In Israel, Teacher's Day will be celebrated at the end of the week, which is intended to express appreciation for the work of teaching workers such as kindergarteners and assistants, teachers, female educators, principals, and more.
This year, kindergarteners and teachers were at the center of attention when the end of the previous school year was disrupted before the signing of a salary agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Teachers' Union.
As part of the negotiations, the relationship between the new teachers, who received adequate salary increases, and the older teachers, some of whom claim that they were shortchanged by the agreement, was also discussed.
But the story is not only about money, the teachers come on a mission and have to deal with quite a few changes going through the system, the technology, the introduction, the attitude from the parents and the students, the burnout after so many years, and more.
In preparation for Teacher's Day, three teachers chose to share with us about their extraordinary work.
Four decades of teaching
Nehemiah Katua, a teacher of shalach, history and citizenship at Olpanit Ort Tiberias, with a seniority of 44 years, will celebrate 70 next year, and if you ask him - he will still be studying at the school he has been going to for more than four decades. He started teaching at Ort Tiberias High School when it was founded In 1977, when boys and girls studied together, and he continues to teach continuously since then, when today it is a studio for female students only.
still having fun
Cut off, photo: Gil Eliyahu-Gini
"The studio has changed quite a bit since the establishment of the high school, but the pleasure of traveling with the students and seeing their curiosity along with their energy have remained with me, and only give me more strength," he says.
Although he reached retirement age about two years ago, Nehemiah continues to teach and even taught a class for a certain period.
"Meeting the youth gives me energy. A wonderful thing is happening that was not the case when I was a young teacher - because of the Internet, as a teacher you are not only the sovereign of knowledge, not the one that everyone only looks at; today students have other sources and can ask you questions. You have to be constantly Updated, and this is a very beautiful process and can be a lever for something positive."
How do you deal with burnout?
"This is a question that is asked by many young teachers. I can say that I am a curious person, I read a lot, I pay for myself in courses, languages and travel training, and in the end, naturally, you bring it with you to the classroom, and it is very interesting to the students - it passes to them The idea is to find other occupations that are good for you."
About the generation gap between him and his students, he says: "I have WhatsApp and I correspond with the students and send them what is necessary. Instagram and Tiktok are far from me, but I do what is necessary to give them a proper and appropriate response."
Regarding the future: "Today I teach fewer hours than before, of course, but I still enjoy it, and as long as I can - I will continue in one way or another."
From a service in the Shavas to a class teacher
Alex Azraev (31) is an English teacher and 9th grade teacher at the 5th Urban Middle School in Haifa.
He started teaching in the year of Corona, and this is his third year in the position.
He actually came to the position of educator and teacher from the position of a warden in the prison service after serving in one of the complex prisons in Israel - Gilboa Prison.
"As a soldier I served in the Shavas in Megiddo prison, and at the age of 21, upon my release from mandatory service, I enlisted in permanent service and was stationed in Gilboa prison.
These were relatively comfortable shifts with good pay for a young man." But he felt that he was not fulfilling his calling: "I wanted to do something more significant, to have an impact.
I wanted a place where I could make a difference, to have a direct impact on people's lives - both in the present and in the distant future."
challenging
Azariev, photo: Herzi Shapira
At the age of 25, Alex decided to change course and studied for a bachelor's degree in English literature with a teaching certificate, then began working in teaching.
"I was in a place where you clearly see the result of a lack of education, I actually went from one end to the other. I talk quite a bit with the students about life in prison, about the experiences, and where extreme situations can lead to."
What
about disciplinary problems?
"We are talking about teenage boys and girls, so indeed they can be challenging. It is a very lively age and full of stimuli. I try to coordinate expectations with them, maintain culture, instill values of respect for others in the class and a culture of discussion and openness to diverse opinions.
"You have to show assertiveness and firmness on the one hand, and on the other hand a lot of sensitivity. In the end, it's a matter of perseverance - you have to handle everything with great patience. You don't always see the results immediately, but eventually you reap the fruits."
As a new teacher, how are you getting along with the system?
"On a personal level, I am experiencing the initial difficulties, especially because I started teaching in the year of Corona and closures. But after we returned to teaching in the schools, it helped me get into a system that was sorely lacking for me and the students."
A substitute teacher for teaching physics
Anat Elias (54), a physics and chemistry teacher at the Ort School named after Henry Ronson Ashkelon, with 27 years of experience in the system, never planned to become a teacher, but one small offer changed the course of her life.
"I studied chemical engineering at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev and was supposed to work in industry," she says.
"My older sister is a teacher and she said that a teacher on staff is going on maternity leave for three months, she suggested that until I choose which factory I want to work, I will come to teach at the Henry Ronson school in Ashkelon."
But the temporary has become permanent.
DNA of a teacher. Elias,
"I fell in love with the job and I just stayed there for most of those years. For a short period of time I tried to fulfill my dream and work in the industry, and it didn't work. When I sat with a professional woman she told me - you have the DNA of a teacher, and I returned to the school where I started teaching.
As an innovation coordinator, I really like working at the school because our school leads students to the development and encouragement of creative thinking and entrepreneurship, scientific leadership."
She teaches grades 7-10 and talks about a two-way relationship: "On a personal level, my interaction with the youth does me a lot of good. On the other hand, I feel that I am giving them the wisdom of my life, I know and feel that they need a guiding hand. Boy, Despite what it seems, he does want to be told what to do. I give them tools, they know that I am not just a teacher, and even though I am not their educator, I am also at their disposal on a personal level. Over the years, the relationship with the students becomes more personal, there is more closeness. I learn Every day anew how to reach them."
Where does the system need to be repaired?
"I think it's about the big classes that have about 40 students. The more we progress over the years, the greater the variation between the students. There are students from all levels, and you can't always give everyone what they need. I try to do it in hallway conversations, But in small classes it was possible to reach them more."
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