By COLlive reporter
Photos by Levik Hertzel
Jewish teachers and educators packed a Crown Heights hall Sunday afternoon to hear a lecture from an internationally acclaimed author and special education advocate, despite some opposition.
While anonymous letters (“pashkevilim”) decried Rick Lavoie‘s talk as being Christian-influenced, most Chassidic schools in the Brooklyn neighborhood ended learning early on March 27 so their staff could attend the 2 hour workshop.
Originally expecting a crowd of 100, organizers from the Nechama’s Closet charitable organization needed to bring out more chairs to accommodate some 400 men and women that came from Crown Heights and beyond to Campus Chomesh.
“As a parent and educator, I followed Mr. Lavoie’s work for over 20 years, watching his videos and reading his books, and it is clear to me that he has the right message,” Rabbi Shea Hecht, Chairman of the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE), introduced Lavoie.
With a copy of the book “How to Raise a Jewish Child” (which seemed to be used often), Lavoie began with a joke about being warned before speaking to a yeshiva in California that participants are all knowledgeable rabbis.
He went on to explain his theories on the subject of learning disabilities and their impact on children as explained in the several books he has written and in the 1989 documentary “The F.A.T. City Project.”
Teachers from most Crown Heights schools and educational institutions were present. The crowd was fully engaged for the 1 hour, 55 minute talk, and some were seen taking notes.
Lavoie took the time later to sell books, answer questions and exchange ideas with some of the Chassidic educators.
“When I told him that a technique of his was mentioned in Chassidus, Lavoie replied: ‘Everything comes from your books. It’s all there.'” a participating teacher told COLlive.com.
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I don’t understand what the problem could possible have been with the above mentioned speaker. Even the Rambam quotes non jewish (and even greek) philosophers!!!
This is why women don’t need to be there. They get tons of training while our men do not. They somehow need to be paid to go train. There should be a vaad formed to oversee and sponsor teacher training for the schechuna.
BS”D It is not a ganay, but our boys teachers have no training, while the women get lots of training, yet teach little (as they get pregnant after marriage and it is their husbands who have no training who now go to work). The men then are practicing on our kids and sometimes they are talented and most often while they have very big hearts, but they are stuck when it comes to motivating a child and this is the key to discipline. (or not needing to discipline) When the kid is motivated he needs a minimum of discipline (unless… Read more »
i found rick lavoie’s workshop to be very inspiring. however, i would have liked to hear more PRACTICAL ways to motivate children.
to # 15 If you read my comment you saw that it’s not a fantasy and not merely the ideal, but something that is actually being implemented in Beis Chaya Mushka and Ohr Menachem. The point, which you missed, is that even those from non-Yiddish speaking homes will pick up Yiddish easily with total immersion in preschool as is ACTUALLY being done in these two schools. To #18 The Rebbe said that Chumash should not be the way to teach Yiddish. Preschool is the ideal time for Yiddish immersion because the children are not learning Chumash yet and they pick… Read more »
2 Words – Blast Class. OT is not changing.
To #1: In that letter, the Rebbe is not advocating teaching how to read and write in the vernacular, but rather that the instruction of Torah should be in the spoken language. in fact, the Rebbe was against learning secular studies until as late as possible. And yes, English is considered a secular study.
You are both fantastic teachers. Thank you for all you give to our boys!!
that i would love to see
help me understand .. is the person in number 1 saying the rebbe in igros kodesh says one should learn english ?? if so this will seem to me that the person is misreading something … because it is definitely known the rebbe was not for learning english especially first few years because it is repetitive … though i am sure like anything else the rebbe did make a difference when it was on a personally level verses the rebbes general view … one can not take ones personal level and what they were told by the rebbe to take… Read more »
what do you mean “where are the women”? Its a given that there will be women, they just dont need to be seen, for once there is a little bit of tznius!!!!!!!
the workshop was excellent!!! (and i know because i was on the womens side!!!!)
to #1: Sorry dude, but the Rebbe said Oholei Torah should NOT teach ANY Limudei Chol. Lubavitcher Yeshivah was not either supposed to, but because in the beginning, non of the Public School Jewish children would move to Lubavitcher Yeshivah without Limudei Chol, they had to do it. to #8: You are so right! And even more so! The Rebbe said the Moshiach will speak in Yiddish. Moshiach will come and the young Lubavitchers will say:”What is he saying?”?! (P.S. Most Oholei Torahniks I know, DO know how to read and write english, because they use their own brain to… Read more »
The GOOD TIMES!
Thank you to the O.T. rebbes that attented the lecture…Rabbi Goldstein you are the best. A teacher for so long and still believes he can learn from everyone… thats the way to accept a teaching job..
