My first group of students for the day are the seniors of the school – Grade 13, and much like the 12th grade students at Beth Tfiloh, this is a very stressful time in their lives. My plan had been to teach a lesson about stress, time management and throw in a little Mindfulness Meditation at the end. Well, I don’t need to tell you – that was not what G-d had in mind for me or for them. Instead, these 5 girls (one of student is visually impaired) would share an experience that I hope will become a part of their lives forever.
I began my lesson as I did with my others, building connections and relationships. I learned that one student had lived in the United States for many years and had often compared the US to Hungary (not flattering) to her classmates. She missed many things including the American educational system. SPOILER ALERT -*I would soon come to realize that I am fluent in teenage body language, even in Hungarian.
On Wednesdays, students have 45 minutes of instruction and then a 15 minute breakfast period. (Similar to our Ezra period) When I returned to the classroom, two students were engaged in a deep, heated discussion –in Hungarian, of course. When I asked if I could help them, they reluctantly agreed to share the nature of their discontent. It seems that student who shared that she missed America had offended her classmates, especially one student in particular. Accusing words like YOU, ALWAYS, NEVER, SHOULD, WOULD, COULD flew back and forth between the two of them. Suddenly, I remembered that I had packed my conflict resolution/active listening/I messages lesson plan. And before I knew it, I was mediating, facilitating and teaching simultaneously. I was running a conflict resolution group as the conflict was unfolding. This was really powerful.
We practiced, reviewed and in the end, they all had a deeper understanding of one another. I am certain that this lesson had a deep and profound effect on this class, it certainly did for me. In the end they hugged and apologized to each other. KISSES ALL AROUND! – Hershey’s of course!
