>
> > --
> > Lev ABRAMOV
> > http://il.linkedin.com/in/levabramov
> >
>
>
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or - http://www.etni.org.il **
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