Whenever I raise my voice at my fifth-grade religious schools students, I immediately begin to worry that they will recall this moment twenty years from now as an explanation for why they are no longer affiliated with Judaism. “I came there twice a week when I didn’t want to,†I fear they’ll say, “and then my teacher who was barely even my height would spend half the class lecturing about how this letter was not the same as that one.†This scenario, admittedly tempered by Jewish guilt, calls into question what commonly overlooked elements ultimately influence each individual’s educational, and consequently religious, perspectives.
Recently, tensions have risen in my class between one male student who has a diagnosed hyperactive, aggressive disorder and three female students who exacerbate his tendencies. My co-teacher describes this situation as ‘young girls just being girls’ and, rightfully so, deals respectfully but strictly with both sides. However, whenever the male bemoans that he hates Hebrew school because of this, and whenever the girls complain that this lessen is boring – can’t we do something else? – I wonder to what effect these social circumstances will ultimately affect their view on Judaism, Religious School related and beyond.
A friend of mine from Day School remembers a Hebrew teacher in Elementary School asking her if she ‘felt stupid’ for not being able to read the language as well as the other students in her tracked class. My friend, since diagnosed with dyslexia, today is a practicing Jew, but continues to resist any further study of Hebrew beyond her knowledge of the prayers. Each student, I am sure, can easily recall moments in which they were misunderstood by a teacher or peer, and ascribe a certain personal attribute or tendencies to this occasion in consequence.
I wonder how I might today personally view Judaism, and religion in general, had I attended a religious school that emphasized rote learning rather then my pluralistic, questioning High School. Currently, I must confess, I have trouble with numbers in Hebrew, a condition I attribute to the fact that I didn’t ‘like’ my fourth-grade Hebrew teacher and consider this my trouble year. To what lasting affect, I wonder, do such incidents have upon students as the recollection is augmented over time? And, to what degree, do these negative associations reflect characteristics of the individual versus the quality and substance of the education provided?
Within a classroom of socially impressionable children (not that adults at times cant be similarly so) the lessons received by the students will inherently differ from the lessons presented by the teacher. While a harmonious atmosphere should always be a goal of every learning environment, I see this as an imperative for a Religious School experience if we hope to instill positive, lasting associations with Jewish culture, religion, and spiritual studies.
