An op-ed argues that excellent education is essential to securing the next generation of national success, and that teaching remains a stable career even in the age of artificial intelligence. The writer says the current cohort of high school seniors has already endured years of disruption, with COVID-19 breaking out in the middle of sixth grade, studies unsettled through eighth grade, ninth grade proceeding normally, and the war erupting at the start of tenth grade and still not fully over.
The piece centers on a graduation Shabbat for the writer’s son, who finished 12th grade at Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Mateh Binyamin in Beit El. The regional school serves most local boys and has about 150 students in each class, so it is described as far from an elite boutique institution. Yet it manages to combine broad acceptance of area students with different study tracks that allow for excellence.
At the event, a student panel featured teenagers describing how the yeshiva gave them encouragement, a push, and opportunity. According to the writer, they spoke about becoming more socially involved, taking responsibility, and developing personally. He presents this as proof of what high-quality public education can do, and of the enormous importance of educators in young people’s lives.
The writer says that many people rank their children first, but do not always choose a profession accordingly. He argues that if children matter most, then educating them is the most important and rewarding job. He adds that artificial intelligence is already replacing programmers and will likely affect accountants, lawyers, engineers, and other roles that do not depend on human connection, while education is among the most protected fields because its core is personal contact. He says teachers have both mission and job security, and that demand is high, while pay is already reasonable and may rise further with another reform in the next Knesset.
The piece closes by noting the Shabbat took place in the shadow of the death of Nevo Habsush, who was killed while the graduating class was in ninth grade. The students had printed a T-shirt at the end of their final trip with his line, “Don’t cry that it’s over, smile that it happened,” and the writer says anyone who wants to look back on life and smile that it happened should choose education now.
