Hebrew school stuff

[xiphias]

Yesterday's class didn't go as well as last week's but it wasn't bad. Someday, I have to learn something or other about classroom management. Is it bad when every cartoon that my kids doodle of me has me yelling, "QUIET!!" (And I have had a number of students over the years who are quite good artists, so I've seen plenty of cartoon caricatures of myself yelling "QUIET!" Many of them are quite good.)

They don't mind when I yell; I think they find it charming. Generally, if it gets noisy, one or more of the kids -- including the ones who are noisy -- say, "Use your Teacher Voice!" I dunno. They seem to like it when I yell at them. I guess that means that they're comfortable with me -- they know that I love them, even when I'm yelling at them.

Anyway, I guess I'm more comfortable teaching history this year, because we appear to be covering the material more quickly, but with the same degree of comprehension. We started with the Exile from Jerusalem, and went over the Babylonian Captivity -- and talked about how the religion changed in exile from one based almost entirely on giving sacrifices to an elite group of people to take care of, to one based on daily communal prayer.

And we even got to Cyrus the Great, and the 50,000 Jews who went back to Jerusalem to re-establish the Temple when Cyrus gave Judea back to the Judeans. And how they had to fight against the people who were there, since it's not like nobody moved in in the past 70 years. . .

And then we finished off mentioning that, once the Temple was re-built, you were able to go back to the Temple-based religion of giving animals to an elite to sacrifice -- but that the communal religion didn't go away.

I said, "So, now we've got two types of religion going on, with the Kohanim running one, and the local scholars running the other. What do you think happens in this situation?"

One of my students said, "Political fighting to control the religion and government of the country?"

My students don't miss a lot.

You know, it occurs to me that if the current Administration had the grasp of political and religious power dynamics that my fifth-graders do, we wouldn't be IN the kind of messes that we're in. . . .

Comments

[ron_newman]

What, you're not yelling "SHEKET!" ?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Naw, I tried it, but they prefer it when I yell in English.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

See if you can find a copy of Teacher Effectiveness Training. It'll help you with the classroom assertiveness thing.

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

That's an impressive answer from a 5th grader.

(I'm guessing we're talking 10 or 11 years old?)

A little boy I babysat came home from hebrew school one day to report that in hebrew school, what he learned was "all about how everyone's always trying to kill my people"

I was amused, the more regular babysitter was horrified. I remember trying to explain to her that the curriculum covered the trials of the jews because it was relevant to the development of the religion and culture, as well as a lesson in courage through adversity. She was bothered by the idea that children were being taught to have a persecution complex.

This was over 10 years ago, now, but coincidentally, I was relating the story to my partner just a few days ago.

I guess I re-tell it to you now because I'm interested in your thoughts on the balance between the lesson and the risk of creating paranoid children ;)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I think the risk of our children NOT being paranoid is greater.

We need to understand that, throughout history, Jews have been seen as "outsiders", as "the other", and that this happens today. Right now, in Europe and in North America, it doesn't happen much -- but the undercurrents that are among the anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian movement have genuine grievances against the government of Israel all tangled up with this exact sense of alienness to Jews. Most of the people who are protesting against Israel are protesting against things which Israel really is doing wrong -- but there are a few, an undercurrent, which comes directly from the realm of blood libel and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

And I want my kids to know what that is, where it is, what it looks like, how do watch out for it, and where it comes from. I want them to know what they are going to have to deal with.

I don't want them to think that we Jews, historically, have always been victims, nor always been Good Guys -- but I want them to know What Is, and all about how everyone's always trying to kill my people IS part of that.

[ron_newman]

But how do we do this without turning the kids into Likudniks?

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

I don't know what a Likudnik is, but my powers of context are strong and this was kind of the question I too, was asking.

Xiphias, I see paranoia as an inheirantly negative state. There being a difference between awareness (which is, unfortunately necessary) and excessive fear and anxiety.

While I disagreed with the other babysitter's point, in general, I see her concern about creating an unhealthy us-vs-them sort of self-isolation.

[ron_newman]

A Likudnik is a supporter of a right-wing party in Israel, one that historically wanted Jews to settle all of Palestine, and that now opposes any compromise or peace agreement.

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

ah, gotcha.

not quite what my powers of context had me thinking, but I think the question may still stand, albeit a bit more shakily. ;)

[ron_newman]

But I think you get the reason I brought it up -- this outlook is the direct result of paranoia that people will always be out to get the Jews.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

That's the trick, isn't it?

It's important to be able to recognize when other folks have a point -- maybe buldozing houses who are RELATED to people who might have terrorist sympathies is, y'know, Not Good. It's important to be able to distinguish between people pointing out that you, or things that you identify with, have screwed up, and people saying that you, or things that you identify with are inherently bad and must be destroyed.

I think part of that comes from being able to understand where the other person comes from -- even the bits which ARE anti-Semetic. And I think studying history is one way that you can understand that.

I hope, anyway.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

The only thing I still need to study for my Rabbinic Pastor program (besides doing all of my CPE/hospital training) is Jewish history. Want to teach me?

[flouritephoenix.livejournal.com]

Have you tried the clap "shave and a haircut" and let the students do "two bits"? You do it over and over until the whole class is quiet and clapping. Saves the voice.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Oh, when I NEED them to be quiet for something unusual, I say, very softly, "if you can hear the sound of my voice, clap once." Then, "clap twice", "put your finger in your ear," and so forth. The trick is to say it as quietly as possible, so that only the kids nearest you can hear you at all, and then everyone quiets down to listen.

Works a treat.