Mechanech

One of the things that American schools can learn from Israeli schools is the concept of a Mechanech. In all of the schools that I have come across in Israel (where I work, where my kids go to school, where colleague work), there is a mechanech in every class. In the school where I teach, a high school for boys grades 7-12, there is a Rav-Mechanech, or R"aM.

I look at the mechanech as a "Class Principal." They are in charge of the general welfare of the students, their educational and social development, and after-school activities as well. They are, simply put, the first address for the students in their class. Of course, to assist the mechanech there are more staff members: the assistant principal, the administrator of the class, the supervisors for each subject, the principal and, in certain schools, the Rosh Yeshiva. That is most certainly a lot of bureaucratic levels that would dizzy even the most seasoned government employee (which is, after all, what most teachers are in Israel!). But, I believe in the case of the mechanech, the student definitely benefits from those layers of bureaucracy.