Today we marked a momentous occasion--our first hands on experience in an Israeli school! In groups of 5 we divided among a few of the schools participating in the ITF program to gain some insight into our role as educators. Over the past few weeks all I was able to glean of the Israeli school system was that it was "different" from that of the United States in virtually every aspect. Although differences certainly existed, primarily in rowdiness, it did not appear as unique as originally hinted.
Arriving around 9 am, the school's English teachers Nira and ____ led us around the campus. It was certainly not nice by American standards, possessing few visually appealing elements and little play equipment; it is important to note that we live in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Be'er Sheva. A group of five children with some English skills were chosen to be our tour guides and led us around the schoolyard from the basketball court to the game room, even their new garden. The children swarmed us, quickly rambling off questions in an attempt to meet us before their friends and immediately inducted us into their game of hide and seek. I opted to tag along with Simon, a precocious fifth grader with clear leadership talent, but the entire thing was quite overwhelming.
After recess we attended Nira's fifth grade English class. A rambunctious group anxious to learn about the mysterious onlookers in their school, we eventually worked with some of the kids on basic reading comprehension. Admittedly I found it difficult to focus on a workbook instead of interacting more freely with the students, and to my enjoyment the lesson soon digressed to just that. We bonded over Spongebob, Angry Birds, and various other favorites of American youth as well. One girl showed me her collection of drawings (mostly of Spongebob and Tinkerbell, although they were quite good) and demanded I draw a picture for her.
The next hour was spent with a 6th grade special education class. Together with the children we worked on basic phonics, sounding out words like "cat" and 'bin" before identifying those objects in picture form. Unlike the 5th graders, these students spoke no English and was glad I knew enough Hebrew to note simple things and affirm their guesses.
By the time class had ended I was disappointed to leave and the children were anxious to spend more time with us. Although it was only a few hours, I learned more than in all of the training days to date and picked up invaluable notes on how to be successful in the classroom. I also am committed to returning to that school to visit the children, even if I am placed at a different location, because it is merely ten minutes walking from the apartment. I look forward to seeing more schools in the next few weeks and have already begun thinking of ways to contribute to these schools beyond the program--creating after school programs, painting murals, and the like.
More to come soon...
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