(OPINION I

FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES

IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
YOU CAN HELP

IT IS
THESE
BOYS

HUMANITARIAN
NEEDS

Education In Crisis

Continued from Page 16

Jewish education. However,
the types of changes which
would be required to dra-
matically alter the current
situation are systematic and
cannot be achieved merely by
focusing on individual practi-
tioners. Such change is ex-
ceedingly difficult, some say
impossible, to engineer.
Several proposals have been
put forward to enhance the
professional cadre of Jewish
educators:
1. Creating more full time
positions This is an essen-
tial element if larger numbers
of talented individuals are to
enter and remain in the field,
because only full-time posi-
tions offer the prospect of
earning a reasonable liveli-
hood from Jewish education.
Proposals have been circu-
lated to develop positions for
a "community educator," an
individual working in schools,
centers and other settings
with both children and
adults; and a "family
educator," an individual
assigned to a number of
families as both an informal
educator and group worker.
Other types of blended posi-

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—

e's exhausted... and with good
reason. He commands a unit assigned
to the Gaza Strip. Every hour, every
day he's alert, watching for the stones
and the flaming bottles of gasoline that come
raining on his troops without warning. He tries
to keep the peace...in the center of a political
struggle he did not create...that was there
before he was born...that he is powerless to
solve. As nations debate the outcome, he carries
his awesome responsibility, commanding an
intense group of young men ...hoping that his
next action will help bring peace...and he is
only twenty-two.

We try to make his life a little less difficult. We
are the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces,
working hand in hand with the Association for
the Well-Being of Soldiers in Israel...Israel's
best known non-political, non-profit,

philanthropic organization. We've been serving
Israel's soldiers for more than 40 years by
providing rest & recreation, soldier's hostels,
base clubs, mobile recreation units, educational
programs, hitchhiking shelters, holiday gift
parcels and much, much more.

In this critical time, we are proud to stand solidly
with these brave young Jewish men and women
of the Israel Defense Forces as they face what
may be their most difficult challenge. We want
them to know that they do not stand alone.

AND YOU CAN HELP... Join us in this all-
important expression of support for the young
people on the front lines. Stand with those who
risk their lives daily defending the Jewish
homeland, the only democratic nation in the
Middle East! Send us your name and/or your tax
deductible contribution so you too can be listed
as one who supports Israel's soldiers.

Just think for a moment! If there were no Israel Defense Forces - would there be
an Israel today . . . or will there be an Israel tomorrow!

A HAPPY, HEALTHY
AND PROSPEROUS
NEW YEAR
TO OUR FRIENDS
IN THE DETROIT AREA
FROM THE SOLDIERS
OF ISRAEL

Friends of the IDF /

OF ISRAEL

Detroit Area Office: 21177 Hilltop, Southfield, MI 48034

Morton L Feldman
Ben Hagai
Chairman, State of MI Central Region Director

71711/V1

irmn
Peirrla

Friends of the IDF

I wish to make a contribution of $

Name

Phone

Address

City, State, Zip

For further information, call (313) 358-5895, Ext. 9

WE ARE A NON-PROFIT TAX DEDUCTIBLE ORGANIZATION, ISRAEL BONDS ACCEPTED AND APPRECIATED

18

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1989

Dr. Woocher: The challenge can be
met.

tions have been created in
isolated instances between a
day school and a central agen-
cy of Jewish education.
School mergers or the
development of magnet
schools have also been sug-
gested as a means of increas-
ing the number of full-time
positions.
2. Developing career lad-
ders for teachers — A second
related proposal focuses on
the need to create possibilities
for advancement, in both pro-
fessional growth and remun-
eration for individuals who do
not wish to become adminis-
trators in the conventional
sense. One suggestion is by
differentiating status, respon-
sibility and reward within the
teaching ranks, as in master
teacher programs. Another
proposal involves using
teachers outside the class-
room for specialized tasks —
curriculum development,

creation of media resources,
supervision of paraprofes-
sionals — which are now often
neglected or impossible.
3. Improving working con-
ditions There are a number
of substantive improvements
which could make Jewish
education more attractive as
a career: higher salaries, bet-
ter benefits, sabbatical pro-
grams and other professional
development opportunities,
participation in decision-
making and access to top
quality educational materials
and resources.
4. Utilizing educators as
community leaders — The
isolation of Jewish educators
from community leadership
has been debilitating for both
the profession and the com-
munity. The status and
stature of educators cannot
be raised unless they are
given a role to play in com-
munity life commensurate
with the traditional valuation
of education in Judaism.
Educators must be prepared
to carry their weight in the
community, but they must
also be given the opportuni-
ty to enter the counsels of
decision-making and to
receive visible recognition as
part of their communal
leadership cadre.
5. Intensifying recruitment
and upgrading training of
Jewish educators — In the
long run, the quality of educa-
tional leadership is deter-
mined by the quality of the
individuals entering the field
and the calibre of the pre- and
in-service training they
receive. Recruitment for
Jewish education can be
strengthened by providing
significantly greater scholar-
ship and fellowship aid; the
national FIJEL (Fellowships
in Jewish Educational Lead-
ership) Program has virtual-
ly collapsed because of lack of
funding. More aggressive re-
cruitment of potential can-
didates in high school and
college, combined with in-
novative training programs
utilizing prestige universities
as well as Jewish academic in-
stitutions, could tap the
market of Jewishly commit-
ted young people, few of
whom think seriously about
Jewish education as a career.
Programs for lateral entry for
public school teachers,
returnees to the work force,
and individuals in other
Jewish professions have also
been suggested.
The greatest need in the
area of training is for sustain-
ed, high quality, prestigious
in-service education to
upgrade the quality and
enhance the motivation (and
hence retention of those in-
dividuals already in the field.
Year-long advanced
fellowships, summer in-

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