Exploring alternatives

This has been quite a week.  Monday, I joined a group of educators in Be'er Sheva (pronounced "bear" not "beer") who were visiting Bedouin schools.  Israel and the Bedouins have a special relationship.  Israel would like them to settle down, become less nomadic, and has built communities (think townships) for the Bedouins.  Some Bedouins have embraced this idea, others prefer to live in the manner their people have always lived.  To reach the first school, we drove about 5 miles out of Be'er Sheva and found ourselves on a brand new road with newly created roundabouts driving through what can only be described as a township in the South African model.  When we reached the school, I was struck by the fact that we just walked in.  There was apparently neither armed guard nor locked gate.  We just walked in, said hi to the kids playing, asked directions to the main entrance, and headed into the school.  Very different than every other Israeli school I've been in.  We walked into the male faculty room.  Later, we spoke with the principal who has a male assistant.  Clearly, there are cultural norms in these school which are different from other Israeli schools.  This must make some types of communication difficult, if not impossible.  This elementary school was an "experimental" school.  The Ministry of Education allows schools to "experiment" with lots of different areas of learning.  Experiments are funded for five years, then evaluated for success or no success (failure is really not an option.)  Successful schools are those whose students score at the same level as "non-experimental" schools in subjects such as language and math.  They then receive more funding to replicate their model and train other teachers/schools.  Almustabel (the future in Arabic) is right on the edge of the desert.  Students study every aspect of desert life, plants, soil, animals, birds, etc. in conjunction with Bedouin culture.  These kids collect tons of data.  I have already contacted Scott Bowler at Catlin Gabel to see if he wants to trade Northwest data with the science teacher at Almustabel.  The science guy (pictured here) lives in an unincorporated Bedouin village with no electricity.  He tethers his laptop to his cell phone and powers the whole internet connection with a USB modem run on solar power.  The biggest speed bump for this school right now is teacher retention.  It must be difficult to run an experimental school with high teacher turnover.  I don't envy Abdullah, the principal.

After lunch, we joined a caravan of cars travelling off-road to a brand new school in an unincorporated area.  Remember, those areas have little infrastructure....so, no roads, no power, problematic water distribution, etc.  Suddenly, we drove around a dune and were face to face with a lovely two story pastel colored school.  The first thing I noticed was a loud hum.  The entire school is powered by a generator the size of a small recreational vehicle.  Once inside, I thought I was back in Oregon.  Bright pictures on the walls, no hum (thick walls!), lots of color, the whole place looked just like an American school.  We met with school staff to discuss an ongoing project involving teaching Bedouin parents how to use computers.  Hurdles to overcome in this program include separating moms and dads (they didn't even want to join together to celebrate their completion of the course!), stopping in the middle of the meeting to pray, and, most importantly, the fact that many more families want to be included than the school has either teachers or space for.  I asked if families were tracked after the course to see how they put the computer knowledge to use, but, I'm not sure I understood the answer.  It was a tiring, long day, and as I was returning to Jerusalem (on an Egged bus that was overheating), the bus driver switched from talk radio to oldies music.  I smiled and sat back to Aretha Franklin's RESPECT.  That is what the Bedouins really want.  Many serve in the military.  They just want cultural respect from their country....Israel.

Tuesday, I accompanied a university instructor visiting a student teacher who was completing a practicum at a nearby special ed school.  The best part about the visit was I didn't have to take a bus!  I could have walked to the school, but, of course, I met the instructorfive minutes walk from our apartment and we drove the final 5 minutes to the school.  This special ed school appeared to be boys only.  It was a tough audience in a tough school (doors in this school are locked not to keep the world out, but to keep the students in.)  I asked the instructor how the student-teacher came to be placed in the school.  Turns out she asked to work with this population.  After the lesson, I offered suggestions about English sites which the student teacher might find useful.  She is still acquiring the skills she needs to be an effective teacher, but, she already has a very important quality.....she is passionate about the welfare of her students.  All in all, a fascinating couple of days in schools which are way outside the Israeli educational mainstream.

Can Teachers be Taught to Teach Better?

By now many of you have read Elizabeth Green's article in the current New York Times Magazine, Can Teachers Be Taught to Teach Better?  Already, one of my Israeli friends has asked if I have read the article.  Now, I don't know how early Reuven gets up, but I was reading the article when his e-mail arrived!  The article is already the second most shared article in the NY Times.  For some unexplainable reason, an article on vacationing in Tuscany is rated higher.....sigh.

