01 October 2007 -- We're not in Texas anymore!

Well, the fun has begun! School has been in session now for a month. Actually, that's a bit misleading. For the whole of September, we only had seventeen school days. The Jewish High Holy Days fell early this year, so we've had almost as much off-time as we've had on-time. In fact, I'm in the middle of an eleven-day break right now. But that's not all! Rumor has it that a nationwide strike by secondary-school teachers will begin immediately after this holiday. I may not work again until November!

I should probably tell you what exactly work means for me here. I teach English in Leo Baeck's Junior and Senior High Schools, I write fundraising materials for the Development Office, and I create curricula for and host delegations to the International Academy of Jewish Studies. That may sound like a heavy load, but the teaching is my main duty right now. We're still in the process of defining my other responsibilities. You may notice that "designing KIPP-inspired Leo Baeck schools" is absent from the above list. We have begun to do this, but since the project isn't funded yet, it's all behind the scenes right now. Anyone want to make a donation?!

My courseload is as follows:
- ninth-grade gifted students;
- tenth-grade gifted students; and
- eleventh-grade college-bound students.

Placement in the "gifted" cohort is based entirely on IQ, and the cut-off is usually the top 1%. Once a student is in the club, s/he's there for good. Picture it: a group of super-smart kids who are in the same class together for all academic subjects from fifth grade through high school graduation. Oy vey! As you might imagine, there is an interesting mixture of brilliance, creativity, arrogance, and immaturity in these classes. We're getting along well, though. I'm their first-ever native-English-speaking English teacher, and most of them are pretty psyched about it. And, of course, I can be arrogant and immature with the best of 'em!

The eleventh-grade class feels more normal...because it is. The kids generally have a strong command of English, but they make basic ESL mistakes. And their accents are all over the place. Encouragingly, most of them seem motivated to improve their English, and they have plenty of exposure to American pop culture (though I'm not sure that always helps). Some of them are having a hard time figuring out what I'm doing here, and my explanation isn't entirely satisfying -- even to me. Overall, things are going well in the classroom, despite some of the challenges described below.

So, how is school in Israel different from school in the U.S.? Let me count the ways...
1) The school week is six days long (Sunday through Friday), but I only meet each of my classes for three clock hours in that time -- four lessons, forty-five minutes each. Given the length of the school year and the amount of holidays, that means I will teach each course for a total of 105 hours. That's it: a year's worth of English learnin' in about a hundred hours (and that's without a strike!).
2) The teachers move from classroom to classroom while the students stay put. For someone accustomed to the American system, this is meshuga (crazy)! It means that teachers take no ownership of the rooms, which are consequently undecorated and in poor repair. It also means that teachers have no more time than the five-minute passing period to prepare the room for a lesson. Which brings me to my next point...
3) Punctuality is not a virtue highly valued at Leo Baeck. My students have noted on several occasions how weird it is that I come in so "early." Of course, I just enter when the bell rings to end the previous class, but this is terribly unusual here. Teachers and students alike are wandering the halls well after the bell rings. Oh, and that's another thing: The "bell" doesn't actually "ring." To indicate the beginning and ending of each period, a song excerpt is played over the intercom. Selections run the gamut of popular music. Particularly amusing is the beginning of fifth period, when "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show signals everyone to start learning!
4) In general, school is approached more casually here than in the States (and especially in comparison to KIPP). There is supposedly a dress code, but I think it just says, "Don't be naked." The kids look a right mess, and the teachers are only marginally better. Okay, I admit that it's nice to be able to put away the Fashion Police badge I've wielded so wearily for the past three years, but this is a bit overboard. A few days ago, I told two boys that they would not be welcome in my class if they continued to wear sexually explicit, misogynistic t-shirts. They both agreed, but were quite surprised. One of them confirmed that I'm the first teacher ever to bring it up. Dang, I'm a hard-ass without even trying.
5) As advertised, kids call (almost) all school employees by their first name. I didn't want to step on too many cultural toes, so I decided to go along with this. The problem, though, is that there's no short a sound (as in cat) in Hebrew, and Israelis hear and pronounce that vowel as a short e (as in bed). So what? Well, given this phonetic phenomenon, Matt is indistinguishable from met, which means "dead." Rather than have my students inadvertently kill me off every time they want my attention, I went with Matthew, instead. Of course, there's no th sound in Hebrew, either, so I usually end up as Metyu, but that's okay. It's better than being dead.

There are plenty more differences, but I think you're starting to get the point. I realize that many of the above observations come off sounding negative, and while I am indeed taken aback by some of the laxness I've encountered, I should also say that I've had fun with the kids so far. I'm impressed by their energy and curiosity as well as their English ability. Most of them are excited by the challenge I pose in that I speak quickly with an American accent and am not able to help them in Hebrew. They've told other teachers that I'm "hard but good." I'll take it!

One final note before picture time: I am about to celebrate the three-month-iversary of my arrival in Israel, at which point my citizenship will become permanent (unless I sign a refusal letter within the next two days). So, if any of you can show just cause why I should not become an Israeli citizen, speak now or forever hold your shalom!

If I do go on strike next week, this will be the reason: cold, hard cash. Israeli teachers make less than half of what American teachers make, and they are shortchanged in other areas, as well. If Israel wants its education system to catch up to that of the most highly developed countries, it will have to raise the status of the teacher. (See, I've only been here three months, and already I'm causing trouble!)


There is no such thing in Israel as the "big yellow schoolbus," so big green city buses are how kids and car-less teachers get to school. I'm becoming quite the expert on Israeli public transportation. Jealous?


So far in this blog, I've taught you quite a bit of Hebrew vocabulary. Now it's time to start learning the alphabet. See if you can figure out what this sign says. Remember, Hebrew is written from right to left. That's the only hint I'm going to give. Good luck!