An almost forgotten legacy:
only 9% of middle school students participated in a program to commemorate personalities and prime ministers, according to data obtained by Israel Today.
Since the year 2009, the program "Personalities, Presidents and Prime Ministers" has been operating in the education system, as part of Shalach and Yedioth Ha'aretz. There are about 220,000 students (in the Jewish sector), only about 20,000 students participated - only 9%. Forgotten.
As early as the 1980s, the government determined that the role of the Ministry of Education was to initiate actions to raise the memory of heads of state in schools.
But it seems that in everything that has to do with the personalities who have left their mark on the history of the country, in its construction and design - there is no orderly plan.
For example, a decade ago, the Memorial Council (in the Prime Minister's Office) together with the Ministry of Education initiated an initiative for fifth- and ninth-grade students, entitled "From Past Leaders to the Future Generation."
Each year, 40 public schools participated in the project, but the Ministry of Education noted this week that the program is no longer taught in the education system.
It should be noted that the Ministry of Education has an impressive and interesting program in the field of Palestine and archeology at the level of five study units.
Students learn in detail about all the presidents and prime ministers of the country.
For example, the national carrier established by Levy Eshkol, or the reactor in Dimona, of which Shimon Peres was one.
They also make many tours of relevant landmarks, such as in Nir David, which was the first settlement established within a wall and tower, and following the story of Moshe Sharet, who served as head of the Jewish Agency's political department, pressured to accelerate settlement in the Beit She'an Valley.
But as of the previous school year - only 932 students chose this trend.
The students deal with the heads of state in several fields of knowledge, citizenship, history and Israeli culture (which is taught in grades 1-9).
In history classes in public education, in tenth-eleventh grades, Ben-Gurion (State Establishment), Begin (Altalena), Levy Eshkol (Six Day War) and Chaim Weizmann (Balfour Declaration) are mentioned in the most important grades. State-religious students deal with a large number of prime ministers and presidents, and still names that are more difficult to find there are Moshe Sharet, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Shamir or Ariel Sharon, as well as Ezer Weizmann and Zalman Shazar.
"Citizenship? Already from elementary school"
In high school, the high school students deal with texts by Yitzhak Navon, Haim Herzog, Shimon Peres, David Ben-Gurion around the declaration of the state - and of course the assassination of Rabin.
"When I think of citizenship studies, there are so few study hours and so many important issues concerning Israeli society," explains Yael Guron, a former supervisor of the citizenship profession.
"One should definitely also recognize the work of prime ministers as important people who have done very great things here. But right now, when the citizenship profession is only taught in high school, and the issues are complex and many, the main thing is not to know the work of a particular leader or person. Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. "
She said, "Citizenship studies should start from primary school. Then it will also be possible to learn about leadership and leaders, to know what they did, what controversies accompanied their time, how they influenced and whether they set an example."
The Ministry of Education stated: "The work of the leaders and founders of the state will be studied within the framework of the core subjects. The program that deals with their commemoration is an additional program that is available for the selection of schools."
