Posted on 05/22/25
Baltimore, MD - May 22, 2025 - Can you believe that we are in the month of May?! There’s around 17 days or so left until the end of the school year, but who’s counting? Of course the students, and admittedly yes, the teachers too. There’s no shame in that. We all worked hard and are ready for that long-awaited summer vacation! It’s all about fun in the sun and precious recharging time for everyone. Before we jump into all that, it is worthwhile to note that this month of May is indeed a precious time for educators, and perhaps for parents as well. It is an opportunity to take pause and make a mental accounting of the school year. Almost like the cheshbon hanefesh that we do before Rosh Hashanah, this time of year is conducive for some self-reflection and evaluation of what worked and what didn’t, both with our students and with ourselves. Once June rolls around, there are end of year programs, class parties and celebrations, and the tedious job of writing report cards and placing orders for the following school year; who has time to think?
If you’re in Chinuch, whether in a teaching or administrative position, stop and smell the roses in your work environment. Take pride in the growth you witnessed and were an active part of. Treasure the relationship you built with your talmidim, and perhaps their parents. The same is true for parents. Your child is not the same child he was at the beginning of the year!
At the same time, challenge yourself and be honest, for this is what makes us better and our holy work that much more so. It’s not pleasant, but it is an essential part of what we do. While we can’t be perfect, especially in a system that was created out of necessity by Rabban Gamliel (when he saw that yesomim were not receiving the chinuch that was then given by parents) we can always strive for improvement. This is not meant by any means for anyone to go on a guilt-trip or doubt their abilities. This is certainly not intended to reprove any of our talented, hard-working and dedicated Mechanchim, rather it is a suggestion for self-improvement that occurs privately, on an individual level, much like personal tefillah.
I was fortunate to have an Aha moment in my preschool classroom one day with this idea in mind. The boys were working on a special project that required some glitter paint watercolors. Some of the papers were very beautiful, with patterns or specific colors highlighting certain areas. Some were just a splash of color because painting is fun. One, however, looked like it was painted in brown-gold mush. I was a bit surprised when I saw this particular child’s paper as he is artistic and his work reflects that.
Because this was a special project, I asked him to do it again, along with another boy who’s paper was streaked in black making the important words on it unreadable. (and oh how they love to use black!) When I went to check on his work, I noticed that again, it was brown-gold mush. What? I was about to say something when upon approaching him, I noticed that his pallet of colors he was using was all rubbed out and there was only brown-gold left! He was doing his work with the colors that were available to him and with great effort as well. Ohhh…
“Yitzy*! Now I know why your project was all brown-gold, those are the only colors you have! Would you like another watercolor pallet with more colors?” Yitzy nodded his head quietly, relieved that the artist in him could paint “normally.” I gave him a new one and he happily painted a masterpiece.
As I shared this observation with my assistant, she smiled and said this sounds like an article, so credit goes to Morah Orah. What was my Aha moment?
Sometimes, or maybe it’s just me, when there is a (negative) interaction or occurrence, especially when it comes to behaviors in school (or home), or really with anyone we meet for that matter, we assume a certain set idea or expectation. Then we find out that it just isn’t so. At the end of the school year, when the kids are not acting their finest per se and Morah is tired, we jump to conclusions that are not correct. Often , the child, the person, is doing what he/she can with the tools he is given. He is painting his picture with the colors in his palette. Sometimes, he has an array of colors to choose from; sometimes not.
Let’s help our children to find the full range of colors they possess. Let’s help him, ourselves, to discover that we can get a new palette. We are not stuck with just one color. Let’s fine-tune what our student, our child needs with help that’s out there. Let’s fine-tune our teaching/administrative/parenting style with the help that’s also out there. We have a masterpiece to paint. Thank you Yitzy for teaching me how to paint.
*name changed