Education in the First Decade

The city leaders were keenly aware of the importance of educating the younger generation. Educating the youth of Lod was accompanied by a tremendous boom in the establishment of educational institutions, youth movements, municipal choirs, and a dance troupe. All of these were highlights of life in Lod in the 1950s.

Children and youth quickly picked up the Hebrew language, thereby bridging the gap between their parents and the various institutions. Avraham Kirschner was put in charge of the Department of Education. Taking care of thousands of kids in a city that didn't have enough teachers, classrooms, or schools was a huge job, but it also motivated everyone to keep working hard. Already in the first year, teachers from Bulgaria and Poland were recruited from among the immigrants, and they taught the children in either fluent Hebrew or broken Hebrew. Sometimes the teachers were criticized for lacking even basic knowledge of Hebrew, but since there were no teachers willing to teach in the city during the first decade, this was a minor problem. Although some of the teachers struggled with Hebrew, they were exemplary educators, and this merit put them in good stead until they learned the language.

The schools established in Lod from the outset included all the educational streams that existed in the country at the time: the Mizrahi and Agudat Israel streams, the workers' stream, the general stream, a Jewish school, and two Arab schools.

The first schools were housed in temporary buildings, some of which were unsuitable for regular educational activities, and new ones had to be built. All of these schools operated in two shifts due to a shortage of classrooms. The existence of a second shift in Lod at that time was problematic and required an immediate solution. At the same time, Lod lacked youth clubs that could keep children occupied until school started. In their absence, children roamed the streets and arrived at school tired and unable to concentrate on their studies. This situation increased the dropout rate in the upper grades and lowered the overall level of education. The municipality, which considered the education of the younger generation to be one of its top priorities, undertook the construction of new schools, added classrooms to existing ones, and began to gradually eliminate the second shift.

It was difficult to find employment for young people who had completed elementary school, as until 1954 there was no real secondary school in Lod. Attempts to open a ninth grade class had been made earlier, but were unsuccessful. Boys and girls were forced to travel to schools in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, or boarding schools outside the city.

The solution to this problem was found with the establishment of a joint high school for Ramla and Lod. Initially, the school was located in two buildings between Ramla and Lod. Despite the difficulties, by the end of the decade, approximately 200 students were enrolled in three tracks: science, literature, and education.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Lod Municipality - Cherikover.