Green, through her interviews with some very smart people raises excellent points, alludes to many of the historical reasons great teachers have not been successfully replicated, and fails to address qualities which effective teachers possess.  Part of the reason I came to Israel was to try to discover why so many American student teachers had difficulties during their practica, and why so many were no longer teaching five years after being hired.  Israel faces many of the same problems.  Ah, but back to Green...America sets one of the lowest (being charitable here) bars for prospective teachers.  To become a doctor, one needs to complete an undergraduate program, take the MCAT exam, be admitted to med school (no small feat), and complete a rigorous course of study.  Lawyers have a similar path.  But, to get into a teacher prep program, there is no testing hurdle and admittance is not an issue for most people.  Green makes a clear case for the need for this profession with no hurdles.  In her bar graph analysis, she points out there are slightly under one million lawyers in America, but nearly four million teachers.  There is simply no time to set rigorous standards for admitting students to teacher prep programs.  There is a dire need of replacement teachers.

Green writes that first-year teachers in America are expected to face classrooms of more than 30 children with no mentoring, professional follow-up, or other tools to help them become effective teachers.  Other countries, notably Singapore (that bastion of top-notch mathematics scores every country aspires to) and Germany (with one of the most rigid, prescribed education systems in the world); have figured out how to draw their best and brightest students into education, how to train them, and how to retain them.  Perhaps the American reformers mentioned in the Times article should interview Singaporean and German teachers/administrators, bring those ideas back to American schools of education, and, then track teachers trained under those systems. 

One concept emphasized in Green's article is the idea that effective American teachers allow students time to think about their answers/thinking.  This is important to help kids develop thinking skills.  The term Green avoids to describe this is currently called meta-cognition, thinking about one's thinking.  Effective teachers not only know the correct answer to a problem/question, they are also able to think through every "wrong" method kids throw at them.  In some cases, math facts for example, the "wrong" answers might be known in advance.  In other instances, history for example, there might be "wrong" answers the teacher could not know in advance, but will still have to deal with when they arise.  I have never yet had to tell a class, "I need to think about this a bit, let's continue the discussion tomorrow."  But, I know that someday I will face that situation.

Then there is the issue of how kids learn.  Over the past ten years, thanks to MRIs and other brain pictures, teachers now know more than ever before how kids learn, how they retain information, and how they are able to recall, review, synthesize, analyze, and evaluate information.  The problem is that we know this generally.  Kids don't come to class with their brain pictures in hand.  It would be terrific if they did.  Teachers would understand much more about how individual children learn.  Green's article and the accompanying comments (at this writing most add to the discussion) are a good basis for discussion or as the Slate Political Gabfest folks say, good cocktail chatter.  If only I attended cocktail parties....

Learner or Teacher?

Today was Purim in Jerusalem.  For those who have been to Carnival in Rio.....never mind, I can tell this comparison is not going to go well.  On the other hand, Jerusalem could use a few really good samba clubs.  For the cultural side of Purim, read Pam's and Noa's blogs.  They offer terrific Purim perspectives.

While riding the bus home, I observed a situation in which the adult was trying to be the teacher, but ended up being the learner.  Today's blog is dedicated to Margie Boule, longtime Oregonian columnist and master storyteller who wrote her final column today.  A couple of stops after I boarded, a family with two kids got on the bus.  Mom, dad, and two boys, both dressed up as pirates.  I don't recall pirates in the Purim story, but that doesn't seem to matter today.  We have seen as many pirates as we have Esthers.  Both boys stopped just after passing the driver.  Their parents nearly fell over them, the mom told the younger boy to move to a group of open seats much further back.  The dad told the older boy to head that direction, too.  Now, Israeli buses are designed low to the ground and about two seats back is a "hump" which is really the front wheel well.  There is a pole in the middle of it for folks to grab and most adults stand at that point.  Most kids (and teenagers) climb up on the wheel well and wrap their legs around the pole.  It gives them a great vantage point as they can see the entire length of the bus.  The older boy "told" his father he was not going to sit in a seat, but wanted to "play" pirate by sitting up on the wheel well.  The father's tone became somewhat agitated as he sternly told the boy to move to a seat further back.  The boy raised his voice and whined that he didn't want to do that.  Exasperated, the father moved to the open seat in the middle of the bus.  The boy climbed up on the wheel well, plastic six shooter in a holster, and pirate sword still in hand.  "This is why the Israeli school system has such issues with pupil respect for adult authority," I thought as I chuckled at the boy's rebellious behavior.  Never afraid to wade in again, the father told the boy, quite harshly, to keep his sword pointed down.  Bill Cosby's famous comedy routine came to mind.  "There are only two injuries in childhood...break your neck and poke your eye out."  The young man decided this was something he could live with and the plastic, dull blade disappeared behind the seat in front of him.  His old man could still teach him a thing or two.  At this point the boy yelled back to his mother, "Look at me, I'm a pirate" (or something like that....remember, the whole conversation was in Hebrew!)  Mom responded positively and the boy's affect changed noticeably.  He sat up straighter, looked ever like a pirate, and kept his sword pointed down the entire ride.  Sometimes one is the learner, sometimes one is the teacher.  What a wonderful metaphor for schools, teachers, students, new tools, and learning.  "I like Purim," I thought as I got off the bus and walked home.

