Israel: Listen to the teachers

by E Wayne Ross on December 27, 2007

Haaretz: Listen to the teachers

One cannot depend on transient politicians such as the prime minister and the education minister to take advantage of the momentum created by the long teachers strike and make a giant step toward changing the school system. This is not because of a lack of desire to make the longed-for change; the reason is that they have no time to make it.

The salary hike, the additional classroom hours and smaller numbers of students per class is important, but salvation will not come from those quarters.

The conclusion is that the teachers must take the fate of education into their own hands. The fashion of parental involvement in education has been, apparently, a resounding failure. Perhaps the time has come to bring about greater involvement from the teachers.