Since taking office last January, the education minister has not had a dull moment. The disruptions and the threat of a strike by the teachers' union, the Camera Law, the struggle over liberal content, the demonstrations in front of his home due to the legal reform, and more. Now, just before the start of the school year, we met him with Tomer Aharon Menachem, 16 and a half, for a conversation about the education system.
Tomer is a student at the Yitzhak Navon 13th Comprehensive School in Rishon LeZion, is entering the eleventh grade this year, and is studying software engineering. The way the previous school year ended bothers him.
The Interview with Education Minister Yoav Kisch | Photo:Moshe Ben Simhon
What do you have to say to high school students who didn't get diplomas, didn't go on trips, and were pretty neglected?
"The teachers' union's struggle is justified. Unfortunately, they chose to go for sanctions at the expense of the students and really hurt them. I hope that the price paid by this layer will stop. We are putting in every effort so that you and all your friends will start the year on time in September."
As reported in Israel Hayom, there is a shortage of educators in the system, and in high schools an educator is obligated to spend only one hour a week. Against this background, Minister Kish has a question for Tomer:
How do you feel in terms of teachers? How much is the educator with you?
Tomer: "My teacher is a math teacher, so it turns out that he is with me a lot, but because there are different groups in the class, there are students in the class who don't study math with him, so they only have an hour a week with him. So there are those who are much more connected with him and some who are less."
Tomer: What kind of student were you?
Minister Kish: "It was in waves, I was a good student in a realistic track with a good matriculation grade, but there were times when I would go to the beach and they had to chase me. There are times when I loved going to school because of the teachers and friends, and there were also times when teachers were boring so you don't know what you're doing in school."
What grade would you give yourself?
"When I'm after the start of the year, I'll be able to tell you. We will lead to a successful opening, and then everyone will see that the score will be significantly good."
And what grade does Kish get among the public today? In a survey published in Israel Hayom on the government's performance, he received a low grade: 49% said his performance was negative while 17% were positive.
Minister Kisch responds to the criticism: "I admit that I am not excited about polls, what is important is action, and we are leading amazing work."
Noam (Dabol) Dvir participated in the preparation of the report
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