Practicing learning....

Major thunderstorm with hail and over 4 inches of rain right now in Jerusalem. It was clearly a good day to catch up with my RSS reader and I came across the recent Will Richardson post titled Teachers as Master Learners.  I've been trying to reconcile Will's post with Jim Heynderickx's post on Comprehensive Learning Spaces.  Creating classrooms and teachers for the future will require schools to not only re-think what being a teacher means, but what a classroom is, too.  Needing a whack on the side of the head, I looked up when Noa said, "Dad, look what I did!"  She had downloaded TrippingFest 2 - Drawing and Sketching Lite, and wanted to show me her creation.  It was pretty cool.  I asked her if she could show me how she did it.  She replied, "No, but I can TEACH you!"  This is what Will is talking about.  As to the learning space.  Sorry, Jim....living room sofa was our classroom.  On the other hand, the fact that Noa was teaching me to use a drawing tool outside of a traditional classroom was a perfect example of how learning can occur anywhere, anytime.  Oh, to see Noa's drawings, you could go to her Facebook page....or admire them below.  Thanks, Noa.  It was fun having you teach me!

Beit Sefer Huberman

Back to Petach Tikva I travelled yesterday.  This time, I accompanied Rafi Davidson and his team of teacher educators from Kaye College in Be'er Sheva.  Rafi was trained as a biochemist and his group had a definite science bent to it.  I met the group and we attempted to find the school.  I had distracted Rafi just long enough for him to forget to give the driver directions....and I practiced picking up Hebrew for left and right!  Turns out the school is not difficult to find, but it is in a neighborhood with a series of one-way streets.  The school staff literally provided real time GPS navigation over the phone!

Sign outThis school was proud to have us visit, they gave us folders upon our arrival.  I felt like a visiting dignitary.  At the entrance to the school building, two youngsters were ready to play a clarinet/flute duet at a signal from the principal.  Hail to the Chief is peanuts compared to the intensity with which these two kids played!  Once inside, we were treated to an amazing rendition of a Star Wars song by a young.....trombonist!  This school is all about music.  Everybody plays something.  Moist-eyed, we were ushered into a conference room to learn a bit about the school.  Beit Sefer Huberman has 450 students, 45 computers, and some of the most dedicated teachers in Israel.  After a brief overview, once again with great snacks (PNAIS visiting teams don't have it this good!), we moved to a class which was using the 10 laptops.  They were engaged in rhetoric and debate lessons.  This school had kids present what they learned during the lessons and how using the computers enabled them to go further than they thought possible.  Then it was off to the computer lab to see a 5th grade class.  The English teacher in this class was also the ICT person for the school.  I finally saw my first Hitachi Starboard!  Nice looking piece of hardware.  Click here to see this class in action.  I chatted with a tech guy whose title is "municipal guy in charge of allocating tech hardware in schools (OK, that's not his real title, but that is his job.)  I don't envy him.  He would like to install a projector, interactive whiteboard, and as many computers as the teacher needs in each classroom in Petach Tikva.  He doesn't have the budget for that type of outlay in one year, or even three years.  So, his model is installing a projector and computer (with a monitor in a wheeled cart which HE designed!) in each class.  Each school gets one interactive whiteboard which is then used to train the rest of the staff.  Teachers who demonstrate the need for an interactive whiteboard might get one eventually, or the school just shares the lab....which is too big a hurdle once time conflicts occur.

