Should it be a surprise to learn that teens in Hungary are just like teens in America? Should it be a surprise to learn that the same techniques that we know work in a classroom in Baltimore also work in Budapest? Maybe it shouldn’t be. I walked into a Judaic studies class today full of the cocky swagger and self confidence that usually means I’m nervous about something. I was confident that the lesson that I had prepared on the inspirational prayer of Chana compared to the formal and planned prayer of Daniel would be enough to “fill” the time allotted. But of course, I had no way to know if the lesson I had prepared was at all a good fit for the students. So while I wasn’t nervous exactly, I was somewhat concerned. I really want to do a good job but it was so hard to know what that would look like in a room of European teens for whom English is not a first language.
I didn’t just want to do a good job because SOS International has invested so much in our trip. I want to do a good job because I feel like the holiness of the moment, and preciousness of the students demands that I don’t waste a second. So I wasn’t nervous, but I did feel the pressure of not letting down Klal Yisrael. I wish that I could report that, BAM, the kids heard my Torah and they all stood up and yelled, AMEN! We Believe! Bring on the Torah study! And then they all ran out and signed up for yeshivot and seminaries in Israel. Alas, kids are pretty much kids. Some of them were intensely focused on our discussion. Some attempted to hide and disengage. And no was Born Again.
Here was my take away anecdote for the day; after my first lesson, with the 12th grade, I heard the teacher tell his principal how much he got out of the lesson. I just did my thing, some kibitzing back and forth, text study interspersed with personal anecdotes, layering in subtleties of additional sources or laws that are hidden morsels for advanced students. I walked the room a lot, the way we do to keep interest high and decorum even keeled. Basically I just did me. And I was really gratified that the kids responded so well. (Which basically means that they laughed at my jokes.) It turns out that kids are kids, even in Hungary. And good teaching is good teaching. And the best part of that whole class was knowing that I helped open the eyes of a younger Judaic studies teacher. He said that now he knows what an interactive class can look like. I really feel blessed to have been part of that. And in classic Mordechai Soskil style I walked away thinking that I was just the awesomest and how lucky they were to have me here.
Later in the day I met with students in grade 13 (yes, 13) and I gave them a chance to do something we do all the time at BT. I told them how once in 10 days when I meet with my seniors I do ATR – Ask The Rabbi – and how the kids ask about topics that range from Judaism’s thinking about aliens to Judaism’s view of birth control. The best moment in this part of the class came when I asked the teens what they think about a certain issue and a student responded with, “I think that Hashem loves us too much for that to be true.” The actual question that was on the table is not relevant. What is relevant is that here is a young man who knows Hashem loves him.
Seems to me that if the students here know that Hashem loves them then I scarcely have anything to teach anyone. To my thinking that only happens because he knows his Rebbe and his Morah loves him. That’s good teaching no matter where you are.
