I am convinced: It is time to tell the younger generation about the 1958 generation.

After an exciting evening that Naga and Yaron Carmi organized for my "Hai Fe" writings, an evening that was accompanied by music, nostalgic songs, and humorous bits from Yuval Dor, a member of the band "Hakol Ober Habibi", and in which I met old friends and acquaintances from the past.

On my way back home, I was accompanied by editor Ricky Levin, her husband, and the talented Racheli Orbach. During the trip, they emphasized the need and importance of writing articles about the history of the 1958 generation, for the benefit of today's youth and for future generations.
Ricky even quoted Yigal Allon's words: "A generation that does not know its past, its present is poor and its future is shrouded in fog."
I was moved by the conversation and convinced.

Therefore, I search my diary and forward to the newspaper "Hai Fe" things that seem important to me, in preparation for the start of the new school year.

And so I wrote in my diary

Teacher Paz called me today and asked me to give a lecture on engaging in education even in times of Challenging.
I replied that I was small. I am the youngest in the thousands of Menashe, not familiar with today's curricula and teaching methods that are constantly being updated.
I retired from teaching years ago, so I have no right to give you any instructions or advice in this area.

What is Actually a challenge?  After all, all we want to deal with and overcome is challenge..
In teaching and education, there are countless Challenges. The challenges It should be adapted to the period and age of the students.

A great educator named Rapp said: "The educational act is an act of art." Which requires teachers with special sensitivity
who are able to follow the child and to the same extent "Even to guide him in the development of his intelligence"

And in the book of Proverbs, chapter 22, verse 6, it is written: "Educate a boy according to his own way."
A verse with many explanations and interpretations here and there.
To these we can add and emphasize that the teaching profession is difficult. It requires dedication and a spirit, not a spade to dig into it…

Education in the Early Years of the State: Memories from the 1958 Generation

With your permission, I will briefly describe what we had in the field of education in the early years of the state and emphasize what was in Haifa (we are Haifaites).

With the declaration of the state on May 15, 1948, in the midst of a bloody war, and throughout the 1950s, thousands of immigrants, Holocaust survivors, and refugees from all over the world arrived in the country.
The country was in its infancy and had to deal with a mixture of languages ​​and cultures, with Challenges Many, including education and teaching.

The schools and teachers of those days

The number of teachers and kindergarten teachers was small.

In the country there were seminars Individual: David Yellin Seminary in Jerusalem; Levinsky Seminary in Tel Aviv; Ben-Nun Seminary in Haifa, a seminary of the religious sector.

Elementary, secondary, and vocational schools were also few.

The elementary ones There were: Elementary School A, Geula School, Reali and Alliance. A special education school was opened in a private house right after the establishment of the state, in Helen Katz's house.
High school There were: Reali, Bialik Gymnasium and early classes.
The professionals There were: the technical school next to the Technion, later the Basmat School, and there was also a Titz School in Yagur.

Their contribution to the War of Liberation within the walls of the school, each one is a story in itself. For example, at the Titz Bigor School, Uzi Feinerman, invented the submachine gun. The Uzi, named after him.

The hastily set up seminars

Let's go back to teachers and kindergarten teachers.  Since the country urgently needed teachers and kindergarten teachers, seminars were hastily established.
They were set up in temporary locations, in private homes, in the evening, in classrooms where students were studying in the morning. Or in buildings on abandoned property, for example:
The kibbutz seminary in Tel Aviv was established in barracks on the banks of the Yarkon River.
Givat Hashlosha Seminary was established in Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha.
The Reali Seminary was established in Haifa in the Pevzner House, which was a private home.
Even Pina Seminary was established on Nordau Street in Haifa, in a private home.
An intensive evening seminar was established for female soldiers in the army at the Kishon School, which was established for children on Kishon Street in Haifa.
A seminary for the workers' movement was established in Haifa on Shabtai Levi Street, in a building that was formerly the British "High School" for girls.

Many volunteers were recruited, even without any training in teaching at all. The main thing was that they had a desire to come and guide, teach, or work in the transit camps that were established and in neighborhoods that were crowded with immigrants.

From the old seminars to Gordon College

Later, the Reali Seminary and the Zrem Al-Obeid Seminary merged. They immigrated to the French Carmel and established Gordon College there. It is the Gordon Academy of Education, which exists and operates to this day.
In place of the Workers' Stream Seminary, which merged with the Reali Seminary, and left the building of the "High School" for girls, they established a new high school there. Maybe one of you studied there?
After a new high school moved to Carmel, the Haifa Municipal Museum was established in the building, which still exists and functions today.

Classrooms in sheds, tents, and under trees

As I told you, the seminaries did not have proper buildings, and not all of the schools had proper buildings either. In the cities, they taught in abandoned shopping malls. Outside the cities, they taught in the camps that had been set up. There, we taught in shacks, in tents called domins… or outside under the trees.

The shortage of teachers was so severe that my class, the first class after the establishment of the state, did not even complete one year of school properly.
We were forced to end the school year quickly, thrown into the sea of ​​life and teaching without help, without guidance and tools like the teaching staff of today.
We had to reinvent the wheel and swim in the sea of ​​showing according to the goals. And the challenges That everyone set for themselves,

Maybe dare will come out sweet

We were forced to develop our thinking and creative powers, we asked a lot of questions, and we had to find solutions to challenges ourselves.
The tools that are available to you today were not available to us: no computers, no internet, no Wikipedia, no artificial intelligence, no technology. We faced the student face to face and had to provide a humane response to different situations. We struggled to find ways through the intricacies of teaching. We had to cope alone.
For example, in the transit camp I taught children to read through poetry. Later, following this method, I compiled the series of booklets "I Sing and Read," through which many Israeli children learned to read and write.

When scarcity forces us to create

Thanks to my love of dolls, we created rag dolls through which, while playing, we actually learned in an indirect way.
Later, following the success in the transit camp, I wrote the book "Puppet Theater," which is a teaching aid for teachers and therapists in puppet therapy.
Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of materials, we were forced to improvise solutions to advance the students. And indeed, we taught and advanced despite the austerity and shortages of those days. The posters, for example, were drawn on used newspapers. The same goes for the illustration cards. Some of them can be found in the Education Archives in Tel Aviv. Everything was done out of love and an ideal, love for students who would succeed despite everything.

As Rabbi Carlebach said, "All a child needs is one adult to believe in him."

Being a teacher means sowing seeds for the future.

In conclusion, being a teacher means facing Challenges And many difficulties. Not waiting for thanks, knowing in advance that the fruit of your labor is not immediately visible, and often others reap it in the distant future. But you sowed the seed.

As the great educator Janusz Korczak said: "He who cares for days sows wheat, he who cares for years plants trees, and he who cares for generations educates people."    

Values ​​are not learned from numbers.

This is it, gentlemen…. It’s not easy to be a teacher. It’s never been easy… The challenges There were many and always will be…Personal challenges, political or security challenges.
In my opinion The personal challenge and the political challenge are intertwined. To them must be added the The challenge to values.     Values ​​in democracy, Judaism, Zionism, and education.

And remember! Values ​​are not learned from numbers, Values ​​do! Show a personal example.

In my generation, the generation of 1958, we were evaluated according to the actions we took. They cultivated in us a sense of national and social responsibility. They cultivated teamwork, kindness, love of country, and volunteerism for the sake of others and for the common good.

And it's important for me to emphasize that when we were growing up, we were taught That responsibility is taken and not placed on othersWe learned that all Israelis are responsible for each other, and this must be fostered from an early age.