January
2017: Winter Blues Coated in Culture Shock
Knowing Israel in the winter has been an
awakening experience. I never imagined that it would get as cold at night, or
that it would rain cats and dogs with such frequency and such force. I also did not anticipate needing a heavy
winter coat like the ones we use in Canada, or mittens, hats and scarves. There
is definitely use for these, especially after sundown. One thing is for sure -
homes are not equipped for winter as they are in North America.
On an emotional level, my January has been
tainted with a low-key mood matching the weather, at times accompanied by
a longing for closeness and family; others, by a reflective taking stock of my
lot, always with a sense of gratitude and acceptance. I am glad that I finally
learned to be ok with sadness, knowing that it dissipates, like a cloud that
lets light filter through gradually creating prism-shaped patterns that draw hope.
On a practical note, January has definitely
been a month of intense culture shock related to my dealings with Berlitz and
the pubic school system in Israel. As
you read along, you will understand what I mean.
Teaching
School Children in Israel: A Trial of Courage and Endurance
My current employer, Berlitz Israel,
assigned me to teach English to children in two public elementary schools, the
first, in a developing middle-class neighborhood of Be’er Ya’acov (Jan 4 &
5) and the second, in a new upper-class neighborhood in Ashdod (Jan 6 & 8.)
The experience truly tested my endurance, and before I lost momentum I felt the
urge to pen down the series of events that unfolded during the eight hours I
spent with the children, ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 6.
·
My assignment consisted of
teaching four groups of split classes (1/2, 2/3 3/4 and 5/6). This meant that I
had to prepare four lesson plans and adjust to four groups of children.
·
Travel time to the schools was
insane: two and four hours.
·
Upon arrival at both schools I
felt lost. There was no reception mechanism in place, no one welcomed me, knew
about my placement, introduced me or guided me.
·
When I asked a staff member to
be directed to the school’s principal, I was told there wasn’t one.
·
The secretary refused to
release the books that Berlitz sent to the office for my use. I then asked her
if I could borrow a CD player. Her answer was – “bring your own.”
·
Classrooms were messy, desks
unclean, and basic supplies non-existent, including board markers and board
erasers.
·
The younger children were
initially curious about me, but as soon as I tried to establish a bit of order
they started to act up refusing to pick up their coats from the floor, take out
their books, listen, sit, and behave. The basically acted like clowns.
·
In one group there was a young
woman sitting at a corner, her eyes buried on her cell phone. At my request she
told me she was a health care worker for one of the children who required
medical supervision. I was appalled that
I wasn’t informed about a potential medical emergency in my own classroom.
·
Half way through a class, the janitor entered
without knocking, and asked me to leave because a group of religious men needed
the space to pray. I realized this was a multi-purpose room as I spotted an ark
in the corner, next to a pile of prayer books. I had no choice but to leave. It
was quite an experience to drag the children out of the class and resettle in a
new one. During the move, some of my students took off. Feeling responsible for
their safety, I ran into the playground to bring them back to class while the
rest students remained uncontrolled.
·
During a class, some woman
broke into my classroom without knocking. She took attendance holding a class
list she yelling out the names of the children. She disappeared without
acknowledging me in any way.
·
In the older groups, children
were stuck to their cell phones and refused to put them away. Others threw
water bottles in the air, and insisted to be excused from class for a variety
of reasons. They refused to take out their books, settle down or listen to any
of my instructions. Their attitude was a combination of mockery and
confrontation.
·
During class a boy’s attention
was drawn to the window. He said his parents were waving hello from the
balcony. Then the rest of the children lined up in front of the window to enjoy
the spectacle. I was left to speak only to myself.
·
A Grade 4 girl played me
insisting that her “other” teacher lets her go to the washroom anytime she
wants, and gives the group two recesses over the one-hour lesson. She also came
to the board to draw while I was attempting to teach.
