----- Original Message -----
From: Rivka Lewenstein - rlewen@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: still listening.. !!
Aviva, I absolutely agree with you that we shouldn't just be teaching
listening comprehension just for the Bagrut, and I'm sure that many of us
don't. Yet, as you well know, there is something called test washback -
tests DO influence the way we teach, maybe to a lesser extent in some
classrooms than in others, but in my opinion it's there in almost every
classroom to some degree or another. You and I (and many others) may not do
Bagrut practice in our classrooms all day for the two or three years leading
up to the Bagrut, but whether we like it or not, we do have to do certain
things just because the Bagrut does exist in its certain format. Maybe we
would do some of them anyway, but maybe not all. And there are other
teachers who do spend a lot more time teaching for the Bagrut, as you put
it. That may not be what you and I consider ideal, but how are we going to
stop it? At least let's try to keep testing as many different aspects of the
curriculum as possible, so as to ensure that those areas are covered in the
classroom by those who do teach for Bagrut.
All the best, Rivka
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