D ear Students
On the first day of school I enter the classroom with an equal dose of excitement and trepidation. I’m sure you feel the same. I see a class full of girls dressed in uniform many with similar hairstyles. I see faces I hear names yet it’s all a blurred mass of unfamiliarity.
Then I get to know you. You get to know me. You enjoy our discussions. Bechirah. Hashgachah. ISIS. Life. You like switching seats often. You want longer recess a school production. I want to finish the material on curriculum. I like clear desks. We segue from learning to discussion and then I direct you back to learning. And more discussions as discussions are learning too.
Then I get to know you well. One of you has trouble grasping concepts. Another has trouble reading. One of you seems so stuck and I notice the desire to break free. I notice different behaviors the statements you make. I may ask the principal about that and hear about the troubled waters you tread the difficulties you face.
But then I begin to feel stuck. Because as I try to reach out to you you so firmly withdraw your hand. Deep down I know you’d like that relationship with me because whatever we face in life we can always use a warm guiding hand. Yet I am stuck. I cannot find the way to destigmatize confiding in a teacher. And so I watch you fumbling through with a facade of excitement and confidence wishing I could connect with you human to human.
