Time for Education
Shai Piron, president of the 'Pnima' movement and former Minister of Education, calls in an opinion piece to make early childhood education a national priority. He argues that research shows brain structure makes it difficult to acquire habits after age 7, making preschool years the most critical. Piron criticizes the current state where kindergartens are seen as a framework to allow parents to work, and calls on the next education minister to formulate a national plan aligned with global research. He notes that for the first time in years, education is on the election agenda, partly thanks to the work of organizations like 'Pnima'.
Shai Piron, president of the 'Pnima' movement and former Minister of Education, calls in an opinion piece to make early childhood education a national priority. He argues that research shows brain structure makes it difficult to acquire habits after age 7, making preschool years the most critical for shaping motor, cognitive, and social skills. Piron criticizes the current state where kindergartens are seen as a framework to allow parents to work, comparing them to launching a spaceship: the energy at liftoff determines the ability to cross the atmosphere. He states that 'kindergartens are a poor, meager, almost neglected system' and calls on the next education minister to formulate a national plan aligned with global research. Piron notes that for the first time in years, education is on the election agenda, partly thanks to the work of organizations like 'Pnima'. He criticizes the focus on issues like teachers' unions and salaries while neglecting 'the child'. He concludes with advice to candidates: be the education minister of everyone, and demonstrate personal example, while memorizing the rule 'Derech Eretz precedes Torah'.