**** ETNI on the web http://www.etni.org.il http://www.etni.org **** Dear ETNI readers, I would like to share with you my last experience of oral testing and the financial penalty I received as a direct result of testing. This is what happened to me personally: > >My school was asked to test at another school in this region. I got in touch >with >the Coordinator and requested that we test either on the last day of the >Passover holiday or on the Friday which is our free day. The school did not >agree as this presented them with difficult logistical problems. > >Therefore we tested on aThursday at the request of the other school. I sat >with the >person in charge of the 'Maarechet' at my school and arranged the >timetable so that she would >only have to replace us in one lesson. > >The following month when I got my salary I saw that my own school had >deducted 340 shekels because of the one lesson that I had missed. I >protested at this and was told that I was paid for testing and that as far >as they are concerned I had missed a full day's teaching and the school wrote >down the day I had tested as a 'personal absenteeism'.. Whilst it is true >that I was paid for testing - I was paid only 200 shekels. So to all >intents and purposes I had paid 140 shekels for the privilege of testing >!!! I feel that this is a gross injustice and to say I am furious is >putting it mildly! > >The other testers from my school were not financially penalised as I was >because they had >'yamei Hatsara' that they had not used and got round it >that way and the school >did not deduct money from their salary. I did not >have 'yamei hatsara' because I >got divorced this year and used my two days >because I had to go to court. >These are the points that I am trying to make: >1) 'Yamei Hatsara' are supposed to be for personal reasons, usually sickness, >and not because >another school finds it convenient for us to test on that day >and we have no alternative but to agree(we were >willing to test either on a >Friday or during the holiday) >2) Teachers who have used their 'Yamei Hatsara' will lose money when they test >>because testing pays less well than the average teaching day of a mora >vatika. >3) My school maintains that this day was a private absenteeism and that is >the reason that they deducted a full day's salary. But I was fulfilling my >obligation as an English teacher who prepares for Bagrut. I protest that >this day is considered a private matter and I don't want to use my 'Yamei >Hatsara' for this reason as I have a son going into the army and I know I will >need these days for ceremonies, recruitment day etc. > >4) I don't object at all to testing on my free day which is what we have >done in the past- but now our free day is Friday none of the other schools >will accept that we test on this day. This leaves no alternative but to test >on a school day, which means that our salary will be deducted. > >The way I feel at the moment is that if I have to pay 140 shekels again >next year for the privilege of testing I will simply refuse to test unless >this matter is addressed in an official capacity. >I don't know if any other teachers had this problem and I would be >interested to know. I look forward to hearing from anyone who had a similar problem and am interested to know how other schools dealt with this problem. Regards to all Etni readers of this e-mail Judy Vinograd - coordinator Maale Habsor > ##### To send a message to the ETNI list email: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ##### ##### Send queries and questions to: ask@xxxxxxxx #####