[etni] Fw: dissatisfaction & inaction
- From: "Ask Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "Etni" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 17:33:38 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: sbshai - sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: dissatisfaction & inaction
Dear Janette, Judy and Jennifer (the 3 J's!), and everyone else this may
concern,
You definitely deserve the appreciation of the silent majority (that should
shake at least some English teachers out of their reverie!) for taking a
stand and saying publicly what needs to be said about ESL teaching in
general and the Bagrut exam in particular.
I believe that before we can hope to improve the situation, it's important
to try to understand a few basic reasons that our colleagues don't speak up
:
(1) It takes time to formulate your thoughts, then write and send them to
ETNI -- and, as we all know, English teachers are truly overwhelmed trying
to meet the ever-increasing demands of the Ministry. (As conscientious
workers, we like to feel that we put our students' needs before our own; the
problem with this strategy, of course, is that by neglecting our own needs,
we are also doing a disservice to our students.)
A related problem is that people don't see the point of airing their fears
and concerns since it looks like no one's interested in listening to us --
and even those we pay to help us (the unions) are by and large letting us
down!
(2) Further reason for our reticence is, I believe, a kind of subconcious
fear that we'll be considered pathetic gripers who automatically complain
about any 'new ' idea that's sprung upon us by our superiors. (I use the
last word in deference to the VIPs at the MOE, and the people who believe
that an Ed.D after one's name is equivalent to or perhaps even better than a
Ph.D., a doctorate being the last word in any discussion on instructional
methodology. Lest my comment be misinterpreted, I'll just say that I have
an M.A. in English literature from a reputable university abroad and credit
for one course, so far, towards a doctorate in the same field -- so I am
not denigrating advanced degrees, but I do take exception to those who
regard a {devoted, diligent and/or talented} teacher without such a degree
to be an underling.)
(3) There might also be a more concrete worry -- namely, the anxiety that
speaking out in anything but a conciliatory manner to the higher-ups will
somehow jeopardize our reputations, employability, seniority, pension plans
or whatever. (Personally, since I'm not too far from retirement, I'd rather
speak up and say my piece than regret not having done so when I had the
opportunity! Even if I can't help myself, at least I might play some small
part in improving the situation for others in the future. But for this
fantasy to have a chance of becoming a reality, many more need to feel as
strongly as I do!)
Therefore, considering that few, if any, recent 'innovations' from the
Ministry have brought about any objectively tangible results (except to wear
English teachers down to the bone!), I intend to attend the roundtable
discussion that I was promised will take place at ETAI's summer conference
in Jerusalem. The issue on the agenda is the looming HOTS program that
those of us who have taken the course still feel in the dark (or darkly!)
about for various reasons. While taking the course, more than a few
participants suggested that a person from the steering committee who views
this program as the ultimate savior of ESL instruction should appear in our
class to give us a demonstration lesson, but while some people in
responsible positions thought this was a reasonable idea, nothing ever came
of it. That goes to show how much our concerns are worth. If we ever
treated our students this way, there'd be h--l to pay (and rightly so)!
Still, I see no option but to attend a public forum like the one at ETAI in
order to lay our concerns on the table and try to find viable solutions for
them. There are people out there in positions of power who regard any
failure of one of their brain children (such as the projects, which have
essentially failed, despite our concerted efforts, to make our students more
proficient in English) as the fault of the teacher -- and they don't
hesitate to say as much, railing against us for having the effrontery to
suggest that what they dream up in their offices, hard work that it may be,
does not go over in the Israeli classroom -- at least, certainly not in the
format in which the edicts are handed down to us.
So, dear Etniers, if we make a united stand, once and for all, (instead of
giving an occasional krechts [groan] here and kvetch [complaint] there, the
Ministry can't fail to notice; at least that would be a start!
Hoping to see you at the ETAI conference (where you can speak about other
problems besides why you're not able to give two hoots for HOTS!).
Shabbat Shalom,
Batya
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