[etni] The recent NBA debate yet again

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Having just finshed reading Avi's letter along with other views expressed on
the list, I feel a need to clarify a few things.

Firstly, there are separate issues involved, and it is important to
differentiate between discussing the NBA overall, the Ministry's response or
lack thereof to our concerns, and the effect upon our students.

Yes, the NBA is a fact on the ground, and yes, I do feel it has many
positive things to offer, however, and herein lies the key, I feel it has
NOT been implemented in a positive or effective manner in many, if not most,
cases.

The mere fact that so many educators, and no, not just a few complainers as
Avi inferred in his letter, feel confused, put upon or out and out
overwhelmed, is not a good sign.  It doesn't matter in the end if this is
due to some "lack" on their parts--a good system should make allowances for
that, and indeed, be an encouragement to the more timid or unsure of us.

Many of us, as in my school, have embraced the NBA, done projects DURING
valuable class time, with all the rubrics (including spending endless time
helping students with umbrella topics and research questions), graded
faithfully by the book, and discovered that we have ended up shortchanging
ourselves and our students.  My Native Speakers, as well as my 4 pointers
are so busy being taught for the Bagrut, that they (and I) feel like they
are no longer being taught English, but rather some kind of code designed to
help them pass a particular set of exercises, no different than the old days
of rewrites and cloze passages, just another set of techniques.

There are, no doubt, many silent educators, who love or hate the new system,
silence is not proof of either, but their silence may also bespeak weariness
and frustration, since as Avi has pointed out, the NBA is a fact.  Berating
those of us who are willing to speak out is not helpful.  According to the
surveys run recently in the JPost and Ha'aretz, the unhappy among us are not
the minority, and dousing  frustrations in vitriol only increases the sense
of alienation from the system.  What we could really use is some
constructive support and acknowledgement from the powers that be, that the
NBA does have some flaws, that those flaws can be fixed or altered, and that
the Ministry is actually willing to do so.  That alone would go a long way
to easing the "burden" that some of us feel.
A perfect example of this is the long running discussion of Moed Alef from
last summer that so many of our Native Speakers did so poorly on (relative
to their grades a few weeks later on the Moed Bet).  If instead of feeble
excuses made up to explain away the obvious, someone with the power to do so
would simply acknowledge that the test was flawed, it was a trial error, and
in the end, no lasting harm was done because of the Moed Bet, I'm sure
everyone would be much more understanding.  After all, each of us, I'm sure,
has given a "bad" quiz or test once to a class---you apologize, you grade it
on a curve, or redo it or whatever.  You don't refuse to admit it, that is
unprofessional and deliterious to the ends you are trying to achieve.

In the final analysis, since we are all going to enjoy or suffer together,
take your pick, the least we can offer one another, is our support,
understanding and honest commitment to making the new system the best it can
be, which starts with listening openly and non-judgementally to one another,
and trying to really assess how improvements can be made, rather than
denying that they are necessary at all.  No system is perfect, especially
not a relatively new one like the NBA, it should not be thrown out
wholesale, neither should it be sanctified to the point of being
unassailable.

Jodi Schenck
English Coordinator
Rothberh High School


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