Imagine this scenario if you will. A child comes running in
from school, face beaming, "Mommy, Mommy! I got a
punishment!"
"Really?" says the mother expectantly. "What is it?" The
child tells her, the mother laughs and the child hurries to
execute the punishment.
Crazy, right? Impossible? Make believe.
Well, actually this scene has played itself out (a little
too often) at my house since the school year started.
Boruch Hashem, my son's school staffs an excellent
group of dedicated teachers, a wonderful principal and for
the most part, my son's education has progressed fairly
smoothly. I can't say it enough, Boruch Hashem. This
year, he's been fortunate enough to have as a homeroom Rebbi
a man who not only knows how to give interesting lessons but
knows how to make sure his students learn them well.
Let me just give you a sampling of my son's teacher's
methods of discipline. The school bell rings but a group of
boys have suddenly developed selective hearing. They arrive
fashionably late to class. What does the Rebbi do? Does he
scream, humiliate them, kick them out, break their spirit?
Heaven forbid! He has them write an essay about a boy who
consecutively misses a bus, a train, a plane and a boat. My
son related to me some of the more creative ones. These nine-
year-olds are serious competition, let me tell you.
Here's another one: they had to write thirty times: "When
the teacher comes into class and you don't take your books
out and put them on your desk, it's a waste of time, just
like this punishment."
Teachers like these are precious. If we're lucky enough to
have them, we must show how much they're appreciated. We
need to tell them, tell their principals, tell our kids.
It's true all teachers should be inspiring our children and
making them eager to learn and even eager to do punishments.
Many aren't, and we should show our gratitude to those who
are.
We should also take a page from their lesson plans. As
students, we remember the teachers who made our days or made
them miserable, who helped mold us into the productive human
beings we are or who drove us to therapy. As teachers, we
know the great responsibility we have for the pure and
sometimes mischievous souls we are responsible for turning
into the next generation of gedolei hador, neshos
chayil and honorable menschen. As parents, we
know how a good teacher is the best blessing for the new
year and how much damage a misguided one can cause.
All of us are almost always in one if not all of these
roles. We need to ensure that we choose the best teachers to
emulate and learn from and protect ourselves from those
people who try to teach us the hard way. We need to teach
those in our care with love, patience and not a little humor
and we need to make sure that the people in whose care our
children are when we're not around know how to handle them
with care; to push away with the left and draw nearer with
the right. And we need to pray a lot.
As my son gets older, I'm going to be having less influence
on his academic education. I'm glad he's had such positive
experiences in his formative years to give him the correct
guidelines for what to look for as his role models. I hope
and pray that all his lessons are learned as painlessly and
sweetly as they are being learnt in the fourth grade.