Overall, students were unmanageably rowdy
and disruptive, and my efforts to catch their attention with pair work, games
and songs proved hopeless. While they behaved like wild animals in captivity, I
felt like I was in a lion’s den. When I
arrived to my apartment, I met the landlord whose wife is a teacher in a middle
school. Noticing my stress level he asked if I was ok. When I shared with him
my teaching fiasco he assured me that his Israeli wife came home crying many
times as a result of her frustration with students.
During Shabbat I felt depleted and worried
about doing the right thing. I did some soul-searching, weighing the pros and
the cons, considering my commitment with Berlitz, the children and myself. It
became obvious that my investment of time and effort yielded a net loss of
stress that is hard to quantify. I then
conveyed to Berlitz my decision to withdraw from the assignments. I felt relieved even though I sensed their
disapproval. However, I regretted being unable to empower the children with
English vocabulary, which is what I set out to do.
Learning can only occur in a safe and
positive environment, and when students fail to acknowledge authority and
ignore boundaries they sabotage their own learning. It became crystal clear to
me that children in Israel inherit a “know-it-all” attitude from their parents,
disregard authority, lack boundaries, and display a sense of confrontational
entitlement, all of which is not in their best interests.
Looking back, I surprised myself on how
well I handled the pressure in a completely unfamiliar and challenging
environment. I feel grateful for having had the opportunity to witness school
life from within. Most importantly, I realized the importance of the triangular
partnership amongst parents, teachers and students. Parents set the stage for
good behavior at home, and teachers maintain it and enhance it through
socialization. For this three-way partnership to blossom, it must stand on
three principles: respecting authority, setting boundaries, and knowing what is
in one’s best interests. Having worked for more than two decades in education
administration and teaching, and being blessed with two daughters who chose the
noble profession of teaching the young, I stand in awe of all teachers, young
and old, who dedicate their lives to change lives. I can only imagine what teachers must go
through every day attempting to impart knowledge to children that come from all
backgrounds and cultures, whose upbringing is often tainted with family
dysfunction and trauma. We do live in a
very complex and controversial world, but we should never underestimate the
power each person has to be a role model to the next generation.
“It takes a village to raise a “mensch.”
Feeling
Reassured...
A month later I met a friend for lunch in
Tel Aviv. Over our meal she shared with me her recent experience teaching in a
public elementary school in Israel. It is important to note that my friend has
a PHD in education and many years of teaching experience in the US, but had
never taught in Israel. Given her
credentials, the Ministry of Education in Israel welcomed her with open arms,
and immediately assigned her to teach English at an elementary public school.
Here is her story, as best as I can retell it.
“I arrived at the
school and found my way into the office. The principal hurriedly showed me to
the classroom but did not say a word to welcome me. When I asked her about the curriculum, she
looked puzzled. ‘The curriculum...
ahhh... we don’t have one, but you can make it up.’ I also asked her for a
class list, but such luxury was not made available to me.
Once in the
classroom, I found myself before a dozen of 8-year olds out of control. I tried
to establish some order, but no one listened. In my long years of teaching I
had never encountered such disruption. While a boy played loud drums on his
desk, others talked, laughed, joked, asked to go to the washroom, and several
raised their hands holding notes to be excused from class. The noise level made
it impossible for me to be heard, and I found myself yelling at the top of my
lungs in a frantic effort to establish some kind of order. When I asked a girl
to take out her textbook, she answered –‘who are you to ask me to take out my
book.’ At this point, symptoms of anxiety started to clog my throat, yet I kept
my calm. The climax came when I asked the students to make a sentence using the
word “donkey.” One of them came up with
“I fuck the donkey.”
At this point I
knew what I needed to do: walk away!
When I informed the principal my unwillingness to teach in such a
disruptive environment, she did not move a muscle, yet she reassured me that my
placement would be available whenever I was ready to come back.”
At the end of my friend’s story, the two of
us burst into the kind of laughter that brings tears to the eyes. Her story resonated with me in an affirming
and convincing way, given my own recent experience in public schools in Israel.
With her permission in anonymity, I felt compelled to share her story.
