On The Power to Exclude and The Power to Include

My son was not accepted to the school's orchestra. He had been explicitly warned by his teacher that this might happen but he had decided to give it a try and had seriously practiced for the audition. He was motivated, committed and optimistic, but he was not accepted on account of his performance in the audition. "We think he is not ready yet for the challenge" told me the headmaster, "and his teacher, who knows him well, is doubtful about his ability to keep up with the others". The verdict for my son was an exclusion from an opportunity. An opportunity to work with fellow musicians. 

This incident made me think about the way we, teachers, use power to include and to exclude. About the way these two differ in the role that they assign to the teacher and to the peer group. When we exclude, we decide who is going to be cast out, why and when. We make these decisions alone, expect students to accept our verdicts and to learn the lesson: Which behavior would be followed by exclusion and which would save them from it.

When a measure of exclusion is taken in class, most of the class is reduced to the role of the by-stander. Issues of disruptive behavior and under-achievement become the problem of specific individuals who are expected to deal with it alone.

Dealing with these issues by using the power of inclusion changes the whole picture! The teacher's role in this case is to remind the kids over and over again that belonging in our class is never questioned. That all kids equally belong and always belong. That it is in their hands,  to make our class a community that supports, encourages and tolerates each of its members.  

In this light, problems of disruptive behavior or poor achievements are a challenge for the whole community. And if we compare a community of peers to a single teacher it seems to me that the community is better equipped to deal with these problems. Let me single out just a few of its advantages: The mere process of communication and discussion may bring the group to a better understanding of the needs / expectations / wishes of its members. The variety within the group, may open venues to a wide range of possibilities / resources to help/ support/ encourage each of the community members. This collaborative effort is likely to give each member in the community a sense of worth and significance.  

The mission of the teachers who choose to use inclusive power is to make a community out of their class, to engage their students in a collaborative creation, to encourage them to participate in this unique creation, to nurture it and to enjoy it. 

The route to inclusion is literally a constructive one. One of building mutual respect, and understanding, one of building each member's confidence in herself and her classmates. Rather than "protecting" the class from "others" (kids who misbehave, underachievers), community building is about listening to, communicating with and depending on each other. 

When, we teachers, take a measure of exclusion we invariably leave at least one child lonely and insecure. We then expect the child to pull herself together and make her way back into the community all by herself. Wouldn't she be more likely to meet the challenge (behavioral or academic) with the company and support of her class mates?

Surrogacy

Many couples all over the world are trying to bring life into the world. They have a hard time doing so when one of them or even both of them have a medical problem. In that case, Surrogacy is the solution for them.

 Surrogacy is a long and expensive process in which the couple needs to find the right woman to serve as the surrogate; they can find her independently or use an agency service. Once they have found the right woman, they go through a long process. Most of the hard work is the surrogate's, while the couple has to come up with the money.  The surrogate needs to have medical and psychological examinations, she needs to meet with a lawyer to have the contract created, and she needs to meet with an insurance agent in order to cover cases of death – hers or the baby.

After they have the results and documents ready, the woman and the couple appear in front of a committee to have their case approved. Once approved, the woman and the couple begin the pregnancy process. The biological mother has her eggs drawn, the biological father provides his sperm, and the doctor fertilizes the egg and puts it straight into the surrogate mother's uterus.

If they are lucky, the surrogate will get pregnant on the first attempt. It is very important to remember that this is not a regular pregnancy. It requires pills, shots and more frequent visits to the doctor to make sure the baby is developing properly.

The opinions about surrogacy are divided. Those who are against surrogacy usually think that the surrogate mother has to have sex with the biological father which is far from the truth. I believe that it takes a lot of courage to become a surrogate due to the many health risks. It's true that the surrogate mother gets a lot of money, but what she is giving back is priceless.

What do you think, is it worth it?

Nutrition and School Children

 

 Good nutrition and learning ability are known to be closely connected. I myself observed this when I taught in an elementary school in Pisgat Ze’ev last year. While I was helping the first graders with their morning assignment, some of them asked me: when the break would begin? I am hungry. I asked them didn’t you eat breakfast and they always said no. I noticed that they couldn’t concentrate on the assignment.They were nervous and often disturbed the teacher. This situation is common in Israel where a survey found that less than 30% of our children eat breakfast. It’s a little surprising in the light of what we know about the Jewish mother. But, still, this is the situation.

The positive thing about this school, however, is that it promotes healthy eating.This means that every child brings from home healthy food in a plastic-covered tray.The pupils bring, for example: bread with cheese, cut vegetables, fruits and a bottle of water.  The children are not allowed to bring sweets and junk food to school. In addition, the principal and the teachers also arrange health days during the year. There are lessons about the subject and different activities. I remember that I taught a lesson on the food pyramid. I was very impressed with the pupils' knowledge about the subject. They said that it is important to eat 3 dairy foods a day because of the calcium. "It helps us to grow" they said. They also knew that it is healthier to eat whole grains and they understood the importance of vitamins in fruits and vegetables.

Anyway, I think that parents and educators should encourage eating breakfast before the school day. The desire to avoid being late to work and school causes many of us to give up on breakfast and thus the children come to school on an empty stomach at the beginning of the school day and can’t concentrate.  When the children are not hungry they can study better and therefore achieve better results and the atmosphere in the classroom is also much more pleasant!

Hockey in Canada

This past summer I travelled to Toronto, Canada. This was my first time in Canada, and I learned a lot about this beautiful country. Canadians love sports, especially hockey, which I could see even in the summer. The team in Toronto is called the Maple Leafs, and they are one of the original six teams in the NHL (National Hockey League) when it was founded over 90 years ago.

vegetarianism

A new trend is becoming increasingly popular: vegetarianism. Throughout the years, most of us use to think of it as a marginal phenomenon, connected with a minor group of outlandish people. The common opinion was that meat was the only source for protein and milk was the only way of getting calcium. New research has disproved it and now everybody knows that the available food in the markets is industrial. That is why many people are looking for new alternatives for balance diet. In parallel, there is also the ethical issue of eating animals that was brought to the public consciousness thanks to Gary Yourofsky's filmed lecture about vegetarianism, which became an Internet sensation. 

A Struggling Spanish Learner

Ever since I was a young girl, I have always wanted to learn Spanish. In this post I would like to describe my difficulties in acquiring this third language as a student at university. 

In my first year at the Hebrew University, I enrolled at the Latin and Spanish Department.  As a first year student, I had to take an annual course in Spanish. I took Spanish for beginners with a professor who could barely speak Hebrew, or explain the material in a language other than Spanish. Since most of the students had backpacked in Central and South America, they were able to understand what the teacher said in class. I felt that the professor only paid attention to the students whose Spanish was intermediate while intentionally ignoring the ones who could not understand Spanish whatsoever.

"Hello Class" - An Opinion On What Really Matters

"Hello World",

is a common phrase associated, in my mind, to the introductory example given usually at the basic functions lesson of any Computer Language Programming (CPL). Now, let me rephrase it for us teachers,  

"Hello Class".