The Academy expresses its concern in view of the planned reform in the studies of the compulsory subjects in the field of humanities in the state education system (history, Bible, literature, citizenship, Tosheba), and wonders about the way in which it was decided
Note: At the same time, the Dan David Foundation decided to award the prize to nine historians from around the world.
The Council of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences has published an opinion in which it expresses its concern regarding the planned reform in the studies of the compulsory subjects in the field of humanities in the state education system (history, Bible, literature, citizenship, Tosheba), and wonders about the way in which it was decided. The council is concerned about the possibility that the distinction in the evaluation method between the humanities studies and the other subjects will signal the decline of the humanities in the Israeli education system, something that will reflect in the long term on the image of Israeli society as a whole.
In the manifesto, the members of the council write that the humanities are essential for shaping the inner world of the students and their personalities, for the development of literacy among Israeli society, for the enrichment of knowledge and the cultivation of ways of thinking, writing skills and even scientific skills. Damage to their status will cause them to be pushed to the margins and finally may even lead to giving them up.
The council fears that after the implementation of the reform it will be difficult to correct its undesirable consequences, if there are any. In addition, a reform that would transfer the responsibility for teaching the humanities subjects to the schools could make the cultivation of these subjects the exclusive property of educational institutions that would like it and would be able to allocate their own resources and skilled teaching staff for this purpose. This could greatly exacerbate the educational and cultural gap between the center of the country and the periphery and increase the influence of socio-economic conditions on the level of studies in schools.
The Academy Council calls for delaying the implementation of the reform, already planned for the next academic year, and for it to be thoroughly re-discussed, with a thorough examination of its future effects.
The full text of the declaration of opinion
The Council of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences expresses its concern in view of the planned reform in the studies of the compulsory subjects in the field of humanities in the state education system (history, Bible, literature, citizenship, Tosheba), and wonders about the way in which it was decided. Even if a change is required in the format of the matriculation exams used today, in order to improve the study methods and evaluation methods, it is not clear whether the correct way is to cancel the external matriculation exams only in the humanities subjects, while replacing them with school tests and submitting work in two elective subjects. The council is concerned about the possibility that the distinction in the evaluation method between the humanities studies and the other subjects will signal the decline of the humanities in the Israeli education system, something that will reflect in the long term on the image of Israeli society as a whole.
Both the natural sciences and the humanities are very important for the development of students and the expansion of their education. The humanities are essential for shaping the inner world of the students and their personalities, for the development of literacy among Israeli society, for the enrichment of knowledge and the cultivation of ways of thinking, writing skills and even scientific skills. Damage to their status will cause them to be pushed to the margins and finally may even lead to giving them up.
The council fears that after the implementation of the reform it will be difficult to correct its undesirable consequences, if there are any. In addition, a reform that would transfer the responsibility for teaching the humanities subjects to the schools could make the cultivation of these subjects the exclusive property of educational institutions that would like it and would be able to allocate their own resources and skilled teaching staff for this purpose. This could greatly exacerbate the educational and cultural gap between the center of the country and the periphery and increase the influence of socio-economic conditions on the level of studies in schools.
The Academy Council calls for delaying the implementation of the reform, which is already planned for the next school year, and for it to be thoroughly re-discussed, with a thorough examination of its future effects.
Academy Council:
Prof. David Harel - president; Prof. Neely Cohen - former president; Prof. Margalit Finkelberg - Vice President; Prof. Yadin Dodai - Chairman of the Natural Sciences Division; Prof. Sergio Hart - Chairman of the Humanities Division; Galia Finzi - director of the academy
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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That's how you can't overcome the spirit, try to cancel it, it won't help you. Noach Harari and the Gateses who are bigger than you experienced a lesson from the Creator of the world and in the end everyone will know it from their greatest to their smallest, as Meir Ariel wrote. There is no end and science is only a hole
Oh, what a hassle. Have you forgotten what it's like to be a high school student? Don't you remember how oppressive and boring these professions are? Nor is there any aspect of "learning" in them, just memorizing and chewing the opinions/perceptions of others as if they were laws of nature. Understanding a story, biblical or literary, has never been about how the student or reasonable person understands them, but how all the experts claim they should be interpreted. Free the children from all this trouble. Those who are interested in these subjects, and there are quite a few of them, will know how to find their way to them after high school and the army. Curiosity and a natural attraction to the field will always be stronger than any attempt to forcibly push the knowledge to the students.
Concentrate on teaching the main things in these areas, in a concise and exhaustive manner. Do not overload with boring and marginal data. Don't even insist on exact dates/years, an understanding of chronological order and effects of events is enough.
And most importantly, stop pretending to be the gatekeepers of culture. Culture is constantly determined and shaped by the public, not by academia. The attempt to determine for the public what the "correct" culture is is doomed in advance to failure. The children absorb the culture of their parents, family and environment from a young age. And as far as other cultures are concerned, let's not pretend that they are taught in school.
Fortunately we live in an open, technologically advanced world and in a democratic country, the children can and are exposed to a much wider variety than we can provide them at school.
So free them from formal schooling and let them be exposed, explore, understand and learn on their own, each as they wish
This is how the next generation of small international and disciplined technocratic robots are produced, devoid of national recognition and geographic and national historical understanding of themselves in the nation to which they might belong, and of this nation and all the other nations of the world. They will benefit from being used as spare parts in the global economy, and will soon be replaced by the Indian model, which is cheaper, or the Singaporean model, which may not be so cheap, but is definitely more disciplined.
More than suitable for understanding the technocratic reality we are now falling into is the response of Amir David, who dismisses with a dismissive wave the writers of the National Academy Council and their words, but tends to accept without question and doubt the work of "a line of professionals who have labored for the reform for years", and does not stop to wonder about their motives and the identity of that disappeared ideological hand that directs their steps.
I wonder what the council relies on in its letter. If I'm not mistaken - David Harel - Professor of Computers, Yedin Dodai - a researcher in the field of neurology, and I don't remember the education of the director of the academy - Ms. Galia Finzi (probably a master's degree). Do they pretend to understand better than a number of professionals who have worked on the reform for years? The main thing is to issue a letter...