Bibi's Blog: The education plan: better educators

Teachers' salaries in Israel should increase significantly. However, if we don't change the way the education system is managed, even a substantial addition to the budget, as was done in the early 1990s, would not help.

The percentage of children that adequately passed the IDF reading test has dropped gradually but continuously from 60% in 1985 to 32% in 2002. This happened despite billion shekel investments in education.

The severe crisis in the education system does not derive first and foremost from a lack of resources but from the absence of a clear vision, defined and specified goals and courageous leadership. Israel invests in education as a commodity more than most countries and even the amount of investment per student is at a respectable number.

Nevertheless, Israeli pupils' results have been deteriorating for over ten years. Even Iran is in a better position education-wise. 'Breaking the mould' where education is concerned, as was witnessed for example with the free-market reform which we underwent, will provide each child with an equal opportunity for success, without leaving anyone behind. Inasmuch as we have set goals to appear on the list of countries with significant economic strength - a goal we are pursuing diligently - we wish to do the same for education.

A thorough revolution in the education system will bring back Israeli children to the forefront of achievements in mathematics, the sciences, and English language, while instilling morals and Zionist values. Improving the education system depends first and foremost on the educator in the classroom, mainly in the first few years where a pupil's learning skills are influenced and shaped.

Research has shown that the gap between pupils who possess equal potential for excellence derives mainly from the 'quality' of the educator himself or herself and his/her teaching skills. For example, take two children in the 1st grade with average potential. The child who was instructed by a good teacher, will find himself/herself after four years, in the top 25% of the class while the child who was instructed by a lesser educator will be at the bottom quarter.

The key to the awaited revolution is therefore the improvement of the level of teachers in the classroom. For the past year, we've been consulting with educators, with teacher organizations and international experts. We've talked with principals, teachers and parents.

Below are the main principles needed for the reform:

1. Better instructors: We aim to return the prestige and respectability to the teaching profession. We need to raise the barrier of entry and apply a meticulous selection process. We also need to raise teachers' wages and invest widely in their training previous to entering the field and constantly thereafter, as is done with doctors and psychologists. This is the plan of action applied by countries that excel in education and Israel needs to learn from this lesson.

2. Give principals the authority: We need to significantly strengthen the management skills of school principals and allow them to promote teachers based on merit, all the while welcoming further involvement from parents and the Education Ministry.

3. Teachers' wages: No to bureaucracy; we need to minimize the cumbersome bureaucracy employed by the Education Ministry in order to increase the actual amount of money paid by parents so it reaches those who are at the forefront of the struggle: students and teachers.

4. Timely help for those who need it: We need to survey the progress of every child and watch closely for any difficulty in any subject. Should this arise, proper help should be given to a child in order to get him or her back on track.

5. Focus on core subjects: We need to dedicate the majority of school hours to improving skills such as reading, writing, English language instruction, mathematics, sciences, bible studies, history and computer science. This should take the place of  "trendy" subjects who do nothing to prepare a child for the future

6. The return of morals and values to education: School is not simply a grading machine. We need to bring back teaching morals and values in school through integrating instruction on good citizenry, democracy and Israel's heritage (and not the nakba) into teachers' training and the school curriculum.

We must implement these education reforms in the span of a few years. The economic reform that we undertook permits the allocation of resources for such a project. In addition to needed funds, we need to focus on excellence and give each child an opportunity to complete the changes.

From the moment the education reform starts to focus on results and not just expenses, the positive influence will reach, without delay, every pupil in Israel.