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It’s a treat when an author’s work is
used in the classroom and the author
can be there at the same
time. It doesn’t happen
often, so we thought we’d
report on one such instance.
One afternoon this Fall,
I visited Beth Hatikvah
Religious School in Chatham,
New Jersey. Within
minutes of my arrival I
knew it was an extraordinary
school. Under the
leadership of Nancy
Hersh, one of its original
founders, the school is
alive with Jewish learning,
warmth, and kavanah. “I want to create
an environment,” Nancy said, “in
which the kids are interested and
happy.” As I
wandered
from classroom
to classroom,
it was clear from the children’s
faces that Nancy was achieving her
goal.
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The high point for me was when I
found an inconspicuous seat at the back
of the sixth grade classroom: there were
copies of The Time of Our Lives—one of my first projects at Behrman
House—on students’ desks. My heartbeat
sped. I hadn’t witnessed a book I
had written being
actually used for
real, with real
students.
They
were reading the bar and bat mitzvah
chapter aloud and discussing what they
most looked forward to on their big day. “To be respected,” one boy said.
“To make a really, really big tzedakah
project…to help my town,” a girl
added. I was struck by the level of engagement,
respect, and seriousness
among the students.
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How thrilling that an idea I’d had one
Tuesday morning in the office was
alive in an actual classroom. The children’s
eyes followed along in the book,
they laughed out loud at my reference
to “the funky chicken,” and they continued
the discussion by responding to
questions from the Teacher’s Guide.
It
helped put my efforts into perspective
and it refreshed me. For me, the best
news was the reminder that there is serious
and meaningful learning going on
in congregational schools and that our
work is a foundational part of that.
Scott E. Blumenthal is an editor with
Behrman House and the author of
The
Time of Our Lives and The Great Israel Scavenger Hunt.
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