Ms. Hait has raised an important issue for all of us. I raise the following counterpoints.
1) While teaching tweens and teens for many years, at times students would ask a question that I call a "latka" that they just plop down into the middle of the room. It is dangerous to ignore the question, but also dangerous to engage in the immediate. Sometimes our students ask in order to throw a teacher off track, get her to have a long discussion and ignore the curriculum at hand. As the teacher fumbles through an answer, many of the students are off in their own worlds, knowing that this won't be on the test.
Teachers need to find ways to acknowledge the question, encourage more questions, and then set a time to discuss.
Personally I had students do an opening activity every day in a separate notebook. the back of the notebook was for any question, comment or private issue they wanted to discuss. I always checked and if there was a question wrote back an answer or had a conversation with the student.
If a child plopped a latka in our classroom, I would say "great question. write it in your yoman."
I understand that this doesn't address the need for all children to be taught about God, but it does encourage and enable questioning.
God has to be in our classrooms every day, but lessons on God and belief are often not received by students who are unable to grapple with the infinite.
Best for Middle school and lower High School is to continue to teach Torah and Talmud in a skills based way so our students have the skills to think and grow as their brains and minds mature.
Teachers hopefully are role models of avdei Hashem and most savvy students learn from our actions and interactions also.
2) Additionally, there is a basic faith that children should receive with their mother's milk. PARENTS have responsibility here. Kids need to know that God is part of their family life, and not just a school thing.
I once had a parent complain to me that his children don't know how to sing zmirot and he believed we should address that in school.
No matter how many times I sing a song with students, and how many "shabbatons" we ran, if zmirot were not part of the family shabbat that learning would remain mostly academic.
v'hamayvin yavin
Yocheved Lindenbaum
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2016 10:23AM by mlb.
