[etni] Re: The recent NBA debate yet again
- From: "Elen Gefen" <elen_g@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "etni" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 09:01:54 +0200
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I totally agree with both the content and the spirit of Jodi's letter.
Ellen Gefen
Shaar Hanegev High School
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert and Jodi Schenck" <rojo1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:18 PM
Subject: [etni] The recent NBA debate yet again
> **** ETNI on the web http://www.etni.org.il http://www.etni.org ****
>
> 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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