Pathways Program By Eden Kariti 11th grade-5

Pathways is a unique educational program that enables participants to actively solve problems and negotiate different topics. For two days the participants cooperate with students from a different cultural background in English only and learn how to think outside the box in order to achieve their mutual goals. This year 20 students from Ramon’s 11^th grade who study English at a 5 point level together with Lilach Alshech, a member of the English staff, paired with Al Faruk school from kseiffa to take part in the program.

On the first day, we went Al Faruk school in kseiffa which is located southern to Gedera. When we first arrived there, we were exposed to the cultural differences between the sectors. For example, when it comes to clothes, the Bedouin girls were dressed in modest dresses and hijab. In addition, our knowledge of language is very different. While we speak Hebrew and English, the participants from Al Faruk school speak Arabic, Hebrew and English. During the first day we've been through various activities, all within the topic of negotiation and all in English of course. For example, we were divided into pairs and discussed our dilemmas and tried to reach a compromise that was acceptable on both sides. We played the old and favorite  game of arm wrestling, but this time the purpose of the game  was to score as many points as you can. At first we tried to fight against each other, and the stronger won. Only afterwards, we understood that we could win this game only if cooperate with each other.

On the second day of the program, Al Faruk students came to our school, and we continued working on negotiation skills and team work. One of the activities was to build the tallest cup towers. In groups we brainstormed for ideas in order to find the best strategy and to implement it. It was challenging because we had to do it without talking and in 5 minutes only. During this task, our group understood that the strategy we initially planned would not work. In order to come up with another plan we had to pantomime and be very patient. Eventually, our team won thanks to the great cooperation between us.

Throughout these two days, we accumulated experiences and initiated conversations with teens whom we do not get the opportunity to meet in our daily lives. As the days went by, we realized that the teens from Al Farouk who seemed very different from us at first, have a lot in common with us. For example, our interest in music, movies, books and even animals. At the end of the program, each participant received a certificate for participating in the Pathways- Game Changers program.

To sum up, Pathways is an enriching and interesting experience that enables students to meet members of other cultures who live in Israel and practice their English skills.

The students that took part in the program:

Adva Slotkin, Amit Shraibhand, Eden Kariti, Ido Gal, Lior Avraham, Marin Batzon, Noa Aflalo, Noa Biala, Noam Daniel, Noam Dassa, Oren Ner Gaon, Shaked Hami, Shahar Mensky, Shani Avisira, Yuval Eshed, Tal Afargan, Tal Slotkin, Tamir Cohen, Noa Marash and Rotem Almasi

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