[etni] Re: HOTS protest
- From: "Ask Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "Etni" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 09:19:19 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: Eleanor - eleanorz541@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE HOTS protest
Dear Colleagues,
Re: HOTS protest
Below is the English version of a letter sent to the Ministry today. The
letter was sent in both Hebrew and English
http://www.etni.org/letters/Coordinators_letter_Dec8.doc
with a list of coordinators/schools only in Hebrew.
Ironically ( irony is neither a HOT nor in the list of terms to be
studied.) the official answer from Judy Steiner also appeared today, so the
timing is good.
We remain very hopeful that someone out there realizes that hundreds of
dissatisfied, hardworking English teachers are very serious about their
protest.
Remember - this is the season of miracles and NES GADOL HAYA PO
December 8, 2009
Mr Gidon Saar
Minister of Education
Fax: 02-5602246
Dr. Shimshon Shoshani
Director General
Ministry of Education
Fax: 02-5602336
Gentlemen:
Re: New English Bagrut Program, Modules D and F ,
Jerusalem Coordinator's letter, November 10th, 2009
We, the Forum of Coordinators of English of Jerusalem's High Schools, wish
to thank you for your response to our letter (mentioned above), sent to us
by Dalia Fenig as well as our Inspector, Dr. Judy Steiner.
Our letter of November 10th represented the English teachers of 30
Jerusalem high schools; as of today, 59 SCHOOLS nationwide are refusing to
implement the new bagrut - literature program as it currently exists.
Individual teachers organized and sent an additional letter protesting this
program. Although Dr. Steiner writes that she has made "a number of
meaningful changes," several hundred English teachers strongly disagree,
including teacher trainers, counselors, English coursebook writers and
writers of textbooks on teaching literature!
The changes mentioned merely postpone implementation of the program. The
actual reduction in the number of skills or literary terms to be studied has
not been listed, nor is it the core of our protest.
For the sake of good order, we wish to re-state briefly what our MAIN
concerns are.
1. English as a Foreign Language in high school is not the "time or place"
to introduce higher order thinking skills.
Higher Order Thinking Skills should be introduced and integrated into the
curriculum first in the native language, optimally at the elementary level.
Only after this exposure, should HOTS be integrated into the foreign
language.
2. Literature and HOTS
As we have repeatedly stated, we all teach literature and for most of us, it
provides our most enjoyable lessons. We will be happy if literature is
given greater weight in the final matriculation assessment. However, not
every literary work needs to be reduced to or adapted to a lesson in higher
order thinking skills. Many thinking skills and literary terms are taught
within the context of the literature, however, the skill is NOT the aim of
the lesson. The multitude of tasks required of the pupil with an assessment
or remark by the teacher turns the study of literature into a burden. We
believe that this program will deprive literature of its spontaneity and
turn the teaching of literature into something mechanical and technical.
3. Exam or Log: both are problematic as presented
The Inspectorate is offering two unsavory choices: an exam according to a
set list of literature without any freedom of choice, or alternatively,
preparing a literature log over 3 years to be graded by the teacher. The
internal school grade becomes the final bagrut grade.
The first option deprives the teacher of autonomy since there is very little
choice. Literary items (stories, poems, novels or plays) may certainly be
added, but only the items selected by the Ministry will be suitable for the
bagrut exam.
The alternative is the log. A literary log does not meet the definition of
standardized testing which must be both valid and reliable. This robs the
national matriculation examination of its meaningfulness as a yardstick of
standard achievement.
Since the internal school grade will become the final bagrut grade teachers
will unquestionably come under even greater pressure than they have today
from pupils, parents and principals to inflate grades. Perhaps the Ministry
is unaware that pressure is often applied to teachers to change grades.
Furthermore, the amount of labor ( student tasks evaluated and/or with
teacher's feedback ) on the part of the pupil and the teacher in order to
implement the log is unrealistic. The fact that no other subject has any
work that is even remotely similar in its requirements, including the
sciences which require projects and lab work, testifies to its
impracticality.
4. Four point pupils, particularly "Mabar" pupils.
Most "Mabar" pupils study English at the four point level and many four
point pupils who are not studying in the Mabar framework suffer from similar
problems which go beyond language proficiency.
These pupils have difficulty in abstract thinking, reading "between the
lines," picking up social clues and most important, understanding cultures
beyond their own experience. These pupils should certainly be targeted for
HOTS at an early age and not begin in high school in a foreign language!
When discussing literature, we try to bridge these gaps but first of all,
they must have the language skills..
Mabar pupils typically study language and literature in Hebrew for 6-10
hours weekly. They have no project and extensive reading is at the
discretion of the teacher. In English we are expected to teach reading,
listening, speaking and writing in a foreign language, literature, extensive
literature and a project in 4 hours weekly. And now, we are expected to
add Higher Order Thinking Skills in a foreign language to this population.
Furthermore, most of the literary items that were chosen are too difficult
for them and not at all relevant to their experience which increases the
difficulty.
5. Time available to teach, compensation for extra work.
As mentioned, we teach foreign language proficiency including literature 4
or 5 hours weekly. In recent years the curriculum has undergone many
changes, some more demanding of the teachers than others. A research
project has been added to the English curriculum; compensation for the
additional work entailed has been promised but has never been paid. Now, we
are expected to add HOTS to our literature programs. A comparison with the
civics curriculum should be made.
In order to implement HOTS the civics program was doubled from 1 unit to 2
units, 3 hours to 6 hours, one year to two years. In addition teachers are
compensated an additional 0.4 hours for the projects. The civics teachers
also say that the curriculum itself has been reduced. We wish to remind you
that this is in the native language.
In English the opposite is true: our workload has been increased
consistently, the promises of compensation have not been fulfilled and
English in many schools has suffered from cutbacks in hours in recent years.
Is the Ministry planning on doubling our English teaching hours in order to
implement this program?
If, as Dr. Steiner insists, the program does not entail extra work on the
part of the teacher, why is a 56 hour training course required merely to
learn the program?
These are not the only issues but as you can see, they are primarily
pedagogic. We are pleased that the program is being postponed for one
year but in our view, that is not enough. The issues that have been raised
(and these are not all!) have still not been adequately addressed.
Hundreds of English teachers are expectantly awaiting a more satisfactory
solution.
Most respectfully,
Tessa Shrem, Ditza Verter, Eleanor
Zwebner
ORT Technological College Or Torah Stone Masorti Braunshvig
High School
Yeshiva High School
and 56 additional English Coordinators of high schools throughout the
country,
whose names and schools are listed below in Hebrew .
cc: Dr. Judy Steiner, Inspector of English, Ministry of Education , fax
02-5603596
Mr. Benzi Nemet, Manhi, fax: 02 - 6296777
Ms. Nurit Valency, Irgun HaMorim fax: 03-5667704
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