On video: 1 billion shekels for special education and the opening of the registration areas: Kish marks goals (L.A.M.)
Dozens of educators and academics today (Sunday) addressed the Minister of Education Yoav Kish criticizing the plan that the government is promoting for free education from the age of two, ahead of a decisive discussion of the plan that will take place tomorrow at the Prime Minister's Office.
In the letter, they call on Kish "not to miss the opportunity to improve the quality of preschool education", which, in their view, the program misses.
The group includes leading experts in the field such as Prof. Yossi Shavit from Tel Aviv University, Prof. Avi Sagi-Schwartz from Haifa University, Prof. Tzipora Liebman, president of the Kibbutzim College, Prof. Ofra Koret from Bar Ilan University and many others. The group requested an urgent meeting with The minister "before final decisions are made regarding the manner of implementing the plan and its scope".
Don't miss the opportunity.
Minister of Education Yoav Kish (Photo: Reuven Castro)
According to the authors of the letter, an important opportunity has arisen to improve the system thanks to the investment of huge sums in early childhood education, which the system longs for.
But the proposed reform is aimed at expanding the system, instead of improving the existing one.
"The expansion of the system without the required investment in its stabilization and improvement, could lead to damage to the future human capital of the State of Israel. This will be a lament for generations," say the authors.
Along with building new classrooms in response to the growing demand, they propose additional classes, the reduction of classes, an increase in wages to attract quality personnel, an investment in the training of the educational and therapeutic staff, and an investment in supervision.
Without taking these steps, they say, the reform will not only not promote the development of the child, but it may harm it.
The authors also attack the division into day and afternoon stays included in the proposed plan.
The parents, according to them, will have to pay another hundreds or thousands of shekels a month for the after-school program, "a framework in which even the minimum standards that apply during normal daycare hours will not apply."
The proposed after-school model, according to them, "is not suitable for two-year-olds".
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The quality of early childhood education and care greatly affects development.
Children in the daycare center (Photo: Flash 90, Moshe Shai)
Prof. Yossi Shavit from Tel Aviv University, head of the early childhood research initiative at the Taub Center, said: "There are many areas in education where there are differences of opinion among educational researchers, but here we are all in agreement - the quality of early childhood education and care greatly affects the academic and social development of children Therefore, it is very important that the expansion of preschool education be accompanied by an improvement in its quality. This can be done by improving the ratio between the number of caregivers and the number of children under their supervision, and by deepening the professional training and guidance of the educational-therapeutic teams. These steps will contribute not only to the development of the children, but will also help to reduce the prevalence of cases of abuse and violence in preschool settings."
The proposed measures "will help reduce the number of cases of abuse".
Parents protest against child abuse at a daycare center in Kiryat Shmona (photo: official website, no)
Prof. Esther Adi-Yepa from the Faculty of Education, Bar-Ilan said: "Every parent wants the best for their child, therefore improving the quality of the educational staff and their contact with the toddlers is the important thing. The well-being of the nanny is directly related to the quality of care. The well-being of the nanny is affected by the terms of employment And from the support she receives. The terms of employment include the size of a group and the number of children under her responsibility. The support is proper training before she works (preferably one kindergarten teacher in each group) and continuous training in the daycare she receives while working. Improving these conditions must be a prerequisite for expanding the system."
Prof. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus from the Children's Brain Imaging Group at the Technion said: "A number of children in a daycare center that corresponds to that of education systems in the OECD will not only reduce the burden and burnout among the caregivers, but will also contribute to the young children's ability to get the most out of the content and stimulation in the daycare center (in terms of the pedagogical), and the caregiver's personal attitude (in the emotional aspect). These two aspects are critical at the tender ages."
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