Frustrated with our chinuch system? Don’t see any hope for forward progress? Here’s something to make you smile: This Tuesday night our chinuch system got a powerful boost.
After a year of being instructed by expert educators and psychologists, giving model lessons to peers as well as in local schools, and spending many hours observing and being mentored by some of our finest teachers, twelve young men were introduced by the Menachem Education Foundation into the world of chinuch.
Upon graduating they received certificates from M.E.F. as well as Medgar Evers college.
The graduation ceremony took place in Beis Eliezer Yitzchok in Crown Heights. The crowd was first addressed by the rosh kollel of Midtown Manhattan kollel, Rabbi Asher Webb.
Rabbi Webb praised the use of technology and training in chinuch (as practiced in MEF,) as the ultimate answer to the maskilim of Eastern Europe (who saw formal education and technology as a reason to run away from yiddishkeit.)
Rabbi Eli Simpson, a graduate of this year’s program, presented an in-depth class on the words “Lech Lecha.” He explained the essence of a Jew as being a part of the creator, and how that is expressed in a Jew’s emunah. The interactive class, complete with a worksheet, treated the audience to a taste of some of the skills and methods learned throughout the course.
The featured Speaker, Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, gave some important advice for parents and teachers.
Some of the points which Rabbi Rosenblum stressed were:
1 )BE A DUGMA CHAYA:
Some things can’t be taught or demanded. When it comes to being a mentch, and being a chossid, our children learn from what we do, not what we tell them to do.
The Kotzker Rebbe once told this to someone. The man replied “you mean when I nudged my boy to learn all these years I was wasting my time?!”
“Chas v’shalom,” The Kotzker replied. “Your son will soon have his own children, and he himself will not learn, but he will definitely nudge them to learn!”
2) KNOW WHERE YOUR CHILD IS NOW, AND WHERE YOU’D LIKE HIM TO REACH
Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman once said “one must know how he is presently, at which state he can possibly be, and how he truly needs to be.”
3) TEACHABLE MOMENTS
The Alter Rebbe once paused to think before responding with an answer to a question from his young grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek. The Rebbe explains that when your child is having a receptive moment (e.g. asking you for an answer,) it is a unique opportunity for you to impart a lesson.
When a child tells his mother about an accomplishment in learning and she does something special in honor of the occasion, a unique opportunity was used to display the dearness of learning Torah.
The many wonderful and talented mechanchim in our schools are about to be joined by 12 more.
The Menachem Education Foundation works to enhance yiddishe chinuch by training teachers, principals, and through many other programs.
For more information about M.E.F. and all that it is doing for the betterment of our children’s chinuch, visit mymef.org
something vos du kenst is definatly enhance chinuch with chasidishe nigunim…….hatzloche rabo!!
you guessed who this comment is from………
ty
Check out the Rebbe’s ideas of mivtzoim, Tzivos Hashem, Lag B’omer parades…we have tons of horaos from the Rebbe that can be applied in our Yeshivos, providing hands on learning experiences in addition to the text based.
Go to oholei torah any day during the year , and look at how much the children are motivated to learn. There is a culture where academic acheivment is not valued. The children are not loved , this besides for the lack of hands on programs. Imagine if a kid is not good at text based studies in our system he fails , because our system is completely text based. Check out piaget vygotsky maybe they can help.
Sorry, I mean WE (myself and my wife) as parents who actually read and learn the Rebbe’s views on college, yes, we pray to Hashem tha our children never look to college as an option.
This program seems terrific and our institutions will be better for it…..but I do not think one can say that WE would never want our children to look at college as an option. The world is a different place, and each individual has his or her own circumstances.
Founder, Director: Zalman Schneur
Headed by : Mendy Yusewitz
Participants:
1. Binyomin Mordechai schmidt
2. Eliyahu Simpson
4. Gelb, Levi
5. Joseph Zeidman
6. Levi Yitzchak Gajer
7. Levi Yitzchok Rapoport
8. Levy Yitzchok Kessler
9. Mendy Levin
10. Newman Shmuel
11. Schneur zalman Kirschenbaum
12. Sosover Moshe
13. Yonah Grossman
14. Yosef Wolf
The span of program we went through is one year. It includes 100 hours of classes and workshops, over a dozen hours in live classroom (teaching and observing) we were mentored, and had competitions and review classes and more
gr8 work!!
Just excellent! Thanks to Rabbi Shneur who has done a tremendous job in conceiving, developing, guiding and growing a first class teachers-training program, L’Shem Ul’Siferes. Yet, note he takes zero credit in this article, he’s completely Lishma! However, it’s clear to observers this special & vital institute is totally his baby and he knows exactly what he’s doing. Thanks, as well, to those superb master-Mechanchim, such as Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum and others, who are contributing in so many ways to the growth of ‘Menachem Education Foundation’ and to the dramatic improvement of Chinuch in many of our Chabad Mosdos. A… Read more »
Rabbi you continue to inspire us all
the graduates’ names?
I believe the deplorable state of universities today – what they stand for, what their agendas are, how the ‘success’ of their graduates is measured – is enough of a reason that Chabad parents do NOT want college educated teachers.
Oh, and as Chabad parents, with the Rebbe as our guide, we really would never want our children to look at college as an option.
Eli you make the family (606) so proud on being in the forefront on Chinuch and I’m sure knowledge and skills you learned will allow you to be one of the greatest teacher/principle/dean Lubavitcher will have.
raizy, your husband rocks. But Sam is still the best.
Keep your foolish comments to yourself!
As a veteran mechanech, with much professional training, I will have you know that the best “theories” are all in Torah. Most of the “theories in education have changed over the 1000’s of years, but the Torah values have remained the same.
Kol hakavod to Rabbi Shneur for bringing professional development – equal to what is taught at “top universities” Let’s hope that this transfers into the classrooms in all schools- and we will see a positive change in all teachers – especially in mesivta and zal.
I think it would be much more beneficial for us to send our teachers to get a real education at a university, as opposed to setting up short programs , with instructors who do not spend their lives studying education and do not know all the theory’s developed over 1000s of years of educating children.
MAZEL TOV!
The Rebbe, MH”M, wanted leaders…well…here they are!
Mazal Tov to Zalman Shneur & the team!
its great to see that despite being already a mashpia in mesivta of ocean parkway, hes still ready to sit and learn and better his teaching skills.
if only all our teachers would do the same…
Givaldik!
I was so delighted to read that some Mechanchim are finally seeing the LIGHT and learning different methods in teaching. Thank You Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum for all the time and energy you put into making the Yeshivah school system the BEST it should be.
Very Proud of Rabbi Schneur – especially that he put on a hat (did not wear his baseball cap).
for giving our yeshiva graduates a minute and miniscule taste of the training undertaken by todays crop of professional teachers. May these future educators take this G-d given insight to recognize what they don’t know and to continue to pursue the professional acquisition of these skills for the betterment of our communities future.
as a parent i do all the stuff you say the problem was the teachers burnt out my kids fire with having their pet kids and the list gos on. YOU CANT FOOL KIDS. Did the teachers learn how to[ not just teach] but deal with understanding the kids and that they are all not the same.i can go on and on but i am working now un till next time