WZPS p hoto courtesy David Yellin Teachers College
ISRAEL
David Yellin, second row, second from left, college founder, and the first student body.
A
t a time when edu-
cational standards
are under attack
and the quality of
Israeli education has become
a controversial issue, the
David Yellin Teachers College
stands as a model for teacher
training in Israel.
Celebrating its 75th, or
"diamond," anniversary, the
college is the oldest educa-
tional institution of higher
learning in Israel, represen-
ting the ideals and values of
education intrinsic in the
Jewish heritage.
Its founder, David Yellin,
was a sabra and pioneer
Jewish educator whose in-
volvement in the develop-
ment of Jerusalem and its
major institutions — the
National Library, B'nai
B'rith and the Hebrew
Language Committee —
made him a prominent leader
in the "Yishuv," or pre-state
Palestine.
Teacher education began in
pre-state Israel in 1904 with
the establishment in Jerusa-
lem of the Jewish Teachers
Seminary sponsored by
"Ezra," the German Jewish
Association (Hilfsverein) with
David Yellin serving as the
assistant principal.
In 1913, the "language
war" broke out and different
communities — French, Ger-
man, English, Ladino, Yid-
dish — fought to establish
their language as the official
language of the Yishuv. Firm-
ly believing that Hebrew
should be the official
108
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1990
Educational Diamond
The Yellin Teachers college has been helping
shape Israel's future for 75 years.
LISA SAMIN
Special to The Jewish News
language of instruction,
David Yellin and a group of
teachers and students left
Ezra, the Jewish Teachers
Seminary, and founded the
Hebrew Tbachers Seminary —
the change in name in-
dicating that all classes were
to be conducted in Hebrew.
It wasn't until 1928 that the
college received its perma-
nent home in the Jerusalem
suburb of Beit Hakerem,
where its innovative ap-
proach in teacher-training
continues today. The Beit
Hakerem Seminary, as it was
to be fondly called for many
years, had 60 students, all
male, and was an important
educational institution and
center for Zionist learning
and cultural activities.
During the 1929 Arab riots,
the college was a place of
defense and refuge for the
Jewish community. From
then until the War of In-
dependence, the college serv-
ed as a place of learning dur-
ing the day and as a training
ground for the Haganah, the
underground defense organi-
zation of the Yishuv, at night.
It was from here that the
Lamed Hei group set out on
its historic mission to save
the population of Gush Etzion
and, during the battle for the
Old City of Jerusalem in
1967; a group of paratroopers
camped within its walls.
However, throughout the tur-
bulent history of the country,
The college is also
the national center
for training
teachers for the
severely mentally
handicapped in
Israel.
classes — sometimes under
the most extenuating cir-
cumstances — were always
held.
Many
distinguished
educators, influential in shap-
ing Israel's public education
system, were trained at the
college. According to Zohar
Wilbusch, who today is 81
years old and was the first
woman to study at the college
in 1931, "The Hebrew
Teachers Seminary was the
place to learn. The standard
of teaching and the level of
Hebrew taught were unsur-
passed by any other institu-
tion."
Distinguished alumni in-
clude Avraham Even-
Shoshan, author of the
authoritative Hebrew dic-
tionary; linguist and author
Dr. Reuven Sivan; poet
Yehuda Amichai; Knesset
Member Shulamit Aloni and
Israel prize-winner and pro-
moter of Arab-Jewish coex-
istence, Shulamit Katznelson.
In 1979, the college receiv-
ed academic recognition from
the Council for Higher
Education in Israel, enabling
it to award the bachelor of
education degree to qualified
students.
With its new academic
status, the college continued
working toward its goals of
providing the highest level of
educational theory and prac-
tice for all student teachers,
in which the pursuit of
knowledge and individuality
flourishes.
Tbday, the college's modern
methods and innovative pro-
grams are designed to meet
the needs of Israel's
pluralistic society. According
to Dean Emeritus and former
American educator Dr. Nor-
man Schanin, "Teachers
should see it as their role to
ease tensions and to educate
for understanding and for
peaceful coexistence of the
various communities which
make up a land and a people."
The college's many pro-
grams include early child-
hood education, Arab special
education, training math and
science teachers for develop-
ment towns, an institute for
Arab-Jewish coexitence and a
preparatory program for new
immigrants. The college is
also the national center for
training teachers for the
severely mentally handicap-
ped in Israel.
The David Yellin Teachers
college is proud of the role it
has played in creating
dedicated and committed
teachers, passing the values
of educational excellence,
moderation and peace from
generation to generation.
Dr. Itay Zimran, the new
dean of the college, says, "On
the eve of our 75th anniver-
sary, we must take stock of
ourselves, using the best of
what we have and combining
it with the best of what can
be.
"In this way, we can provide
Israel with teachers who are
motivated, dedicated and
trained in a modern educa-
tional system which offers
them the tools to effectively
educate our future genera-
tions. ❑
World Zionist Press Service.