INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Israeli School Superintendents & Principals Visit NYC Schools
By Smadar Zeller, Principal, Shapira Sci-Tech School, Israel
Our entire group of educational leaders was impressed by the educational system in New York City.
Unfortunately, we all must deal with high dropout rates in specific groups of the population. The effective measures we used in Israel were based on the perspective that a person who feels related, connected and meaningful will cling to the educational system. We must base every step on a social habit and on the understanding that children must understand what they gain and what they might lose if they quit school.
I am not sure I can give any advice to the educators of NYC. I only know that I believe showing those kids that we love them, we want them to succeed and improve their lives and that we believe in them as well as being very clear in the requirements and persistence might lead them to cling to the goal of studying and adopting other cultural behaviors.
The most popular careers that college graduates are going into in Israel and the careers that would enable them to support a family in the future according to the main statistic office of Israel are medicine, dentistry and architecture.
The careers that nowadays are the most profitable in Israel are computer engineering, science, mathematics and law. Analysts from Bar-Ilan University claim that the following occupations are going to become the most needed and profitable ones: therapy specialists, hospital advisor, e-mail advisor and whisperer, who is a person that works in public relations and is supposed to calm down unsatisfied customers.
Another needed job is a head hunter for talented people and also the special job of a person who is responsible for the ego and satisfaction of the employees in the company.
Bioinformatics and all that has to do with genetic research is going to be very needed.
I am a principal of a very unique school in Israel since it is one of a very few schools that are purely technological. As part of the pedagogical perspective, we chose to combine two special programs. Entering the school our students study leadership. On the stage of first year in high school they learn how to become a meaningful member of our community, how to contribute to the society we are part of.
In the second year of high school (11th grade) they have a program of financial literacy education in which they study how to relate to incomes and outcomes, how to manage their own budget and the family budget and many other financial aspects that are relevant to their lives.
Both programs are experimental programs developed in Israel sci-tech schools network. #
