Filling a Niche

I firmly believe that The MHA/FYOS fills a special niche in the day school world.  We are an Orthodox school that is committed to both a superb Torah and General studies education.  We are also committed to the state of Israel and to teaching about Israel and Israel advocacy.  We participate in the Torah Metzion  and Bat Ami programs, and each year bring young men and women to Memphis to oversee Israeli programming in addition to enhancement and enrichment of our Torah studies program.  This year we welcome  Zeev Leib, Hagai Gross, Ran Albaz, Moriya Ben Chemo,  and Noemi Tenenbawm.

 We also take advantage of members of our local Memphis community who have expertise in the area of Israel affairs.  Last Friday the junior high had the privilege of hearing from Adam Groveman, who attended our school in the past, and this morning from Rebbetzin Bluma Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein, a much admired and respected teacher in the GMSG.  Adam talked about the history of Israel’s relationship with Hamas and Gaza and referred to a recent trip that he took to Israel and the effect that the thousands of rockets have had on the lives of Israelis.  Bluma provided an excellent follow-up with a more political discussion and an explanation of the difference in the tactics used by Israel and Hamas and how these tactics play themselves out on the battle field and in the media.  Bluma also offered the students options for helping the Israeli cause.  These ranged from setting the record straight when you confront friends or acquaintances who do not have all of the most up-to -date, accurate information, to accepting upon yourself an extra mitzvah, or davening for the recovery of a particular wounded soldier , or just doing some extra learning.  She also informed the students about the Bnei Mitzvah program that the Federation has set up.  For every dollar that a Bar or Bat Mitzvah deposits into their account at the Federation, there is a matching donation made, and the child can decide where to earmark his or her charitable donation.  This is a wonderful program, in which we hope to get wide participation.  

Go!

 

Yes, we are off and running.  As I write this, cars are beginning to pull up for dismissal from the second day of school.  Just like arrival in the morning, the smiles on the students' faces are genuine.

We are certainly starting off on the right foot.  As I strolled through the corridors this morning, I passed many classrooms filled with serious students devoted to their davening.  In some rooms you could hear them singing the prayers, halfway down the hall.  The Beit Midresh was full this morning with our students and local residents who joined the minyan. 

As the day progressed I observed circle time in kindergarten, free time in pre-k 4, havruta style learning in Rabbi Nachbar’s class, serious writing going on in 6^th grade,first graders singing at the top of their lungs, songs involving Hebrew letter recognition, and perhaps the most impressive activity of the day , one that drew me in, so that I did not want to leave the classroom, was a junior high Ivrit class led by Morah Shimshon.  There were questions on the board and the students had index cards on which they wrote down the answers to the questions.  They then read their answers aloud.  Everything was conducted in Hebrew  - conversations between the teacher and students and student to student.

There is so much good education taking place at the MHA.  I only hope that I will continue to have the time to peek into the world of the students, and to continue to report back to you on their progress.     

e.

 

   

Getting to Know You

 

Back to School Night - Meet and Greet the Teachers for pre-schoolers - the school has been filled with enthusiastic parents and shy, but adorable 3 year - olds who are walking into the classroom for the first time,four year-olds who seem to have more confidence, and kindergarteners who are already old hands at school, leading in their younger siblings and heading right for the clay, markers and toys left out for them to discover .  Teachers are successfully encouraging the children to recognize their names, place their belongings in their cubbies, and just feel comfortable.  

Teachers and administrators both spoke to parents, acquainting them with all of the programs, forms, folders and digital devices and equipment that all go into making a successful twenty-first century school.  Parents listened avidly to what the teachers had to say and walked away feeling both confident and excited about the learning experience that their children will have this coming year.

Today also found the dormers moving in.  The girls were ecstatic with their make-over, which rivals the new early childhood center.  For this, enormous thanks go to Esther Katz and her volunteers.  The twelve boys and their parent were hard at work shlepping, folding, hanging, and just meeting the new faces and socializing.  Excitement is in the air!

A Growth Mindset

Musings on an in-service session

Dr. Carol Dweck is a world renowned Psychologist, author of many books.  One of her most recent publications is Mindset.  In this book Dr Dweck describes two different mindsets that describe the outlooks and behaviors of people of all ages in today’s society.  Her works are all based on years of clinical studies and analysis.  The book Mindset is written so that her research can be applied to everyone in all walks of life.  She discusses parenting, teaching, and  functioning in the workplace.  Her basic thesis is that there are two main mindsets – a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.  We can see these mindsets in everyone from young children to senior citizens.  What defines the difference between the two mindsets is how you see yourself. 

People with a fixed mindset always want to look smart, always associate with the high achievers, those who are perceived to be the “smart ones.”  They avoid tasks that will show any deficiencies on their part.  They believe that making an effort to achieve shows that they are inherently deficient.  It is a sign that they lack ability. Therefore, they tend to coast along in life.  They generally fail when they have to try hard, because they have never come to appreciate that failure can have a positive outcome down the line. According to their assessment,  if they have the ability, they shouldn’t have to make the effort.  They believe that a set back or a deficiency is a negative measure and reveals too much about them that would embarrass them in front of others.  Hence, they run from mistakes, and avoid challenges that they are unsure of overcoming. 

