[etni] ETAI as a platform for honest speaking

Dear All,

 

I am reading with great interest all of your thoughts on how to get "our acts 
together." I am also saving all the E-mails from this Forum in case we wish to 
use any of our comments later. 

 

Re: ETAI's meeting in Jerusalem as the location to discuss the problems we are 
facing, I am not sure that this is place. How many of us will feel comfortable 
speaking in front of Judy Steiner? I have also been in many situations where 
participants do the opposite of what they say they will when people of 
"influence" are present.  Also, these conferences tend to be "lets feel good 
about ourselves" places. What do you think?

 

I'll let you into a little secret. For the last few years Ive been writing to a 
couple of Knesset members whom I think may show an interest in our situation. 
In particular I got very sympathetic replies from Ran Cohen and Avishai 
Braverman. Ok - nothing came of it, but I felt better for having written. I 
recently wrote again to Braverman and I hope to get a reply. The reason for 
writing to these individuals was because they had been interviewed and 
specifically talked about their interest in education. Unfortunately, I do not 
see our own English Inspectorate as being able or even wanting to represent us. 
I could be very wrong about this, but I have never seen them speak out on our 
behalf. That being the case, we may have to try alternative routes. 

 

I am a very patient person and I think we must all realize to get anything 
started takes time. We just have to inch forward step by step and not give up. 
Exchanging our thoughts here is one step. The next is to extend outwards. 
Another idea is to ask teachers to just write an open composition (120-140 
words - ha! ha!) on their experiences as a teacher here in Israel. A request 
could go out as follows (this is just a sample idea):

 

" Many English teachers in Israel have expressed a number of serious problems 
within the educational system that not only negatively impact their lives but 
also the lives of their students. Please describe what you see to be the most 
important issues/problems that you would like to be addressed. State what the 
isuues are, when they occur, why it occurs, who is involved, and what changes 
could be implemented to end the situation. Include the number of classes you 
are teaching, grades, # students in the class. Also if you would like to share 
any positive experiences we would be grateful to hear about them also."

 

From these essays we can then pull out the stats - how many mentioned salary, 
how many mentioned overcrowded classrooms etc. The beauty of this is that it 
can be done immediately and we will have actual statements rather than Y/N 
answers. There is nothing more heartfelt than hearing the emotions that come 
from the words.

 

The next questions are (if we are to do this): how will this request be 
communicated to the teachers, who will review the answers, and most importantly 
- what do we do with it afterwards? To Whom do we send the results to?

 

These are just a few ideas. Throw them away if you want!

 

All the best,

Louise

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