TEACHING IN YIDDISH Firstly, if you read the article in Beis Moshiach magazine regarding this issue, the author says that the Rebbe says we must learn in Yiddish. He then goes on to say that the Rebbe says that if the child is speaking in English, he must lesrn in the language he speaks. The author tries to reconcile the two contradictory statements by suggesting that schools immerse the children in Yiddish from a very young age. The author is grossly mistaken in saying that the Rebbe said we must teach in Yiddish. That is absolutely NOT true!! In fact,… Read more »
Mr. Rick was supperb!!!!!!!!!!!. I agree with his positive methods of raising children, treating your spouse and freinds with respect and enchouregment. ” Yes,” he said, “you have too punish or disagree, but first fill up the tank with lots of love and kindness, then the punishment will be accepted,” This is actually taken from our holy books. But, he explained it clearly and gave powerful examples. Thank you Nechamas Closer for bringing him
There is s misconception about ‘English’ being secular. I submit, and I have discussed this with many Mashpi’im, that to teach the language of English to give kids the tools to excel in LIMUDEI KODESH does not fall under the umbrella of the Rebbe’s prohibition or displeasure with secular subjects till age 9. This is common sense. I’m told that at 75% of the teachers at Lubavitcher Yeshiva share this opinion
Fantasy and reality. What you describe, is the ideal. The reality is, most kids in CH are English speaking and require English instruction because of it. One cannot deny the status quo. I agree with you about Farbrengens, though. Yiddish should be taught as a separate subject like all subjects to a achieve enough fluency to understand sichos and farbrengens. But all other subjects – in English.
5. Read my comment – o teacher! wrote: Was my son’s ex teacher from elementary school there – the one who sucked out my son’s motivation with his exaggerated (unfair) punishments – so that his reputation was ruined – even in the eyes of the PREVIOUSLY sympathetic hanhala – so they lost all hope of him?? ( Was he there? When I read the speaker’s book on motivation – I cringed when he gave an example of DEmotivating a kid… because I realized that my son underwent that in his classroom – and it had repercussions which we are still… Read more »
Firstly, let me say that I am a staunch supporter of Nechama’s Closet. (Together with Natural & Kosher’s Brigitte Mizrahi, we donated a cheese package to be auctioned off.) With all due respect to the websites that featured anything at all as a response to the pathetic pashkevil, I feel that giving the pashkevil any credence whatsoever was doing Nechama’s closet an injustice. Inasmuch as we need to be aware of our surroundings in all aspects, most of my friends had not even heard about the pashkevil until they read about it on one of the websites. The readership of… Read more »
it’s nice to see my sons rebbi from ES LASOS is in the crowed.
this was a very important event and everyone showed that pashkvilim don’t work in lubavitch!
Thank you very much. While I appreciate and agree with your comment, we need to work out an inconsistency, for the Rebbe did establish Oholi Torah with a particular model. As an Oholi Torah graduate, I can affirm that the education they provided me has not led me to any success, both begashmius and beruchnius. Although learning to be a chutzpan yak is periodically handy. So I agree with you, but we need to work out the inconstancy. How can we comfortably take our children away from Lemudai Kodesh, and put them in lemudai chol, if the Rebbe preferred otherwise?… Read more »
thank you Rabbi Simpson for sending your teachers to this professional workshop bezh this will enable them to further understand and help their students and affect their lives in a positiive way bgur…..
See the article in the most recent issue of Beis Moshiach #782 about what language to teach in, an article that quotes the Rebbe’s responses. The conclusion is: children should be fully immersed in Yiddish in PRESCHOOL when they pick it up easily and then the language of instruction should be Yiddish from then on. What a busha when Lubavitcher children, born and bred, can’t understand a farbrengen of the Rebbe. The Rebbe could have spoken in English at farbrengens which is what the majority of people understood. He opted to speak in Yiddish. All it takes to raise Yiddish… Read more »
Y’all have heard him on theyeshiva.net now crown heights should bring him out to speak to our families about how to talk to the best in in children.
Chuchma bagoyim taamin!
Wow, Its beautiful that so many wonderful men and women of crown heights care to take the time and learn.
Thank you:)
there were over 550 at the workshop
and over 400 in evening session
and it was a wonderful event
thanks nechamas closet
rick lavoie was great ! thanks nechamas closet for arranging it!
Let’s show appreciation for all of the women who came on their own time (and for some) money. There were about twice as many women there as men.
Communication is education. I don’t care how many fancy lectures take place. Ikar, Toful…Nothing will be accomplished until it is understood that we need to teach our children from first grade how to both read and write in the language they think in – English. Without this basic, vital tool they are spending those first frustrating years being mis-educated, which leads to a sense of failure and a whole host of other problems. As the Rebbe write in Igros Kodesh Vol 15 p84, “Since it is necessary to inform them of G-d’s Mitzvos and prohibitions on a practical level, it… Read more »