Things That Need to be Improved in the Contemporary School System
It is really no wonder why so many children struggle through school, when you consider how faulty the contemporary school system is; there is so much that can be improved upon.
Here are some important things schools can do to make things right:
* Engaging teachers: Have you ever watched one of those Charlie Brown cartoons, where his teacher goes "Wak, wak, wak, wak, wak?" Unfortunately, that's the way many teachers sound when they teach. Let's face the facts; you can't stand going to a shiur where the rabbi goes like that. Neither do your kids! Teachers need to put a little umph into their teaching; a shtickle enthusiasm! If the teacher is not enthusiastic about what he's teaching, why should the children be either?
* Visuals: A picture is worth a thousand words. Really. Students are able to learn much better when the teacher shows them pictures and diagrams. Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, this is done in many schools today with the use of slide shows. But the teacher needs to be creative in preparing good slides to show the children, which will help them understand the material.
* No child should be left behind: What if a child decides that he just isn't interested in learning, and wants to slack off? Sadly, a lot of teachers allow this to be. There are students who (as I did), just sit there in the classroom, daydreaming and doodling the whole day instead of learning. There are many things that teachers could be doing to prevent this. For instance, a teacher could make a rule in the classroom that all students will take turns reading from the book. The teacher could have the students take turns giving a short summary in their own words on the learning material. Sometimes, children need some such engagement in order to be motivated to control their attention difficulty.
* Point system: Fortunately, a lot of new schools cropping up these days have an organized point system for the children, motivating them to learn well and be on good behavior. This should be done in all schools. If the teacher has a projector (and all teachers should!) he should show the points of the students often on the board, to motivate them. The children should have great prizes to look forward to by getting a lot of points.
* Teach not just Gemarah, but how to learn Gemarah: All Jewish schools teach Gemarah. But many, if not the vast majority of them don't teach how to learn Gemarah. A child needs to learn how to open up a Gemarah – a classic Aramaic Gemarah, not an Artscroll one – and be able to read and understand the Gemarah. Most yeshivahs require that the students be able to do this; this, of course, explains why there are so many yeshivah dropouts these days, unfortunately.
* Teach Perush Hamilim: It is appalling how many, if not most schools don't teach Perush Hamilim – the words of davening. This is the most important subject a Jewish school can teach the children.
Here are some important things schools can do to make things right:
* Engaging teachers: Have you ever watched one of those Charlie Brown cartoons, where his teacher goes "Wak, wak, wak, wak, wak?" Unfortunately, that's the way many teachers sound when they teach. Let's face the facts; you can't stand going to a shiur where the rabbi goes like that. Neither do your kids! Teachers need to put a little umph into their teaching; a shtickle enthusiasm! If the teacher is not enthusiastic about what he's teaching, why should the children be either?
* Visuals: A picture is worth a thousand words. Really. Students are able to learn much better when the teacher shows them pictures and diagrams. Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, this is done in many schools today with the use of slide shows. But the teacher needs to be creative in preparing good slides to show the children, which will help them understand the material.
* No child should be left behind: What if a child decides that he just isn't interested in learning, and wants to slack off? Sadly, a lot of teachers allow this to be. There are students who (as I did), just sit there in the classroom, daydreaming and doodling the whole day instead of learning. There are many things that teachers could be doing to prevent this. For instance, a teacher could make a rule in the classroom that all students will take turns reading from the book. The teacher could have the students take turns giving a short summary in their own words on the learning material. Sometimes, children need some such engagement in order to be motivated to control their attention difficulty.
* Point system: Fortunately, a lot of new schools cropping up these days have an organized point system for the children, motivating them to learn well and be on good behavior. This should be done in all schools. If the teacher has a projector (and all teachers should!) he should show the points of the students often on the board, to motivate them. The children should have great prizes to look forward to by getting a lot of points.
* Teach not just Gemarah, but how to learn Gemarah: All Jewish schools teach Gemarah. But many, if not the vast majority of them don't teach how to learn Gemarah. A child needs to learn how to open up a Gemarah – a classic Aramaic Gemarah, not an Artscroll one – and be able to read and understand the Gemarah. Most yeshivahs require that the students be able to do this; this, of course, explains why there are so many yeshivah dropouts these days, unfortunately.
* Teach Perush Hamilim: It is appalling how many, if not most schools don't teach Perush Hamilim – the words of davening. This is the most important subject a Jewish school can teach the children.