Israel Today

Of my many students, few are as unassuming or as enterprising as Shira. She is gifted, loves learning, yet remains reserved enough to go unnoticed. I worried about her at the beginning of 10th grade. I occasionally mistook her quiet nature for a lack of knowledge. My impressions of her quickly changed upon reading her essays; they were full of insight, sharp observations, and clarity.

At the end of her 9th grade, a representative from Brauda, a college in the city of Karmiel, half an hour away from Ma’alot, addressed students and offered them an after-school program covering the A to Zs of RPV’s – remotely piloted vehicles.

Interested in the course, Shira decided to enroll; the only student of approximately 100 in her year to do so. This means that, in addition to her regular school program, she takes a bus over the hill once a week, oftentimes not returning home until after 8 p.m. I’ve seen her getting off the bus as I make my way home after a late Ma’ariv. After beginning her school day at 8:30, that takes dedication.

One shouldn’t underestimate the scope of Shira’s regular study course, which leaves her little room for travel time, the extra curriculum, and the late evening arrivals home.

If she tackled a busy schedule in 10th grade, the sheer number of hours in 11th grade is a challenge to all students; the hours are long, and it is the year in which the bulk of their state exams take place. I have oftentimes tried to schedule appointments with 11th grade students only to discover that in some cases there isn’t one hour available from Sunday through Friday.

Of one thing I am certain: Shira will cope. When, in two years’ time, she comes through the other side of the course, the options she will have in her young life will have greatly widened in scope.

Shira is frank about the pressure, saying she’s not afraid her 11th grade schedule will affect her studies. This is because those running the course are well aware of the potential for schedule conflict. They have discussed this with the students and have pledged to accompany them throughout the year to help them prepare not only for the army but for the psychometric (SAT) examination. This will go a long way in relieving the pressure at school. Knowing they will be there by her side helps maintain Shira’s enthusiasm and dedication to the long hours she has put in and to face the coming busy two years.

The ultimate aim of the course about drones is to train pre-army students in the hope that of the many who pass through their doors, and ultimately the course – the few who are diligent enough – will become eligible for this burgeoning and important military field. This explains why the course is coordinated with the army and why some of Shira’s teachers are from the armed forces.

Shira says there are two major benefits to the course: learning new things and making new friends.

“I have made new friends for life and learned new things that I didn’t think I would or could necessarily like and connect with,” she shares.

In this, Shira is an anomaly, as postcovid students have evolved into an world that is more insular than it used to be. In my humble experience as an educator, I have found that since the pandemic, students tend to be less engaged or willing to volunteer. For example, it is common practice for students to dedicate at least 90 hours over the course of their three high school years volunteering in the community. Getting them to help out in any fashion at school has become an uphill battle. This is somewhat reflected in society at large, where many people have chosen not to return to work. I have detected an air of student slothfulness that borders on disengagement with their surroundings.

This is why I am impressed by Shira’s determination to see the course through. She is animated when talking about the different aspects of her course. For example, she described some of the material she has studied about batteries – their differences, their advantages and disadvantages, what to do in case a battery swells, how to act when it emits smoke, or how she learnt that a battery should not be left unattended while charging.

She is also learning how to program the onboard computers, to fly the vehicle, and how to build them from scratch.

I was surprised to learn how only three students from the original thirty-five have dropped out. That’s a high retention rate and a reflection of the course’s success.

Shira is looking past the army. She believes the field is flourishing enough to become a viable future profession.

“It is good to learn things at an early age,” she says. “I enjoy learning the material, and even though it is true that I don’t know what I want to do in the army (I’m only 16 years old), I get a lot of enjoyment studying in the course.”

If there is one thing that Shira can teach her peers, it is that there is no limit to what one can learn and accomplish. Covid may have changed the lives of many of our children, but that doesn’t mean they need to be hindered in what they can accomplish. The world may have become a little crazier, a little harder to navigate, but level-headedness can be nurtured and developed by making the correct decisions. Shira had the initiative to make the decisions herself.

It is incumbent upon educators to help our youth make wise educational decisions. Their future depends on it.

Flying High

By Rafi Sackville

Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, teaches in Ort Maalot in Western Galil.