A big "Thank You" to the many parents who made time to discuss "our" kids' progress to date. It's reassuring and inspiring to know what an affect TaL Am can make in a relatively short time. I truly believe our students will be making leaps and bounds in their Hebrew knowledge and usage in the near future and the years to come.
TaL Am aside ("THIS must be important, if Morah Miriam is putting Ivrit to the side!"), Rabbi Benzaken did a Chesed (Kindness) for me today by leading the entire class in Tefilla so that I could attend an important meeting. Unfortunately, there were a few students who did not show proper Kavod (Respect) to the Rav or to Tefilla.
I witnessed a few students who made the wrong decision, but I was told there were even more students involved. I explained to the class that making a wrong decision is something anyone can do, but not everyone can admit. Being grown up means noticing when I have done something wrong and doing my best to turn things around to be Right. A baby can't do this. If a mother asks, "Did you walk through the mud puddles when I told you to be careful?" a young child will say, "No". The mother can say, "But I see mud on your shoes. How do you explain that unless you walked through the mud?!"
Before admitting any wrong-doing, a child will say, "My friend MADE me do it" or "Aliens flew by and dropped the intergalactic mud on my feet!"
I asked the students NOT to tell me who else was involved, because the situation wasn't DANGEROUS. However, as I passed paper out to the seven children involved, I asked anyone who wanted this chance to apologize to raise their hand. I had another three children volunteer. I was very proud of them. Even the children who were "caught" misbehaving acted very maturely. I think they understood I was not angry with them. I just cannot let them lose a chance to repair the situation. I reminded them that Rabbi Benzaken is a community leader who starts his day with them because he knows how important their Tefilla is. On the board, I wrote לכבוד הרב בן זקן, סליחה אם הפרעתי בתפילה. (Dear Rabbi Benzaken, I am sorry if I disturbed the Tefillah) and I marked a place where the student can sign his/her name and a place for the parent's signature. Please ask your child if they need anything signed tonight and make sure these letters are turned in to me first thing in the morning, so I can pass them on to Rabbi Benzaken.
And while we are speaking of parents' signatures...Reading sheets were passed out to the students today. Based on their reading (You can talk it over with them) they can choose to read one or both paragraphs each night. Please sign the bottom of the sheet on each night your child reads. This will be very useful to a majority of our students who need to work on fluid Hebrew reading, plus vocabulary. I will send an email whenever they bring home a new reading sheet.
I will also be listing the names of students who successfully volunteer ( מתנדבים) to speak only Hebrew on any given morning (עברית כל הבוקר ). To begin with, students can list their initials next to any given class, so I will know they will be answering and asking questions ONLY in Hebrew. I hope the enthusaism will grow and grow, along with our vocabulary and ease of usage.
We will continue working on our present tense and past tense verbs. Our Chanuka studies will begin this week, because there is so much to learn!!!
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