Rabbi Nevins Visits with 2nd and 3rd Grades this Week

On Monday, Head of School Rabbi Danny Nevins visited with our 3rd graders. Here is his reflection:

"Monday mornings are filled with promise, but they are not usually islands of serenity, at least not for me. After a stressful commute and a flurry of urgent early morning messages, I found myself joining the line of third graders entering class with Hope Aronoff. I didn’t know what to expect, so I sat down in the back and was drawn into the serenity of her morning meditation. Mrs. Aronoff displayed a photo of a lake bathed in golden autumnal colors, dialed up some soulful guitar music, and led us in a guided meditation. As our breathing slowed and deepened, we released some of the tensions we had carried into the room and embraced the opportunities of the day ahead. The meditation concluded with all of us committing to face our tasks with confidence, and to treat the people around us with kindness. What a wonderful way to start the week! Mrs. Aronoff next invited me to continue the mindfulness lesson, and I chose to focus on how we become aware of the presence of God. Is God very distant, like a King, or very close, like a shield guarding our body? Our task on Yom Kippur and throughout the year is to draw closer to God, to feel guided, supported and protected by the divine presence. One student said in a matter-of-fact fashion that, “God is everywhere, and we are inside of Him.” I was struck once more by how much adults can learn from children. Of course, kids have plenty to learn from adults as well, and Mrs. Aronoff soon set her third graders to work learning to write the letter b in cursive script. She first showed how the shapes of letters are related, noting that lower-case b is like an l with a belly. Pencils touched paper around the room, and beautiful b’s took shape. It wouldn’t hurt for me to practice my script under her guidance—it was good to return to third grade!"

On Thursday, he had the opportunity to visit with 2nd grade:

"I returned to second grade in time to learn about two American holidays that coincide, or do they conflict? In addition to the first day of Sukkot, this coming Monday is recognized as both Columbus Day and as Indigenous People’s Day. When I entered the class led by Kelly McAllister and Tina Abrahamian, the students were already on the carpet, ready to learn. I sat down with them and asked myself how Ms. McAllister was going to introduce the fraught topic of first contact between European explorers and the people native to the Caribbean. She did it masterfully, of course! First she asked the children to share what they know about each day, and then what they would like to know. This helped establish a baseline of knowledge and peaked their interest. Next, she read us a book, Encounter, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Shannon. Ms. McAllister reminded the students first that people are not necessarily all good or all bad (a message fitting with our days of awe), and then explained that this book was historical fiction, based on real events, but told through the eyes of fictional characters in order to help us understand better. Our narrator was a young Taino boy who dreamed that three frightening birds would soon land and attack his island—and in the morning three sailing ships moored in their harbor. The book explored the dynamics of generosity, suspicion, and hints of violence that often went played out in such encounters. I was impressed that this was not a solitary moment in the curriculum for students to learn about the experience of indigenous peoples, nor was it presented in a way that demonized the Europeans, though it did name the profit motive that drove their explorations, and the devastating impact that it had on indigenous peoples. I asked for the chance to add an element from Jewish history, noting that in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella not only sent Columbus to explore America—they also expelled Jews from Spain. The Spanish royalty perhaps felt they were acting to protect their country and their faith, but they did so with great cruelty, causing terrible suffering to the peoples native to the Americas, and to the Jews, who had lived in Spain for 15 centuries. I don’t think our second graders will remember all of the historical information that we shared, but they will remember that when a person comes to visit someone else’s home, they ought to remember that they are guests, and act with respect for the people who invite them in!"