The “Trio” of the Education World – Profession, Values, and Personal Development

Many discussions in the world of education deal with the purpose of education and the school’s place in fulfilling that purpose. In my opinion, the purpose of education is to give people tools and knowledge which will help them develop into adults who contribute to society, have their own values system, and fulfill their potential. Therefore it is important to examine whether schools can fulfil the purpose of education so that their graduates receive full education “services”. An important note: in this article, several formal and informal elements will be presented which affect the education of children and teenagers. Nevertheless, and despite their importance, there will be no mention of the media and the family, due to the difficulty of an individual school in synchronizing and coordinating with them.

In his article “One Small Individual: The Aim of Education”, Professor Yoram Harpaz presents the aim of education as “good learning of valuable things”, a general and good definition as long as it is devoid of concrete content, which may lead to a dispute. So what are these valuable things? In my view, the answer depends on time and context. For example, schools in the 80’s did not just teach theoretical academic subjects but also subjects which included craftsmanship skills – carpentry, embroidery, macramé, and copper plastering. I majored in computer sciences in high school and I was trained, beyond computer programming, in assembling electronic circuits, working on a lathe, and designing plastic. My school gave me the option of a profession for life. Even though I did not go in that direction in my adult life, I felt enriched with knowledge and acquired tools. At the same time, during those years at school I also received knowledge and values, such as were given by teachers in a defined framework and even from their way of conducting themselves. I also gained education and values from the youth movement, my home, and the organizations in which I volunteered.

The method of education described here can be summed up in a holistic view according to which school does not operate in a vacuum; rather each person is educated by a combination of several frameworks. Professor Zvi Lamm saw education as “the servant of three masters: society, culture, and the individual”. Based on that, Harpaz argues that all of the important things to earn and teach can be sorted according to those three “masters” (focal points):

· “Society Master” – giving students knowledge, skills, and attitudes which society needs.

· “Culture Master” – shaping the students spirits in accordance with values and truths.

· “Individual Master” – enabling each individual to realize their unique personality according to their choice.

In Harpaz’s view, education of these three focal points together is not possible; therefore if we want education to be effective, we must focus on only one of them. I would like to present a different view according to which a school must develop an ability, which does not exist today, to combine the three focal points in an organized and coordinated fashion (not necessarily equally). In my opinion, education which does not include the three focal points (not necessarily simultaneously) is not complete.

The  Israeli Ministry of Education’s Goals in Light of The Three Masters

The goals of education in the State Education Law, year 2000 version, and their classification in an organized table (according to Lamm’s theory)

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It is clear to see that the intention of the Israeli law is educating through all three focal points while favoring culturization. A similar picture arises from looking at the educational goals set by the Israeli Ministry of Education for state high schools in 2017:

- Promoting meaningful and qualitative learning which will lead to academic accomplishment, self fulfilment, and excellence = individuation + socialization.

- Strengthening the education of Democratic, Zionist, and Jewish values, and unique traditional values in the spirit of the Israeli Declaration of Independence = socialization + culturization.

- Promoting equal opportunity and realizing the potential of all populations in Israel = culturization.

It can be seen that state education does not bridge the three focal points. In practice, it serves mainly the “Society Master” (matriculation exams), but aspires to serve the “Culture Master” (values education), and thinks that the right thing to do is to serve the “Individual Master”. For the student and even the teachers, this lack of mediation creates a situation of conflicting goals and even a split between different parts of the overall education system.

Therefore, in the face of this split, what do they teach in school? The Pedagogical Secretariat is the department which shapes the Ministry of Education's pedagogic policy. It deals with pedagogic planning, curriculum development, formulation of the teaching policy of the subjects of study, and methods of evaluation. For each subject, a program is written to implement the contents of which the supervisor is responsible. It is a professional document which guides teachers in a very detailed manner. However, this document is focused mainly on serving the “society focal point”, while the others receive less attention.

Education Outside School Walls (Informal)

Youth Movements

Education does not happen only in school, as we can see by looking at other educational organizations. Today, fifteen youth movements operate in Israel, with over a quarter of a million members, which teach political and social involvement. They provide a broad platform for young people to experience a variety of activities, which bring them face-to-face with the ideology of the movement, with the community, and with the group. In terms of the main principles of youth movements as presented by the Israeli Ministry of Education the stand-out fact is that they serve mainly the "culture focal point":

1. Identification with the Declaration of Independence.

2. Involvement, responsibility, and commitment to society and community.

3. Respect and tolerance of others who are different, as individuals and as groups.

4. Teaching critical thinking and being ready and prepared for change.

5.  Self fulfilment both social and individually (individual focal point).

An almost identical picture can be seen when looking at the goals of each individual youth movement. The overwhelming majority of youth movements are focus on the “culture aspect” alone.

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Pre-military Programs

In the face of the youth movements, there has grown and developed in Israel an institution which emphasizes the "culture focal point". In Israel today there are more than 50 pre-military programs, among them Zionist-religious, secular and mixed, Druze and ultra-Orthodox. These preparatory programs were established to encourage military candidates to volunteer for combat units, command and officer courses, to nurture young leadership, and to prepare for educational-value-based service alongside the shaping of personal identity. The preparatory year is a year of studies which combine varied and enriching content, volunteering and social-community involvement, development of leadership abilities, preparation for the army, and guidance for a life of fulfillment as citizens. The programs highlight the contents of the "culture focal point" with a successful integration of "individual focal point". One of the special things about the preparatory programs is that in the preparatory program, the students absorb "education" from one sole source, and because it is a boarding school, the home also becomes less influential and involved in the educational process. The advantage is that education comes from a single source that synchronizes between the various focal points, and the risk stems from the exclusive source of education which enables "brainwashing". In practice, the graduates of the preparatory programs experience a real education experience and emerge focused and with a clear direction for the rest of their lives.

IDF (Army)

Since its inception, the IDF has defined its participation in education as a component of national strength, and therefore defines its role and scope of responsibility in values and actions of its soldiers and commanders, as the defense force of Israel, while recognizing the impact of this on their future as citizens as well. The fact that military service has a formative influence on the soldiers’ personalities, attitudes, and behaviors, is due to the people who serve in the IDF, the characteristics of the service in the IDF, the length of service, and its place in the public awareness. However, it is precisely in the IDF that we can see a good example of a combination of serving the three focal points - the attention that the IDF tries to give every service candidate in order to maximize their ability, together with the profession given to soldiers and the world of values instilled as part of the army's code of ethics are a good example of synchronicity between the three masters.

In conclusion, a person who has experienced as many as possible of the educational frameworks mentioned in this article will be a person with a clear path and direction; a person who will probably know as a soldier how to deal with ethical dilemmas in his life, will be a citizen who contributes to society, has a sense of responsibility, and will accomplish much in the field most important to him or her. Therefore, a school must aspire to a situation in which it serves all three focal points. There is no doubt that an equal integration of all three is difficult and seemingly impossible, yet schools must create a unique and creative program that integrates and looks at topics of learning (the supervisor document) and examines them through the eyes of the three focal points. Finally, I will allow myself to suggest two directions/opportunities for schools in implementing such a program:

1. Planning and implementing cooperation (synchronization) with local educational institutions, with emphasis on the youth movements and the pre-military preparatory programs, in working on content and seeing each individual student (passing the torch).

2.  Looking at the last months of the year - the "wasted months", in which the motivation to learn decreases (especially in high schools) - for implementing content that serves the "culture focal point" and the "individual focal point".

At the national level, the coordination between the Ministries of Education and Defense in order to synchronize education in the three focal points should be increased.

#Profession, #Values, #Personal Development #education #youth organizations