People with a growth mindset focus on continual learning.  To them life is a learning experience all of the time and at all costs.  If they suffer set backs, which they do, of course, they seek to recover, reassess, and tackle the job again. They are persistent and see the value in learning and growing from their mistakes. People with a growth mindset understand that effort can activate ability over time.  They know and appreciate that even “geniuses” have to work hard and that failure is part of the learning experience.  They turn their mistakes around so that they can capitalize on them and make them part of a larger, overall learning experience.  Unlike their counterparts who have a fixed mindset, people with growth mindsets understand that raw ability is only secondary to success.

As teachers, we ourselves, should have a growth mindset.  We should take risks, learn from our mistakes, understand that our efforts activate our abilities over time.  We shouldn’t shy away from those areas in teaching that provide us with the biggest challenges.

Our students also need a growth mindset.  It allows them to embrace learning, for learning’s sake. They need to better understand the role of effort in creating intelligence.  Most importantly, they need to retain resilience in the face of setbacks.  Students with a growth mindset will be far more successful in life than those with a fixed mindset.  They won’t shy away from learning new skills because they won’t be obsessed with failure.  They will understand the process of learning, not only the data they need to know to pass the tests.  It is this process that separates those who are successful in life from those who tend to stagnate. 

To learn more about Carol Dweck’s work, you can watch some of her videos on you tube or read her latest publications.  

Get Ready, Get Set...

Today the teachers gathered together for their first day of in-service, in preparation for “Back to School Night” on Sunday evening, August 17,  for Early Childhood and Elementary school, “Meet the Teachers” for Early childhood on Monday, August 18, and finally the first day for everyone on Tuesday, August 19.  The lunchroom was filled with excitement and good cheer as old friends touched base about the summer and new arrivals were convivially incorporated.  As feelings of enthusiasm continued, the teachers got down to real work.  This week before school starts has been set aside for classroom preparation, lesson planning, collaborative sessions, but most of all, to introduce and evaluate professional development initiatives that will make for better education for all of our children. 

This year all divisions are focusing on “Making Thinking Visible.”  This educational approach seeks to train students to think more often and more critically, and to become more accomplished problem solvers, by demonstrating to the students, exactly what takes place when one “thinks” about a problem, an issue, a puzzle or conundrum.  This approach attempts to show the students more clearly what steps are actually involved in the thinking process, so that they will be better at applying the procedures to all types of learning situations.  It is truly a skill that will serve them well for the rest of their lives, both in and out of school.  All of the various divisions have been working on applying the methodology in ways that are relevant to them. 

I am also encouraging an initiative called Appreciative Inquiry, introduced to me by Charna Schubert,  which seeks to change the culture – the atmosphere, the morale - of a given group of employees.  This approach was first used in the industrial and sales world to increase output and customer satisfaction.  Many fortune 500 companies have gone through the process.  It is now being used to make schools more productive, by drawing on the inner core of strength of the educational institution.  By determining what works well and why it works, employees can build and strengthen their workplace.  Appreciating everyone’s contributions and establishing an atmosphere in which they can thrive and rise to their potential can successfully turn a culture of negativity into one of positive energy and output.  It allows for employees to work collaboratively to “dream”, “design”, and realize the institution’s “destiny”.  We began the day with a modified version of the process to introduce the concept and get the teachers thinking positively about change.  Rivki Wiener, our much acclaimed second grade teacher, came up with an appropriate catch phrase to describe this initiative – “gratitude attitude!”  Rivki was also the creator of our acronym, IKaRR

One of the highlights of the day was a presentation by Allison Sheppard on technology.  She went through some basics on operating our new computers and offered some trouble shooting hints for us.  She also took us on a whirlwind tour of google apps that we can use – everything from flipped classrooms, to creating you tube videos to setting up blogs.  It was enlightening and peaked everyone’s curiosity.  Allison has generously offered to work with people individually to help hone their own skills. 

There was still time to do some team building activities and to enjoy a delicious lunch prepared for us by Sandra Osdoba.  It was a day of bonding and hard work.

"Extreme Make-over"

The Extreme Make-Over!!

Over the weekend and into the wee hours of the morning, volunteers have been hard at work converting our former computer room into a multi-purpose room to be used by the Early Childhood division.  This wonderful project is being ably spearheaded by our Early Childhood Director, Charna Schubert. All of Charna's staff have made truly noteworthy contributions, but special recognition goes to Kim Minner, her husband David, and their daughter Katie. Kim had been as assistant in the school years ago, but moved away.  We are delighted to welcome her back to the MHA family, and as always, we appreciate all of the work that Katie does for us.  

As you can see this room is in the process of being transformed into a child wonderland, complete with bright colors, lots of pictures, and plenty of shelf space to stack toys, books, and educational materials.  This entire project has been a great collaborative effort.  Charna shared her vision with the other administrators and board members.  The IT people solved all the computer related issues, ensuring that our server would be secure and that there would be school-wide access to our growing technology collection.  Teachers, parents, and students alike, happily stepped up to contribute their time and talents. Steve and his crew have helped in the construction of a wall which will protect our server and still allow the students plenty of room to ride and play.  

We gratefully thank all of those who have made this project possible, and especially the board of directors for approving it and giving us the go-ahead.