Making Kitchen Progress, Who Wants These?

One of my tasks before redoing the kitchen, Gd willing, is to get rid of things that have been in it for decades, which I don't use.  And like many people, especially experienced and confident cooks, I don't open my old cookbooks.

Way back when I did love and utilize cookbooks, I'd frequently read them cover to cover and then internalize general principles. Except for cakes, I'd very rarely follow a recipe exactly. Besides eliminating or seriously reducing the amount of salt and other seasonings, it was usually impossible to find all of the ingredients in my pantry/kitchen. I became a "housewife" in late June,1970, and two months later we docked in Israel. Post-tzenna* Israel had plenty of food, but not all of the the ingredients in the American recipes.

My mother bought/sent me not only cookbooks, but lots of books about natural health, dieting, pregnancy and child-raising. I added many books and health/vegetarian magazines to the collection. But it has been a very long time, decades, since any of them have been opened and read. When I need a recipe, instead of taking down a few books, going through the index, putting small pieces of paper to mark the pages and then reading and comparing, I just check with Chef Google. Isn't that what almost everyone does?

So, as I've planned and envisioned my new kitchen, the bookshelves** will morph into my coffee corner. Gd willing in a few months, maybe by my next birthday, we'll be seeing my percolator, French Presses and coffee mugs on those shelves.

I've already given away more than half of the actual cookbooks. If anyone is interested in any of the remaining books, please come and get them.

*צנע tzenna or zenna, was the term for the austerity days of great financial difficulties and hardships in the early years of the State of Israel. The population grew dramatically, as Jews from all over the world hurried to our Historic Homeland. Basic food items were rationed, and families/citizens were given coupons to try to make it possible to share the limited supplies.

** That wall closet is to be re-doored with new formica to match the new cabinets on the other walls.

6th Grade Girls onto Bigger and Better, Sure Better than My School Memories

There aren't too many things I'm willing to do instead of going to the pool. We don't get all that many "women's hours" at our local pool, and the season is much too short. But one thing trumps pool, my grandchildren. And last night was graduation time for the 6th Grade Girls of Ofra.

Getting to Ofra proved a bit more difficult than usual, since there had been a major accident between Givat Asaf (the Beit El Junction) and Ofra. If I had been coming from Shiloh, it wouldn't have been as much a problem in theory if we had our own car. Due to the road being closed until the mess of the accident was cleaned, people going from Shiloh to Jerusalem went on the Alon Road, which doesn't pass Ofra. I was Jerusalem for some errands, a shiva call and brainstorming lunch. Travel to Ofra was complicated for everyone, and the time of the graduation was delayed so all of the parents could make it. Finally, I did get to Ofra on the first bus let through. Real life is never all that dull.

Thank Gd I did make it to Ofra with enough time to spare that I was able to have dinner at my daughter's before the party/event.

I must say that not only was it very exciting and thrilling to watch my granddaughter and her friends perform and work together, but I am so happy that her education, unlike my own, has a strong emphasis on group values, working together and independence.

Last week I had been in Ofra for the 8th Grade Graduation, and there too I couldn't get over how the entire staff, including the principal knows the parents and the students and care about them as people. In the world I grew up in, even in elementary school, when we had only one teacher, nobody thought of me as more than just another one in the classroom. No teacher spoke to me as a person, as if they cared at all. And we certainly didn't know the principal. Only if a student was a major problem would the top administration know they existed. Here in Israel, my children's teachers, even decades after graduation, ask about them.

In Hebrew there's a phrase that has no real English translation, because it's very cultural. לגבש כיתה\קבוצה ligabesh kita/kvutza. The object is to make the individuals function as a group. This isn't to make them "the same." It's to see how each can use his/her individual talents to make the group function as a strong supportive group. It's done in school, youth movements and also staff.

I like to think of it as the essential ketoret, a special incense used in Tabernacle and then Holy Temple worship.

“God said to Moses: Take fragrances such as balsam, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, all of the same weight, as well as other fragrances. Make the mixture into incense, as compounded by a master perfumer, well-blended, pure and holy.” (Ex. 30:34-5)

The Torah does not provide the exact recipe for the ketoret, the incense that was burned daily in the Temple. Only in the oral tradition do we find a detailed list of eleven ingredients:

70 portions of the four fragrances mentioned in the verse.

