Michal Artsi
This is a tool for planning and measuring social educational initiatives and activities for schools as a 'community of guarantee'.
The 'Morasha – Kol Israel Haverim' network training opened this year during a storm, with a two day autumn seminar in October in Ashkelon. The seminar was attended by around 40 Morasha coordinators from schools across Israel – from Kiryat Shmona in the north to Yeruham in the south. All came with the goal of acquiring skills and knowledge to assist them in their work at schools.
At the heart of the seminar was a new mission tool developed by the Morasha team during the previous summer – 'Machven Morasha'. The meaning of the word Machven, which was approved only this month by the Academy for the Hebrew Language (following a request by the Morasha team), is a tuned instrument which is used for measuring. According to Guy Gardi, the head of 'Morasha– Kol Israel Haverim', Machven Morasha can be used as a tool for checking and planning social-educational initiatives and activities in schools.
The tool is based on the seven educational principles which determine Morasha's work in schools and which touch on the different fields of social educational experience. These are three of the seven principles: for the pupils to learn and internalize Jewish social values in their daily life and to connect between study and social action; preparing a variety of voices and traditions of the pupils and their families in the school space, with the goal of strengthening the pupils' feeling of belonging and pride in their heritage; advancing ways of dialogue instruction among the educational staff and creating a climate for dialogue in the school space; Each principle constitutes an extra layer in building the best community – a 'community of guarantee' at school.
Aside from the fact that Machven allows the planning and assessment of the activities and initiatives of schools which are involved in the program, it also assists in renewed planning and assessment of the vision. Hani Haruvi, the Morasha coordinator at the Ort Rabin School in Gan Yavneh, explains: "When you work at a school which marches towards a vision, like the school I work for example, there's still much more to connect. I intend to go back to the school and to go over each one of the seven principles, together with the educational team, to assess how far we've succeeded in moving forward. For example, the dialogue principle – how strong is the climate of dialogue in the school? How much of the communication between the pupils and the staff face to face? At the seminar I felt as if I received a new "pencil" to sharpen, one which writes more exactly, more correctly, and more beautifully."
Galit Cohen, a member of Yuvalim School in Beer Sheva, added: "It was interesting for me to assess how much we are connecting our students to the program and the values of social Judaism. How much is the learning present in the different areas of knowledge at the school? It seems to me that we have much more to develop in the area, and I am happy that I have in my hands these tools to light the way."
