There is almost no discussion about the education system or about teachers in Israel that does not include the assertion that the state of the system is poor because of the teachers' salary levels.
This assertion is true, of course, both as a cause and as a sign.
"Since the Vikings invented money," says the wise phrase, "no better method of valuation has yet been found."
The low salary levels of teachers in Israel indicate that the level of the profession is not at its peak, and also create an inherent inferiority of the industry in part.
But it should be noted that this coin has another side.
There is another reason why the image of the profession is at a low point, and it has to do with the headlines of these days, headlines that accompany almost every end of the year and every beginning of the year in the education system, and they pop up here and there during the year as well.
Again there was a strike this week, and again no certificates were distributed, and again the chairman of the organization said and the chairman of the Histadrut responded, and in two and a half months we are likely to encounter the ultimate headline about whether or not the school year will open as usual, because of the meetings and the summaries and the agreements and so on.
One can debate or debate the necessity and morality of organized labor, but the debate will be relevant when it comes to workers in a soda machine factory or printing house workers.
When it comes to vital systems, the debate is different:
Is it permissible for a workers' struggle, however justified, to harm the workers' essential work routine? Does the contract between the doctor and the patient, or between the nurse and the patient, or between the commander and his subordinates, not override the terms of employment and does not dictate a complete separation between acts of protest and resistance and the framework of ongoing work?
The last example on the vital list: just as a strike in the defense establishment is unthinkable, so it is inconceivable to strike in other vital systems. For some reason, there is someone here who does not internalize the matter.
But when it comes to the education system, it is much worse, because the damage to the system is not only specific in the form of harm to students, but is ongoing and systemic.
The constant and constant reference to the education system as a "workplace", as a mainly occupational system that deals with imparting knowledge and education – does the system enormous damage. Even so, teachers are accused – not always justifiably – of being lax and worn out.
The constant treatment of them and their work only through the prism of employment and the Histadrut cements this accusation, stains the entire education system and wreaks havoc on the prestige of the profession.
An education system is first and foremost an education system. From Moshe Rabbeinu to Meir Shalev's Old Pines, a teacher is first and foremost a teacher. His profession is the Holy of Holies.
It is true that he also receives a salary, and it is true that the amount of his salary and the conditions of his employment are critical to his work. But treating teachers as livelihood beings is like treating writers as Kinneret-Zamora employees and brain surgeons as payroll recipients in Ichilov.
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