[etni] Report of meeting with Ran Erez of 20 July

Dear ETNI Members,
For all those of you who requested updates on the meeting that took place with 
Ran Erez on Monday, 20 July, here it is:
1)      The meeting took place as scheduled and Mr. Erez apologized for the 
misunderstanding on the part of Nurit Valencie which resulted in her absence 
from the previously scheduled meeting.



2)      Mr. Erez explained that the Irgun has 3 topics directly connected to 
Engish that are on the Irgun's prime target list:
a) The 2% per module Bagrut Gmul has been achieved.

b) The issue of the projects 

            c) The issue of the literature program



       3)  A meeting was scheduled for today between Dr. Shimon Shoshani and 
all the
             chief inspectors (English included), regarding all the new 
programs (Civics, 
             Hebrew language, Math, etc.) so that Dr. Shoshani can get a broad 
view of
             what  the changes and additions involve.  Dr. Shoshani and Mr. 
Erez are to
             meet after this meeting and Mr. Erez promised to report to us 
            (via phone) as to the outcome of their meeting.  He believes that 
Dr. Shoshani
            seriously wants to avoid a confrontation at the beginning of the 
school year
            and will work in good faith to clrify the situation that was left 
him by the
            previous  Ministry Director.  We will let you know how this meeting 
goes as
            soon as we are informed.

 

       4)  Both Mr. Erez and the Irgun are aware of the issues and the 
increasing
            amounts of work that are being asked of us.  In fact, he has been 
meeting
            throughout the year with a group of teachers from the T.A. area who 
have
            placed these issues before him and followed them up. As you can see 
from the
            letter he sent to Dr. Judy Steiner, he urges the teachers to follow 
the Irgun
            instructions and not to participate in the lit courses, not to do 
projects with the pupils,
            not to implement the new lit program until the issues are resolved. 
 Mr. Erez 
            emphasized that the Irgun is only as strong as its members and can 
achieve
            change only if the teachers uphold the sanctions.

 

       5) We emphasized that the English teachers feel that we are being asked 
to carry
            out sanctions without enough backing from the Irgun.  For example, 
not doing
            projects, but getting conflicting instructions from the Irgun reps 
about what will 
            happen in the student' oral Bagrut as a result.



6)  We also discussed the testing of LD pupils ? an issue that was supposed to
      have been resolved with the signed agreement from Jan 2009 requiring the
      schools to pay the teachers for EACH and every activity related to this 
work,
      retro-actively from September 2008.  Please read the wording of this
     agreement which you can  find at: 
http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/Sherut/Chozrim/ChozreiSt/hozertashsat4_heskem_im_irdunhamorim.htm
 

 

      Mr. Erez claims that teachers who work for the Ministry or the local 
authorities ARE receiving this payment (if they have reported the work), but 
was shocked to hear that the ORT, AMIT and other sectors have not followed 
through even to the extent of providing a suitable form for the teachers to 
fill out.  We were present during his extended phone conversation with Mr. Dan 
Shaked, who is responsible for this state of affairs in ORT, his 'reminder' to 
him that he is not carrying out the agreement and his insistence that the issue 
be dealt with immediately.  Mr. Erez also promised to contact the responsible 
parties in the AMIT and OR TORAH sectors.  We will have to follow up to make 
sure things are carried through, so please phone or fax the Irgun if your 
school is not providing you with suitable forms to fill out and submitting 
these forms for payment (and of course if you have not been paid).

 

7)      We heard from Mr. Erez of some creative options that the Irgun is 
working on to push for the additional payments that the teachers (English & 
others)  should be getting for all the extra work that has been added to our 
load over the past several years (the modular Bagrut, projects, extensive 
reading, lit courses, lit program, oral exam matkonet, etc.) For a change, 
these will not involve sanctions/strike of the entire system, but should prove 
to be more effective.

 

8)      In conclusion, after this meeting we feel that the Irgun understands 
the current problems of the English teachers and will continue to take the 
necessary steps  to resolve them.  We will continue to be in touch with Mr. 
Erez as needed. 



The Committee   



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