 |  |
Click for Contents
|
P.O. Box 1805,Jerusalem 91017 Tel. 972-2-531-5440, Fax: 972-2-537-9489 Advertising Fax: 972-2-531-5425, Email Editorial: [email protected] Subscriptions: [email protected] Web site: http://www.jrep.com |
Back Page: �The Country Is Moving in an Anti-Cultural Direction�
Leslie Susser
Lamenting the rapid decline of Israeli educational standards, Haifa University�s Adir Cohen pleads for radical reform of the whole school system
Israeli educators are reeling after the publication in early July of the results of an international survey which placed Israeli 15-year-olds near bottom of those in developed nations in reading comprehension, math and science skills. The survey, by the Program for International Student Assessment, (PISA), found that one-third of Israeli 15-year-olds lack basic reading skills, and it placed Israel 30th of the 41 participating industrialized nations in reading comprehension, 31st in math and 33rd in sciences. (The ratings were headed by Finland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. The U.S. came in at 15th-20th in the various tables.)
In response, the Education Ministry is considering canceling the integration effort to bring weaker and stronger students together in junior high schools. Critics of the system, instituted in the 1980s, argue that the weaker students set the tone, dragging the stronger ones down with them. The ministry also plans to give local governments more say in what happens in schools under their jurisdiction.
Prof. Adir Cohen, 66, who holds the Chair for Education and Society at Haifa University, dismisses these proposed changes as superficial and cosmetic. He believes the whole system should be thoroughly reformed, with school starting at 4, instead of 6, and ending at 19-20, instead of 17-18, with the best students completing a BA or engineering diploma. He says when he and colleagues first presented the proposal to education minister Yitzhak Navon in the mid-1980s, the Israeli Army was ready to accept the consequences -- young Israelis joining the army at 20 rather than 18 -- and devised a plan for its phased introduction. But, says Cohen, the initiative fell through, mainly because of bureaucratic inertia. Now, he says, he may try and revive it.
The Jerusalem Report: Were you surprised by the results of the survey?
Adir Cohen: No. For the past 8-10 years the writing has been on the wall. In previous international tests, we saw a drop in standards from year to year. Our internal testing shows the same pattern. In the primary schools, the results are just as bad. We are on the way to a national catastrophe. The deterioration has been rapid: 15-17 years ago we were among the top countries. There are also widening disparities between kids from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Could this be, paradoxically, because of the "integration" approach?
I don�t think so. Integration was meant to create a social meeting-ground, but it wasn�t done properly. There was no differential treatment or affirmative action for the weaker groups. No special teaching methods were devised for them. In general, we have poor teaching methods in reading, comprehension and math.
Isn�t the problem in the schools partly a function of a cavalier approach to learning and culture in Israel as a whole?
Absolutely. We are talking about a country that is moving in an anti-cultural direction. The art institutions are being suffocated, the orchestras choked, the theaters closed down. We are not really connected to Jewish sources or to genuine humanistic values. Our lives are politicized in a shallow way. Public libraries are in a terrible state.
Are you suggesting that there must be a cultural revolution here before cultural values filter down into the schools?
Yes. Maybe there will have to be a major social revolution first. For the 2,000 years we didn�t have our own country, we were the People of the Book. Now that we do, we�ve become the country bumpkins.
What can be done in the schools?
Change the syllabuses. Provide in-service training for teachers. But they are about to cancel teacher-training programs. It�s all upside down. There should be more focus on the individual child. We should work with the parents, bringing them in to the learning process. The home environment has a tremendous impact on the world of the child. Now they are proposing canceling the junior high school stage and going back to the old primary and high school system. But the most recent studies show the terrible situation that already exists in the primary schools. So what will they achieve?
They are also talking about decentralization, giving more power to the local governments.
That is a great danger. Every town will do what it likes. The stronger ones might devote more to education, the weaker less. And that would widen existing disparities. I am not saying we can�t decentralize, but it must be done carefully and slowly. It should be built around an educational concept, not an administrative one.
How much does Israel�s existential situation impact on what is happening in the schools?
Hugely. The economic hardship, the fear, the somber mood, the endless victims of terror. We are a society that is being radicalized. The degree of violence in our society is frightening. But in the next international test there won�t be a problem. Because of budget cuts, we won�t participate any more, we won�t know the score any more and everything will be fine and dandy.
Reporter
Israel gives intelligence briefings to alleged smugglers of Mig engines to Saddam
|
 |
|
© The Jerusalem Report 1999-2004 |  |