Emotional congratulations, tears for the children who have grown up, gift cards and grooming packages as an expression of gratitude - this is how the school year usually ends.
Yesterday, high schools graduated on a slightly jarring note, due to teachers' union sanctions, but these truly moving ceremonies are expected to invade parents' lives again next weekend, when the school year for elementary and kindergarten children ends.
Well, if you have children of the same age in the education system, here's a warm recommendation: Look carefully at your children's teachers and kindergarten teachers, because it's not certain that they will be here next year either. Truth? It is not certain that they will even have teachers or kindergarten teachers in the 2024-2024 school year.
The shortage of teachers and kindergarten teachers is a talking topic. A mapping conducted by the Ministry of Education a year ago revealed a shortage of 1,495 classroom educators in primary education, 1,103 special education teachers, 871 English teachers, and 352 math teachers. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there has been a decline in the number of graduates of teacher training tracks since 2018. Also, one in five young teachers leaves the system.
The Knesset Research and Information Center also reported last summer that in a survey conducted by 85% of principals, of all types of supervision and ages, reported that they have a shortage of teachers. Result? Educators who share two classes, a teaching force that is not skilled in the subject it teaches, more burden on teachers in the system and less attitude towards students.
Why is this happening? For a variety of reasons. The insufficient wages, the overcrowded classrooms and the inability to reach students, the bureaucracy that teachers have to deal with instead of educating, the system that is not adapted to the challenges of this generation, the poor working conditions and the lack of flexibility. All of these come up in all studies and in all articles on the subject. All these parents mention again and again and demand that the Ministry of Education bring about a change in the matter. The demand, of course, is right, but, and this is a big but, it is worth paying attention to one more factor that distances teachers from the education system: parents and their attitude toward teachers, and in general the attitude of society as a whole to the teaching profession.
The Werkei Foundation, which works to promote education around the world, ranked Israel particularly low relative to teachers. A report she published four years ago said that out of 35 countries, Israel ranks 34th. Israeli parents do not want their children to study teaching, and the profession is not valued by them at all.
This attitude is also reflected on the ground. Teachers tell of parents who expect an immediate response at all hours of the day, parents who won't accept that their children need boundaries or make mistakes sometimes. High school parents demand that teachers raise protective grades, complete tests for students when they were on family vacation, and intervene in teaching considerations. A teacher told me about a parent who expected her to be available during her father's swearing-in. The pressure and demands often come directly to management. The principals, who are also stressed by the parents, demand more and more from the teachers, without providing space. In kindergartens, the situation is no better. Parents tend to hear testimony from the child about what happened in kindergarten and attack the teacher without asking what happened. There is an organization that encourages parents to record the teachers, and even distributes recording devices. It currently operates in 30 local authorities and causes direct departure of staff.
It is true that the school does not always know how to properly handle social, academic and behavioral problems that arise in the field, and it is true that there are teachers who do not fit the system at all. All of this undermines trust, which is the basic value on which a relationship is based. But still, we can start with a respectful attitude toward this profession, which is so important. We can continue to respect the privacy and decisions of teachers, we can choose respectful discourse. It is imperative to encourage and strengthen the good teachers, the teachers of life who are in the system. Parents cannot solve most of the problems in the education system, but when it comes specifically to the treatment of teachers, there is much more to be done, and not just to give away a gift at the end of the year.
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