"I know my son", said a defensive father, trying to explain to the principal his son’s version of a rumble between him and an older boy. "If there’s one thing he doesn’t do, it’s lie!" After thoroughly checking out the incident, the principal saw that the younger child’s version was not fully true. There were…
"Rules are made to be broken", says an old adage. In the context of child education, what does this saying mean? One of the fundamental responsibilities of a teacher and parent is to make rules, give guidelines and offer clear borders to children. This, in order to help each child use his abilities and characteristics…
To be a successful mechanech (teacher) two ingredients are essential: patience and support. Without patience, a student’s progress will never be able to match the tolerance level of his teacher; without support, whether psychological, emotional, academic, or other, the student will feel he either cannot succeed or that his success has limited or no value….
The Joy of Self-Accomplishment As we mentioned in the first two sections of our present topic, we can learn from Hashem’s Creation of the world how to educate our children and students and turn them into Bnei Torah. We find this concept mentioned explicitly in the Midrash (Bereishis 4:2),which says that the Creation of the…
A Teacher’s Humility and a Student’s Clarity "כתית למאור" – כתית refers to cutting and dividing which represents humility, while מאור refers to light and growth. The more humble a teacher is and the more he emphasizes not his understanding of the Torah, but that of his students, the greater his students will grow and…
The Value of Good Middos: A teacher of Torah has one goal in mind: that the Torah’s message should have an overriding influence in the class. However, this is only possible if the teacher has succeeded in developing a class atmosphere which emphasizes good Middos and fulfillment of Mitzvos. This we learn from Chazal’s explanation…
Last year, in Parshas Titzaveh, we expounded on Chazal’s statement that the lighting of the Menorah alludes to the teaching of Torah to Bnei Yisroel. This year, we will try and offer some new insights into a teacher’s approach to his job, his relationship to his students and what he should expect from them. All…
The success of a teacher is dependent on the way he looks at his job. Either he sees himself as a supplier of information and as a class warden, or as a spiritual stage director, who composes and directs the creation and expansion of the neshamos (souls) of his students. Yes, he “creates” them, as…
The Mishkan was a symbol of honor, of wealth and of royalty. Many of its vessels were made of gold and silver, while the curtains were woven with fine wool. The grandeur of the Mishkan gave Bnei Yisroel themselves a feeling of grandeur; a feeling of self-respect and self-worth; a feeling that their Torah and…
"אלה הדברים אשר דבר"-The posuk could have said אשר אמר or אשר הגיד, with אמר representing a softer language and הגיד a harsher one. We learn that Moshe gave reproof according to the objective severity of each transgression. Not too soft and not too hard. An over-exaggerated reaction to a transgression or the opposite, will…