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A Glimpse into a
Mixed Ethnic Elementary School
in Jaffa, Israel
Dr. Tamar MargalitCenter of Critical Pedagogy,
Kibbutzim College of Education
April, 2008
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Outline:
• Arab and Jewish Segregation in Schools
• Jaffa and the Neighborhood
• The Weitzman School
• Dilemmas at the School Trend for Change
• Critical Pedagogy Projects at the School
• Conclusions
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Arab and Jewish Segregation in Schools
• 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab citizens
• Segregated educational systems
• Jewish-Arab conflict
Inequality
• Budgets
• Gaps in scholastic achievements
• Preconceived attitudes, fear and animosity
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Jaffa
• A part of Tel Aviv metropolis
– Tel Aviv-Jaffa population: 371,400
– Jaffa population: 45,000
• Jews and Arabs (Muslims and Christians)
– Jews: 30,000; Arabs: 15,000 (third are Christians)
• Low socio-economic status
• Historical significance (an ancient port city)
• Gentrification
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Weitzman School
• Israeli - Jewish “state school”.
• 316 children (Pre-school – 6th grade).
• 50:50 Arab to Jewish children ratio.
Arab include Christians and Muslims.
• Marginalized community.
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Dilemmas at School
Language
Religious holidaysCulture and heritage
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Identity
Equality
Violence
Low scholastic achievements
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Trend for Change
An Experimental Plan:
“Together and Alone”
Previous Change
Language Hebrew Hebrew and Arabic
Culture and Heritage
Jewish Jewish, Muslim Christian
Teachers Jew Jew and Arab teachers together
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Critical Pedagogy: Principles and Implementation
From ToFrontal teaching Cooperative
learning, Empowerment
Passive learning,
“Banking” education
Dialogue, relevance, Problem posing
Hidden messages in textbooks
Questions of Social Justice and Peace Education, Problematization
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Projects at Schoolby Student Teachers from
the Center of Critical Pedagogy
• Principles: Arab and Jewish student
teachers work together
Multi-aged groups
Children select their projects
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Projects at School
• The Projects: Bilingual School magazine
School Design
“I am from Jaffa”
Children’s Rights
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Friendships(From the Weitzman school magazine)
Achmed: “There is one boy in the class, his name is Eliraz. He and I are almost like brothers.”
Cristin: “My two friends, Lina and Cristina, and I belong to different religions. Despite this, our friendship iswonderful. I believe that if you want to feel belonging, religious issues don’t matter, what you really feel is in your heart.”
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Thank You
“We are all children of life”
Translation from a painting by children from Weitzman School,
Jaffa, 2008