From Soldier Teacher to Head of Teacher Training Institute: Professor's Full Circle

Reflecting on her journey, Yalon-Haimovitz stated that the education system requires revitalization, particularly concerning the status of teachers. Her early experiences in the 1980s included teaching at the Ketziot base, working with "Rafful's Boys", at-risk youth who had dropped out of educational frameworks. She provided them with a stable environment of order, empowerment, and support within the military setting. Later, at the IDF school in Beersheba, she encountered adult soldiers, both native-born Israelis and immigrants, who were illiterate and struggled with undiagnosed learning disabilities. To effectively teach them, she employed specialized, complex adult-learning techniques, including remedial instruction, guiding them through a gradual and empowering learning process.

Yalon-Haimovitz credits these experiences, particularly the direct one-on-one work and understanding the soldiers' challenges, as the foundation of her educational philosophy. These formative experiences continue to drive her policy-making in training the next generation of educators. In her most recent role there, she was Dean of the Faculty of Health Professions and managed the Israeli Institute for Cognitive Accessibility.

"The education system today needs a kind of 'resuscitation', not just in infrastructure, but in the spirit and status of educators," Yalon-Haimovitz remarked. She believes a generation of young people is seeking deeper meaning, and as a leading academic center for teacher training, Levinsky-Wingate has a crucial role in guiding them and equipping them with practical tools. These tools will enable them to create an educational system that truly sees children, makes learning accessible, and serves as a renewed anchor after the recent difficult period. Her new position at Levinsky-Wingate allows her to translate her extensive experience into an innovative educational vision. She aims to advance the training of Levinsky-Wingate graduates to be at the forefront of educational and technological endeavors, integrating artificial intelligence and advanced tools into classrooms to identify individual student needs and tailor learning approaches. Additionally, she plans to open the center's doors to young people facing physical, cognitive, and emotional injuries, offering integrated study and rehabilitation programs through teaching, adaptive sports, and Paralympic activities.