Wandering: They left teaching - and in the end returned to the same school

Shimon Ben Abu, a Shlah (knowledge of the country) teacher at the Makif Gimel school in Ashdod, taught for 17 years, retired from the profession, and after several years outside the school walls, returned. Like him, there are other teachers who worked in the education system, retired from it — and after a certain period decided to return. Not just to teaching, but also to the same school where they taught and which they left. What causes a person who decided to leave their workplace and profession to return to them, and what happens when they return to a familiar place — and discover that it has changed?

In Ben Abu's case, in 2020 he and his family were about to move to the United States, but the coronavirus pandemic and flight cancellations delayed the plans at the last minute. "We made a quick course correction, I notified the Ministry of Education that I was canceling the unpaid leave I had taken, and we stayed in the country for another year," he says. "In the end, in 2021 we made the move to Miami. I managed the family's real estate assets there, a type of work I had never done. It was very difficult and challenging. It was never easy for me there. At the same time, we had businesses that my wife managed, and at a certain stage I joined her."

How long did you live in the United States?

"Four and a half years. It was a very difficult period in Israel, and from such a distance it is especially difficult to hear the news. We remained very connected to everything that happened in the country; it didn't just amount to watching television. When we left, we set ourselves a principled goal of five years in the United States, but when you arrive on the ground you discover that things move much slower than you think. I understood very quickly that my place is here, in the country, but after you spend a lot of money, sell the house in the country, move the whole family — you can't in one second get up and say 'it doesn't suit me, I'm coming back.' The economic loss in such a situation is huge. If you return too quickly, you threw all the large investment into the trash."

When you were there, didn't teaching tickle you?

"No. Since I moved to a completely different field, I decided in advance to take a complete break, and teaching did not burn in me. What did burn in me was to return to the country, to the place I love."

Let's go for it

In July 2025, Ben Abu returned with his family to Israel and two months later he returned to his position at the school in Ashdod. "It was completely clear to me that I want to return to the education system," he notes. "Throughout the years in the United States, I maintained continuous contact with friends on the teaching staff, and even the principal would call me often and say to me: 'Shimon, just say when you are returning.' They missed me a lot. Every time they went on an annual trip, the teachers would call me from the field or send me videos: 'Where are you? You are so missed here.' The knowledge that even after four and a half years abroad people continue to mention you and appreciate your presence gives enormous strength."

He returned to the same school and the same position, "because I love this work with all my heart. There was no one happier than me to return, and there is no day that passes that I don't say thank you very much for the privilege of returning. Is everything honey in the system? Absolutely not, but even with the sting and the difficulties, one learns to cope and accepts them with love. When I entered the teachers' room at the beginning of the year, I met teachers with fallen faces who told me 'Shimon, wait, wait, soon this smile will disappear from your face.' They asked me why I was so happy. But the high motivation and this energy are not related to the system — they are related to me and my character. Towards the upcoming school year, I am no less excited."

Sarah Meirman taught Bible for 34 years at the Amit Kfar Batya high school in Ra'anana. In 2017, at the age of 58, she decided to retire early. "I retired for all sorts of reasons," she explains. "I gave birth to my youngest daughter at 50, and when I retired she was in fourth grade and my two sons were in middle school. I also felt a certain burnout. Suddenly the thought arose in me that maybe I was no longer innovating enough for the students, and I understood that the home and family needed me more. The immediate trigger for retirement was when a good friend from the staff told me 'Come on, I'm retiring, let's retire together.' When I analyzed the situation with myself, I felt that maybe it was really time."

What did you do after retirement?

"In the first years I studied and enjoyed the free time. The world of education and teaching didn't tickle me at all. Only after four years at home did I start to hesitate a little, and I went to teach adults — mainly for employment and interest, not because it burned in me to return to the classrooms. And then suddenly came the offer to return to teach at the educational institution where I worked, so I said to myself 'Come on, let's go for it.'"

How was it to return?

"I returned to teach in 2024, and the moment I entered the classroom the feeling was as if I had never left. This return required me to completely change the style: all the years I taught at an ulpana for girls, and now I arrived at a high school for boys. It's a completely different mindset. That same year we started teaching a new subject there, the Book of Kings, and thanks to the fact that I was a pedagogical instructor for many years, and I instructed at Kfar Batya, I integrated and led the teaching staff quite quickly.

During the war period, guys from the staff went out for long reserve service and asked me to fill their place and also teach in 11th grade classes. I fit in there very quickly. As someone at the school told me not long ago: 'It doesn't look at all like you were outside and took a break from teaching.' Bottom line, I am very satisfied with the decision to return. The big advantage in returning is that it is not too busy for me. I didn't return to teach full-time. I came to taste the activity, to enjoy teaching, and to know that I am capable of contributing, adding something of my own, and also receiving back. The results on the ground speak for themselves: my students' matriculation exam grades are excellent."

Returning from a mature place

"I started working in the education system in 1992, at the age of 20, immediately after my service as a soldier-teacher," says Ganit Marinberg, a 1st and 2nd grade educator at the Weizmann school in Rehovot. "I was really a little girl, with training as an educator for early childhood. I taught at the school for six years until I went on a sabbatical year, after which I decided to leave the education system."

Why?

"During the first years of work, many doubts arose in me regarding work in the system. I felt that I was not succeeding in expressing things in my own way, and that every idea or initiative I raised encountered closed walls. I looked around at some of the veteran teachers at the school. They seemed bitter to me, and I was very afraid of reaching their state one day. Therefore, in the sabbatical year I decided to retrain as a kindergarten teacher and opened a private kindergarten with the goal of leading the educational activity exactly in the way I believe. I extended my sabbatical using unpaid leave year after year, until at a certain stage the Ministry of Education gave me an ultimatum and demanded that I decide whether I was returning or leaving for good. I managed my private kindergarten for 19 consecutive years."

And you decided to return to the education system, to the same school and the same classes.

"Correct. In 2019 I returned to the education system. I enjoyed every moment of the work in the kindergarten, but after nearly two decades I felt that I had exhausted this niche and wanted to return to work with slightly older children. Good friends of mine from the past, who worked with me and had meanwhile advanced to management positions at the school, approached me and told me: 'We need people like you, come educate with us.' I accepted the offer and returned."

And this is despite the fact that you were aware of the crisis in the education system.

"Correct, but I had no doubt about this step. I love children with all my soul, and in my opinion, anyone who does not hold such love is not capable of surviving and creating in this field over decades. My current return to the system came from a mature, ready, and completely different place. If it wasn't good for me, I wouldn't have returned. I chose to return because the system felt to me like a safe and familiar place — a stable position where I could work peacefully until retirement age. Right now I am mainly excited for the new school year."