Sometimes, it’s the smaller elements that contribute in a significant way to the overall classroom environment. For the past few years, my students have enjoyed “on-time oreos.” This snack began as an incentive for students to arrive at Hebrew class on time. With only 60 minutes of class time, a student who is 10 minutes late has already missed a substantial part of the lesson. Hence, the oreos – sweet, familiar treats, with a purpose. Students knew that once we had said the blessing for Torah study and the “cookie” blessing, class was officially underway and the oreos were returned to the cabinet.
Did students arrive on time? YES! At times, a student would scurry in the door just as we were saying “Boreh Mineh M’zonot,” then settle quietly into the routine, happy to find that the oreos were still out on the table. Late arrivals became so infrequent, that in the last weeks of school, one class renamed the cookies “welcome oreos,” and decided that each student could have one no matter what time he or she arrived.
In another class, it became customary for the first student to arrive to receive 2 oreos. Each new class of students added its own twist to the “on-time oreos.”
And that’s the point – comfort, familiarity, a sense of ownership of the time and space that is “Hebrew School.”
A new school year is about to begin. I’m clipping coupons and watching for sales on oreos – the kind with double the amount of creamy stuff in the middle.
“Shalom – welcome – Have an oreo.”
The real message – “You’ve come to the right place at the right time.”
In another class
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- May Their Memory… - July 2, 2014
- Starting Over, Starting Up, Reviewing and Re-thinking….Again! - June 6, 2014