[etni] Volunteer teachers are NOT the answer

Did anyone else smirk cynically as they read the Op-Ed piece in yesterday's JPost ("Close the Language Gap" by Solomon Israel). This well-meaning, yet self-important volunteer thinks he has all the answers: get English-speaking volunteers from the Diaspora to do what the professional English teachers of Israel can't/won't do: teach English successfully.
What he fails to understand is that the Min. of Ed. cannot simply accept every well-meaning volunteer from the Diaspora, who wishes to save us poor Israelis, natives and immigrants alike, by importing untrained, uncertified and unproven volunteers. What about standards? What about teachers' rights and salaries? What about professional responsibility? Volunteers, not to undermine them, may choose to stop volunteering in the middle of the year, if their personal lives pull them elsewhere.
And what will the Min.of Ed. say when we demand fair compensation for our years of training and continuous hard work, if there are volunteers prepared to do it for nothing!
I'd like to make another point to Mr. Israel: Not every well-meaning, Native English Speaker is by definition a good teacher. This may come as a surprise to you. It takes more to be a successful teacher than the desire to make a contribution to Israeli society. If you are well-trained and do volunteer, we will thank you wholeheartedly, but PLEASE leave your condescending, culturally-superior attitude behind. If you truly want to make a difference to our country, then MOVE here, and throw your lot in with ours and the Jewish People's. 



Shaul

To see the original article on "Closing the Language Gap" follow this link:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872839028&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull




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