[etni] Re: Fwd: re: Ha'aretz English teachers vow to block controversial literature program
- From: "sbshai" <sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Ruthi" <rsheffer@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:28:45 +0300
Ruthi, I have no doubt that Tessa did an admirable job, and you hit on the sore
point here -- that the 'objective' journalist chose his slant in reporting.
I'd contact him if if it could do any good, but my experience has been that
such steps are usually a waste of time at best.
I confess that I do not know what to do to ensure truly fair coverage. Short
of paying advertising costs to have an open letter to the public published (and
that has its inherent shortcomings), I pretty much give up on the idea of the
media presenting the issue properly.
The fact remains that I haven't seen a single article that doesn't oversimplify
the issue.
Teachers are cast into roles of good guys are pro HOTS and vice versa!
The only thing I can think of that hasn't been tried (at least, to my
knowledge, not on a large scale) is to explain our objections to the parents of
our students. But I doubt this initiative (which can be difficult to execute)
will get us more than their sympathy, if that much.
So if any colleague on the facebook list has a refreshing idea, I'd be glad to
hear it!
Shabbat Shalom,
Batya
----- Original Message -----
From: Ruthi
To: sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, 27 August, 2010 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [etni] Fwd: re: Ha'aretz English teachers vow to block
controversial literature program
Batya you are welcome to contact the Haaretz reporter and tell him what you
think. Also I added a talkback to that effect, but unfortunately very few
people read Haaretz Anglo file anyway or are interested in what the kids learn.
Tessa outlined exactly what we object to in the program , but as usual he
selected what he wanted and printed only that. It is the usual problem with
journalists. If we were to do a violent demo or to do something really
provocative it might get into the general press but otherwise nobody is
remotely interested.
If you have any other suggestions please let us know . We do have a lot of
support on the facebook group and are willing to try other avenues if Shoshani
is not amenable to blocking the program.As far as I understand Anat Zohar who
initiated this program anyway is no longer working in the job.
Ruth
On 27 August 2010 10:52, ETNI list <etni.list@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sbshai <sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Ha'aretz English teachers vow to block controversial
literature program
I tried reading this article from the perspective of a parent rather than a
teacher. Unfortunately, it emphasizes the lack of remuneration over the
pedagogic concerns -- and that translates into bad press! The Ministry
official (Anat Zohar) comes out the heroine here for her declared interest
in the welfare of the students, which by implication means that we teachers
only care about our paychecks and workloads, not our students.
Perhaps someone should inform the media about the whole picture -- i.e., why
many of us don't want HOTS regardless of the money issue. There was no
mention whatsoever in this article of the sound point that a person sitting
behind a desk in a Ministry office cannot have an accurate view of the
situation in the classroom (certainly not from a teacher's perspective).
It's simply not as challenging to come up with ideas as it is to convey them
successfully. (Surely we've all experienced this when planning a 'perfect'
lesson that does not turn out the way we envisioned!)
Moreover, anyone can sympathize with the fact that it is a futile endeavor
to force teachers to adopt a program they are so against, especially if
they've been successfully achieving that program's stated goals in a fashion
that's more suited to their students.
IMHO, we need to focus on a point that received only passing mention in this
article -- that the program should operate on a voluntary basis;
furthermore, it should be reassessed at the end of a specified period of
time (preferably after I've retired!) by an objective party.
Shabbat Shalom,
Batya
P.S.
Please take a minute on Sunday to fax a copy of the protest letter, with
your signature and contact info, to Dr. Shoshani. Don't depend on others to
do this for you; it may be our last chance to be heard!
Laurie wrote:
> Hot off the press!
>
http://www.haaretz.com/magazine/anglo-file/english-teachers-vow-to-block-controversial-literature-program-1.310460
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