The Minister of Education's proposal to cancel vacations on three days forbade a holiday, Lag B'Omer and Ta'anit Esther, in exchange for five flexible vacation days for teachers, is a first shift in the right direction, but it must not be enough.
Until now, it seemed that Minister Shasha Bitton was coordinating positions with Yaffa Ben-David against the Ministry of Finance.
It is important to remind Sarah that she represents all of us, not the interests of the Teachers Union.
The most important issue in the current conflict is not the issue of vacations, but the issue of the terms of employment of teaching staff.
According to the publications, Yaffa Ben-David demands a percentage increase, or at least a shekel, equally for all teaching staff, including the veterans who earn a relatively good salary, even in international comparisons.
"Educating our children is not a game" // Photo: Getty Images,
The Treasury rightly demands that the salary graph be flattened, that is: an increase for all teachers, but in the opposite way to seniority.
But there are even more important clauses in the negotiations.
The first is: the need to give more significant salary increases to other positions, such as classroom education, concentration of class or profession, and so on, and to teaching professions where there is a shortage of teachers, in a way that these additions will not be affected by seniority.
This section will allow managers to reward investment and excellence.
It is important to allow principals some flexibility in determining roles according to school needs.
The second section is to provide an opportunity to terminate the employment of teachers in a short and effective manner.
There are not many bad teachers in the system, but those who do - cause horizontal damage.
It is important to allow managers to fire them according to labor laws in the economy, while providing adequate compensation.
The path that exists today for the dismissal of a teacher is long, complicated and involves legal mines that in practice prevent dismissals.
There must also be a reform in the field of hiring managers, which will facilitate the introduction of quality managers into the system by reducing the threshold conditions, and if necessary, will also facilitate their replacement.
Educating our children is not a game.
In order to harness the good, those who do not qualify must be rejected, despite the inconvenience involved.
However, termination of employment of teachers, so long as it does not occur in serious circumstances, should not involve revocation of a teaching license.
It is quite possible that a particular teacher will not succeed in one school but will fit in another.
Only after these basic conditions, whose importance to the quality of education is invaluable, should the change in the vacation schedule be discussed.
The original idea, on which Minister Shasha Bitton also pledged before the election, was to move to a five-day learning week, and instead of Fridays to teach on days that are now holidays for students, but working days for their parents.
There should be partially subsidized alternative frameworks on Fridays, run by local authorities, or by community centers, for parents who want them. The five days of vacation, which Shasha Bitton has already agreed to cancel, are a good start, but not enough. The school year will allow for the addition of more than five school days throughout the year, so that the great freedom will be shortened a little, and regular studies will also take place before Passover.
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