Having seen all of the computers in this school, we retreated to the conference room once again for more snacks and presentations.  Then we were transferred to a municipal center used by teachers for professional development.  I was struck by the high quality of the municipal facility. Just like Mofet, it contained state of the art computers.  I realized midway through the afternoon presentations that Israel is a "Moodle" country.  Every teacher is creating a moodle page to share content with classes.  I haven't yet seen that teachers are sharing class pages with each other or connecting lessons between teachers.  I think I need to ask about that.  Deep in thought by this time, I was aware that the conversation level had quieted and that the whole room was looking at....ME!

Now, my Hebrew has improved these past 60+ days, but not to the point where I catch more than a snippet of the topic at hand.  So....I smiled, and a couple of folks made the suggestion that they wanted my opinion on matters.  After all, they reasoned, I had traveled nearly half way around the globe to observe the Israeli school system.  What did I think about what I had seen today?  Oh, my, I thought....extemporaneous speaking....good thing I have been working with Noa on this.  So, I shared a bit.  Afterward, an Israeli colleagues said I did fine.  Pam and I are going to practice this since I have a feeling it will happen again.

It was time to say goodbyes and head home.  My head was filled with all that I had observed and I was asking my questions than I was answering.   But wait, one more test was in store for me....while waiting for the bus, an Israeli military vehicle (large) slowed and a soldier (in uniform) asked me directions....in Hebrew!  Talk about the blind leading the blind!!!  Enjoy the pictures of the Beit Sefer kids, they are a hardworking group!  For the video...click here.

Parrothead Post

Yesterday, I returned to Petach Tikva to visit Beit Sefer Huberman.  More on that later....As the Egged (bus) driver pulled out of Jerusalem, I was thinking, "Another morning commute...."  A few minutes later, I heard familiar music, but couldn't quite place it until Jimmy Buffet began singing Come Monday.  Most Egged drivers listen to Israeli talk/news radio, but this driver was different.  He had his own ripped CD with nothing but American Country/Western tunes.  Many of them were the karaoke version....the driver was singing along!  He drummed the steering wheel, rocked back and forth and sang along with his tunes.  I found myself smiling and the trip down the hill never went faster.  I was totally cracking up when Toby Keith began singing The Taliban Song.  I even turned around to watch my fellow passengers' reactions.  Nothing, they were either wearing their own headphones or too far back to really hear the music.  Great way to begin the day.  Best Egged driver ever!  Approaching Petach Tikva from the south, they have a public art display....

What if there were art class only once a year?

Today's Haaretz, Israel's leading, and by many accounts, best daily newspaper ran a story about the Fichman School in Haifa.  Click here to read the story....then, return to the blog for my comment.

If you are reading this, you have now read the story.  Schools are dropping art?  I don't believe it for a minute.  Every piece of brain research conducted in the past fifteen years practically screams at the importance of art in learning.  The Fichman kids were treated to the best art has to offer because their principal made time for the biennale artists to spend time at the school, not just talking AT the kids, but getting them involved in the creation of, reaction to, and thought about art.  "Draw a map of yesterday?"  What a fabulous concept for kids to think about and discuss through art!  Chewing gum as a medium?  Think of the budget savings!  And, what a great use for all that chewing gum residing on the undersides of thousands of school desks and tables.  Kids were dancing, laughing, and thinking "outside the box."  Of course they were.  That is what art allows and encourages kids to do.  


So where does the idea come from that art is being dropped?  Perhaps it is because, unlike math or reading, art is rarely, if ever, tested.  There can seldom be a "right" answer to an art question.  Oh, sure, kids could be asked if a given painting were in the style of Duerer or Monet, but that isn't really an art question, it is a history one.  Yes, paintings are often included on multiple choice tests, but their meaning is usually political or historical.  Kids aren't being asked what they "think" about a painting, photo, or cartoon.  Art has to be dropped in schools in order to allow kids to have more time to read and calculate.  As the kids at Fichman School will probably demonstrate, more art time will actually lead to higher scores in other areas.  Go find some white t-shirts, sit down as a family tomorrow night and draw a map of yesterday.  Feel free to post photos of your art in the comment box.