16 portions of myrrh, cassia, spikanard, and saffron.

12 portions of costus.

9 portions of cinnamon.

3 portions of cinnamon bark.

In many ways the blending of these spices is like  לגבש כיתה\קבוצה ligabesh kita/kvutza. No one stands out too much, and the whole is very different from the parts.

Gd willing, may all these lovely girls have full and rewarding lives. And warmest thanks to the devoted staff.

Here are some pictures from last night:

Israel, Excellence in Education

School Year Opening Ceremony in Ofra


In various articles I've read about the opening of the new school year here in Israel, NRP aka Jewish Home's Education Minister Naftali Bennett's aim is "excellence" in education. That's nice, but I don't think he's going about it in the right way. If I've understood correctly, in recent years, the Ministry of Education has forbidden doing the the Mathematics and English Bagrut (Matriculation exam) in the Tenth Grade. They want the students to continue studying the subjects more years, which makes sense, but what they do by that ruling is actually "dumbing down" to "very good" rather than raising the level to "excellent."

High school students should be studying those basic subjects until the end of their senior year, 12th grade, but those who are capable of passing the highest "5 point" test in 10th or 11th grade should be given the chance, and if they pass, they they must take higher level courses. That's what my eldest did when she was in high school. A group of parents pushed the school to allow their English-speaking daughters to take the test in the 10th grade, and then in the 11th grade they took an extra, 6th point, English Literature course. That excellent high level course opened up a whole world of knowledge and interest, which led to her majoring in the subject in university.

My second daughter also did a number of her Bagrut tests early, including English in the 10th grade, and found herself in the position the Ministry of Education wants to prevent. She had almost nothing left to study as a senior. At least her high school allowed her extra Jewish Studies in a neighboring seminary for women. This was before today's easily accessible internet and "elearning."

If the Ministry of Education really wants "excellence," then they should encourage the gifted students to finish the basic 5 point exams earlier and provide higher level classes for them until they finish their "twelve years of studying." These classes, when there aren't enough students or suitable teacher in a school, can be via the internet.

The other day, I saw a news clip about how the children of Chabad families all over the world study in "classes" via the internet. In some cases, the children have to be up in the middle of the night, because of the time differences. So, here in Israel, this wouldn't be a problem. Even gifted and motivated students in the smallest schools can study on a suitably high level.

A "Teudat Bagrut," high school diploma, of such a student with high level tests and grades allows the student automatic admission to university in majors related to the subjects passed on a high enough level. That means, no Psychometric Exams and courses required for those subjects.  That's a big time and money saving for those high level successful students. My third got into university like that, and ended up finishing her Master's Degree simultaneously with her Bachelor's.

Things are always changing in Israeli Education. One "reform" is replaced by a newer "reform" ad infinitum... If they want excellence, my suggestions should be implemented.

Dumbed down tests for "real children"

Honestly, I feel much better now. I thought it was only Israeli educators dumbing down texts, tests and requirements, but according to The New York Times, the same educational "illness" is gripping the states.

If you follow the "Bell Curve," the level adjusts to the test results, so you always get the same percentage of "excellent."

In my small corner of the educators' universe I've seen some unpleasant reduction in the level of English my students know when they enter high school. My students are generally in the lowest English group. I've been teaching English as a Foreign Language for just under ten years. I used to use a book called Going Places, ECB, in the 9th grade. It's an interesting book which takes the students to all parts of Israel. It's totally factual, but it doesn't have the remedial techniques my students need. So after a couple of years I started teaching them from Rescue 2, UPP, which is humorous and more "modern." Some of my classes did very well with it and remembered the stories even in the 12th grade.

Last year, my 9th grade class couldn't handle it at all, and the year was a disaster. Actually, they couldn't handle studying and paying attention either. Since I still like the book, and we barely got through half of it, I decided that we'd use it this year, in the 10th grade. Thank G-d, it's going well, but that still means that this year's 10th grade is on the level the 9th grade was a few years ago.

I didn't want to make the same mistake again, so I ordered a simpler book for this year's 9th grade, Chance, UPP. When I had first seen the book a couple of years ago, I insisted that it was too simple for my kids. Now, the 9th grade is doing well with it.

And what about Going Places? I photocopied some of the stories for my 11th and 12th grade projects. They can handle it, yes, they're on a reading comprehension level like my 9th grade was eight years ago.