PM Netanyahu, Thursday: “The burden on hospitals is still high”
According to the outline, The kindergartens, grades 1-4 and grades 11-12 will open in green and yellow cities starting Tuesday. Studies in the red and orange cities will open in smaller capsules of half-classes in the open air, in a yes-no-day format. Classroom classes will not be resumed at this stage, and last night the government approved in a telephone poll the continued suspension of non-online classes in the education system, until Tuesday morning toAt least. The decision is intended to allow ministers to convene for a renewed and extensive discussion of the issue, which will take place today or tomorrow.
“The government’s decision, which points to an outline for returning to school, is a retransmission of previous bad decisions, in the illusory hope that this time something may change,” the national parents’ leadership said. “In a film where our children have been living for a year, there is no room for experimentation and no room for unnecessary reruns. The Israeli government has been abandoning children in grades 5-10 for a whole year and inventing illusory and irrelevant solutions, such as the new invention called Half and Half, where young children and strata Eleven-twelfth will teach a day yes, a day no and a day why not. “
“It would be better for the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the cabinet members to seriously consider the in-depth and serious outline that we have prepared back to school and finally internalize that education is not a child’s play,” they added. “The frivolity with which fifth- to tenth-grade children are given up is a scandal and a national failure that will be remembered for generations. It is the duty of the government to do everything to bring all Israeli students back into the education system safely and responsibly. Promoting a solution. “
Eran Doron, chairman of the Education Committee at the Regional Government Center and head of the Ramat Negev Council, also attacked the government’s policy: “We must learn from the failure of previous closures and transfer the powers to open educational institutions to local authorities today. The education system should be open to all ages in all green and yellow localities, when staff members from orange and red localities will not be able to switch to teaching in institutions in green and yellow localities. How long will boys and girls in green authorities like ours continue to sit at home in front of the screens? It’s time to dump her and move on. “
Lilach Ashkenazi, a mother of three from Be’er Sheva, also attacked the government, saying: “The zigzag policy of the Ministry of Education and Health in particular and of the government in general regarding closures and going to work and schools has put parents and their children in the education system in terrible confusion. “One pulls in another direction – and those who pay the price are their children and parents. Beer Sheva is orange, and how will I send my two children to the education system in such a situation? I will consult with other parties and my parents, and in the end we will make a decision. It is better to sit at home.” .
Ayala Moshe, a mother of four children from Jerusalem in fifth, sixth, tenth and twelfth grades, is pessimistic. She finds it hard to believe that the education system will indeed open the next day, and described the continuing difficulty in distance learning: “It is a nightmare, I am exhausted. I do not believe they will open the schools, I do not trust the system. I’m desperate. I have an office job and have become a private tutor for my children. The parent became a teacher and a policeman. The kids go crazy at home and they fight all day, it’s a catastrophe. The system is shocking and the worst thing is that my tuition is being reduced as usual. It should be stopped or a minimum charged. “
Oshri Weizmann, 46, a father of five from Tiberias, said he did not think he would send his children back to school – but objected to the plan: “Learning in red cities in the open may be the right idea, but you need to know how to implement it in the field so children do not get inflammation. Lungs. For me, it’s either learning in zoom or in the open. ” Weizmann has not sent his children to school since March 2020, except for his eldest daughter, who had to go to be tested.
Ahead of the government meeting on the subject, the organizations that operate the early childhood dormitories, which include WIZO, Naamat, Emuna, Neot Margalit, Herut women, said that the outline is not applicable and that the capsule format is not applicable in dormitories: “
“There is no possibility of opening daycare centers in the form of capsules and there is no ability to care for toddlers in the open air. Instead of consulting professionals, they are laying down guidelines that there is no way to implement,” it said. “The Prime Minister and the ministers are invited to try and put toddlers to sleep for lunch in an open space and at the same time explain to parents how they will arrange work and what part of the week, not to mention the minds of toddlers who need a daily routine, which is the complete opposite of the ridiculous capsule format. . The organizations added that they hope that all educational frameworks will be opened in an orderly manner: “This is what they deserve, and this will also lead to the release of hundreds of thousands of parents for their livelihood.”
The Ministry of Health agrees to open early childhood education in grades 1-4, starting this Tuesday, only in the green and yellow localities, according to the rules of social distance that were customary throughout the Corona crisis. The ministry also agrees to return to the schools in the green and yellow localities for the opening of the 11th and 12th grades, which are being examined in this year’s matriculation elections.
The health system is willing to consider returning to studies at a young age in the orange and red localities as well, but only under even stricter restrictions. Last night, Prime Minister Netanyahu convened a preliminary discussion on the issue, with the participation of the ministers of health, education and finance, with the aim of raising an agreed resolution in the government.
Among the parents’ representatives, there is much criticism of the government’s decision to allow some of the activities, but not the studies. “The government is once again playing with the education and future of our children,” says Arik Kaplan, chairman of the parents’ leadership in Jerusalem, a city with more than 200,000 students. “From this morning we can take our children to the hairdresser, do hair tones or just get a haircut, take a walk in the reserve.” Nature, going to a B&B and of course staying with friends from class, kindergarten and even the teacher at home – but we can not take them to the most natural place they should be, which is kindergarten and school. An entire generation is being lost. “
Disappointed and confused at their home in Petah Tikva, 7-year-old Amit, a second-grade student, and 8-year-old Guy, a third-grade student, are still waiting to return to the classrooms. Their older brother Liam, 13, a sixth-grader, also expects to return, but knows he will have to stay home at least first. “I really miss school, friends and breaks,” a colleague shared with Israel Today, “This is a very difficult time and I believe that together we will win the corona.” Liam misses meeting friends and admits: “Studying at Zoom is difficult because I can’t always concentrate.”
Adi Hashmonai, Gadi Golan, Yuri Yalon and Noam (Devol) Dvir participated in the preparation of the article.