Berlitz
Spanish Group in Petach Tikva
In spite of all odds, I decided to take a
Spanish teaching assignment in Petach Tikva. The group scheduled the class on a
Friday morning at 9:00am, basically in their back yard, away from the city
center and fluid transportation. This meant that I needed to leave the house at
7:00am to make it by 9:00am. So I did it! While I enjoyed the group, the long and stressful commute made me realize it was a very bad
idea. After taking a train and a bus, I had to take a taxi to make it on time. The driver said I must be
crazy to travel such distance to teach for a short time. When common sense
finally came to me, having invested seven hours of my Friday in teaching and
transportation, I gave the manager the option to either ask the group to meet
at a more central location, or agree to pay for the taxi from the train
station. The blue lining was that while I was trying to sort things out with
the manager, the students expressed how much they enjoyed the class and how
much they wanted me back. At the end, the manager said neither options were
doable. Oh well, “c’est la vie,” I thought, feeling relieved. If they look out for their best interests, “I
better look out for mine!” I
know I am hard working, committed, loyal, but I am not willing to kill myself
for a few shekels, and especially, I am not willing to expose myself to
unnecessary stress that in the long run will cost me more than money.
English
Center in Ramla Prospect
At my daughter’s suggestion, I contacted
the manager of the English Center in Ramla, the school where she had
volunteered during her Masa Israel Program.
The manager invited me to come to school to meet her and I was
pleasantly surprised to discover that that the bus ride to the center was short
and smooth (30min.) The center is modern, spacious and impressive, built thanks to
American money poured into the basket for the benefit of youth. When I
arrived a school group was working with a staff. The manager showed me around
and then interviewed me. She mentioned that her assistant remembered Nadia, and
her comment made my heart leap. At the end of our meeting she offered to hire
me as a substitute teacher, yet made no promises as to when she would call
me. I agreed because I liked the center
and found her to be professional. Before I left, Iris approached me. She said that looking at me she could
remember Nadia as we look alike. I took
a picture with Iris to share with Nadia.
Here we are.
Private
Students
This month I have been teaching two private
students. Ilan, wishing to learn Spanish prior to his trip to Mexico,
approached me thanks to a recommendation by my ex-student at Berlitz. I had the pleasure to meet Ilan and teach him
a few lessons before his departure to Mexico. I learned that he is a retired
Israeli policeman, who recently founded his own company together with his
retired peers, including high-ranking officials of the Israeli Police. Who better than them to teach other policemen
how to combat terrorism! Yes, the
Mexican police have hired them to teach them to combat terrorism and protect
citizens. This tells us how terrorism is
becoming a common threat that sees no geographical boundaries.
My other student is Natalie, who wishes to
learn a bit of English before her vacation in the US during Pessach. I met Natalie
in a shopping center. After chatting with Yaffa, she became aware that I am a
language teacher. Natalie took my number and insisted that I teach her and her
husband. Upon coming home she called me and basically begged me to become her
teacher, even though we could not come to an agreement on the place. She lives
in Hulon, and again, I did not want to see myself caught in transit and get
stressed. Natalie finally agreed to come to me. She is a sweet woman, and I
enjoy our lessons.
Personal
Health
This month I had a bone density test. I now
take Calcium and Vitamin D every day. I
also experienced a few sessions of Shiatsu and Reflexology, taking advantage of
my Macabi Sheli benefits. The
appointments were too short, 20 and 30 minutes, and I found them pleasant but
not great.
Socio-Cultural
Corner
I finally visited the Tel Aviv Museum of
Art with my new friend Francine, a single English woman who lives in
Jerusalem. I met Francine at a Nefesh
b’Nefesh field trip, and was attracted to her being down to earth and genuine.
I enjoyed the museum and her company. I am happy to share a few photos of their
permanent exhibit.
Jerusalem
on Line Publishes my Article on Culture Shock
To conclude my January highlights, what better
way than to flaunt the fact that Jerusalem on Line published my second article,
this time on Culture Shock. Here is the
link:
Challenge is the name of my new life and I seem to face it with courage and trust that at the end it will be ok. I learn as I go, I stumble and get up again. The process of getting up seems to push me forward.
