Individual Instruction, Computers Are The Norm In Yavne Schools

By MARILYN GRANT

The room is bright, with every
inch of the wall covered with
children's artwork and posters about
religious and secular holidays in
Israel.
The pupils in this second grade
classroom in the Neot Shazar
neighborhood's Etzion elementary
school all seem to be doing their
own thing. Sitting or standing in
small groups, they are working on
math, painting pictures or reading.
A few, with great concentration, are
studying with Sara, their teacher.
This is an average classroom
picture, which we can find
duplicated in all of the elementary
schools in Yavne. They operate on
the principle of individualized
instruction — a new method of
education being used throughout
Israel — which got its start in Yavne
almost 10 years ago.
The system, developed by the
Rothschild Foundation's Center for
Educational Technology, is under
the supervision of the University of
Tel Aviv. It employs a combination of
intensive teacher training and
retraining, providing elementary
schools with the latest equipment
and computers.
When students enter the
classroom in the morning, they
check the list of tasks which have to
be done that day. There is also a
choice of electives, depending on
the time available.
Children can complete
assignments in any order they want,

They (Yavne) operate on
the principle of
individualized instruction
a new method of
education being used
throughout Israel
which got its start in
Yavne almost 10 years
ago . . . It employs a
combination of Intense
teacher training and
retraining, providing
elementary schools with
the latest equipment and
computers.

working individually or selecting the
partner or group they wish to study
with. The teacher is always
available to explain and help.
In the after-school "huggim"
(clubs), children who are interested
can learn programming. There is
also a late afternoon agenda where
children, including pre-schoolers,
can work on the computers together
with their parents.

L-10

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1989

Yavne schoolchildren progress at their own pace with the help of made-in-Israel computers.

PROJECT RENEWAL PUZZLE

Find the words listed below that describe PROJECT RENEWAL.
These words can go across, up and down, diagonally or backwards.

CBDNEI GHBORHOODLC
H SHEJ PWTSVENVAYXP
I TVOMDAYCARESTWOA
LNNTEHXVL1 SF AEKNR
D ARSENI ORSCOLEPI T
RRTHBFSDVMHRMNI HN
E GFAMI LI ESODASXTE
N I BZTXNHJZOPRLAWR
AMWAPSZANRLAJZROS
XMPROGRESSERXHRRH
TI ORTEDI JLXKOLDGI
QTLGNI SUOHRPWAQXP
P ROJ ECTRENEWALDWZ

The answer to this puzzle is on page L-11.

CHILDREN
DAYCARE
DETROIT
FAMILIES
FORD PARK
GROWTH
HOPE
HOUSING
IMMIGRANTS
ISRAEL'
NEIGHBORHOOD
NEOT SHAZAR
PARTNERSHIP
PROGRESS
PROJECT RENEWAL
RAMLA
SCHOOL
SENIORS
TEENS
YAVNE