Masa Israel Teaching Fellows marks a decade of programming. The goal of the program is to teach spoken English in schools throughout Israel. Masa Israel Journey CEO Ofer Gutman: Students experience English as something more familiar.
The Masa Israel Teaching Fellows Program (MITF), a program of Masa Israel Journey, reaches a milestone of a decade of activity, with more than 1,700 Fellows.
As part of the program, young Jews from English-speaking countries come to Israel every year and spend 10 months making spoken English more accessible to students in schools in lower-income areas and geographic peripheries. With their arrival, the Fellows undergo training about the educational system in Israel and join the teaching staff in elementary schools, where they teach small groups or provide private lessons. In light of the changes that the educational system underwent in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fellows of the program also taught students remotely, in small groups.
Masa Israel Teaching Fellows, who all have undergraduate degrees and some who are already licensed teachers, were stationed in more than 100 schools across Israel, in geographic peripheries and low-income areas in Nazareth, Beit Shean, Rahat, Ramle, Petach Tikvah, Rechovot, Jerusalem, Netanya, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Bat-Yam, and Tel Aviv.
The goal of Masa Israel Journey, established by the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Government, in bringing the Fellows to Israel is to shape a promising future for the Fellows, the global Jewish community and their connection to the State of Israel. Masa empowers Fellows with a strong sense of Jewish identity and connection to their roots, while helping them assimilate into Israeli society during their time here. Some Fellows assimilate into Israeli society so well that they decide to make Aliyah according to Masa Israel Journey, about 30% of them, and some even continue working in education.
Hannah Stubnick of Toronto, Canada is a great example of the extraordinary people who participate in the program.
Hannah, whose mother is from Trinidad and whose father is Jewish-Canadian, teaches in the Pisgat Zeev School in Jerusalem. “Despite the limitations from Covid-19, my students and I succeeded in developing a warm and loving relationship,” Hannah says.
“We speak to each other in English and discuss life, both in class and during breaks. One of my more memorable experiences was when I took them out as a small group to play and sing in English. They were so excited when they succeeded in communicating with me in English.” According to Hannah, one of the advantages of the program is “absolutely the incredible motivation students have to learn a new language when it’s taught from someone who comes from the outside.”
Another Fellow is Lee Breimer from Toronto, who is teaching in Netanya. He worked for years in marketing and loves to travel. “After six years of work, I decided to leave my job and travel the world,” he says. “I traveled for two and half years and Covid broke out when I was in Australia.” At this stage, when he returned to Canada, he discovered the project, which particularly interested him for two reasons. The first was his love for Israel, and the second was his love for education.
“This is the first time that I was exposed to Judaism at such an intensity and it’s just amazing.” He added, “I came to see the possibility of living here and to learn about Jewish life in Israel. I love kids and education, so it was an excellent opportunity for me and I’m enjoying every minute.”
Another Fellows is Rebecca Spisher from Boston, who is teaching in Haifa. “My Hebrew is ok,” she shared. “My students and I speak in both languages – they learn about me and I learn about them, and we all get so much from that. At the start, it was difficult because of Zoom and Covid, but once we returned to school, we started to get to know each other more and to communicate better,” she said. “I thought Israel was a special country before I arrived, and now I love the country more with each passing day.”
The program is organized and managed by Masa Israel Journey. “MITF is one of our flagship programs,” explains CEO Ofer Gutman. The students, teachers and families welcome Fellows, and they become part of the family of the school and the community. This results in a strong connection to the State of Israel. In addition, students who used to see English as something remote or foreign experience the language as something familiar and more accessible.”
The program is supported by the government through the Ministry of Education. “In the world of education, it’s not simple to recognize the factors that improve the experience for students during a specific period,” explains the Deputy Head and Manager of the Administration of Teaching Staff in the Ministry of Education Eyal Ram. He explains, “the research we did six years ago showed an increase in the students’ assessment of their ability in English. The fact that the students and program Fellows speak in English during the classes and in the breaks is extremely helpful. This is a very significant tool that impacts the success of the students.”