SHAHAR WEISS, 35, science teacher at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva:
“Israel is so multicultural! So many languages, so many different cultures. Jews, Arabs, Bedouins, Druze,... But we are all Israelis. And these Arab children that I work with, they are my people too, citizens of my country.
"It was very important for me to learn Arabic. Language is the gateway to their culture. And I wanted to understand it so I can avoid mistakes at works. These kids have been through so much. The last they need is a teacher who offends them because he doesn’t understand their culture. So I learned and learned.
"Being a science teacher of hospitalized children is different than being a teacher in a regular school. Sometimes it’s a challenge getting out kids out of their beds, but we have helpers. Lego educational robots, interactive boards, tablets, cinema with movies in Arabic, Hebrew and English, whatever gets them out of bed.
"Every year, I get to teach more than 1,000 children. Lots of names to remember, but I don’t mind - the teacher learns new things all the time due to the fact that we are immersed in so many different cultures.
"The hospital is not an easy place to be, even if you are a healthy adult. But I love my job because I get to empower the children, make them feel safe.
"No nurses and doctors are allowed in my class! It’s a safe place, a bubble. The hospital experience is traumatic, even if a child is hospitalized just for few days, but they are hard workings. Very often children go back to school knowing more than their schoolmates.
"I’ve been working as a teacher at the hospital for 8 years now and coping with the bad news hasn’t become any easier. Unfortunately, it happens that little children we get to know die. You have to be built an immunity and time helps. But you know why you are doing it. For the children. So, you go home, you talk your loved ones and head back to the hospital. The children need you."
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‘Education Without Borders,’ a photo exhibition opening at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva this Monday, shows how Israel is alone among Mideast nations in providing continuing education for all hospitalized Israeli children, including Arabs and other minorities, and Syrian refugees.
Israel’s Ministry of Education mandates that all children hospitalized for more than three days receive continuing education during their stays.
The SASA Setton Kav Or Initiative, a nonprofit working in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Education and World ORT Kadima Mada, provides formal educational programs in 35 hospitals and medical centers across Israel and develops online platforms and curricula to enable children to continue schooling during lengthy hospital stays.
The exhibition showcases the program as another key difference between Israel and her neighbors in protecting human rights, especially those of children.
Photo: Shahar Azran
