Judy in Israel, Blog Post #2
Judy's experiences in Israel continue…
7/7 Today was a day for Hop on Pop, just for me to get a sense of what I was dealing with. The girls felt successful with this! It is hard to believe coming from the States, that HS girls were finding Dr. Seuss so interesting. I was truly afraid of insulting them, but they really enjoyed it. I also showed them how I use the Internet, which was rather foreign to them. I thought it might be a great tool for furthering their English reading ability. They seem to live in a kind of bubble of poverty and ignorance in some ways. One student didn’t come simply because she hadn’t the money for bus fare that day.
7/8 The day began with Yisraela, who walked from Armon HaNatziv to German Colony to study with me, a good 40 minutes. It was wonderful to sit with her in Café Hillel, soaking up the mellow jazz, enjoying a great pastry and coffee, and working with this super-motivated young woman. The topic: CD reviews. It wasn’t all that difficult, and she stuck with it. We spent a great 1.5 hours together. She is hesitant to do this work without me, though I encourage her to.
My next 2 students tried Cat in the Hat, a book that has a more easy to follow narrative than Hop on Pop. It was brand new to them. English is so full of idiomatic language that it can be very frustrating! The lack of consistency is maddening.
Our conversation wandered between why some people don’t’ have computer access, to the challenges of motherhood they see their moms dealing with, to their own fears about it. They seem to want to work outside the home, though have no idea in what. They are curious, lovely people who could go far, if given the tools! We also touched upon how American Jews feel about Israel, issues of support and opinion both here and abroad. They are very supportive and it is hard for them to understand why others might not always be. We also tried to define clearly what the difference is between a state and a country. The US is so large that it is hard for them to grasp relative sizes of places. Additionally, we touched upon Gush Katif and issues of upheaval. They knew about that firsthand.
They were interested in “miracle stories,” stories of heroism during military operations. They told me of the Rachel Imenu legend, which they found fascinating, and for them it is true. (http://www.jewishblogging.com/blog.php?bid=177928)
The hardest part of today with them was hearing about their parents, some of whom came here as professionals but now work as house cleaners…they are too tired by days’ end to study Hebrew, the key to their professional success. It seems like a vicious cycle.. I guess I am feeling strongly about Israel’s struggles to take care of this population—if we brought them then we surely must. But the pie seems cut into such slivers….I felt very sad for this situation. I continue to be so pleased however, that they greet me with a smile daily, and are truly trying.
Finally, today I met with 4 boys, ages 14-20. They were a lot of fun! They love and sing American music, are very curious about America, and have fine reading and comprehension skills. They want to learn CURSIVE! I explained that this is not as popular in America anymore with the advent of keyboarding, but they said it is so beautiful that they must know it. They also wanted comprehension questions on some literature. The only books I had with me were the Cat in The Hat I had used earlier in the day. These lads were familiar with it from the movie or series (?). Again, I felt awful for not having something more age-appropriate, but they jumped right in. I asked them many comprehension questions and they were strong. We decided to divide our time between conversation, reading, writing, and comprehension skills. They were so thankful, so active, and very joyful with each other. They found me pretty funny, way too ignorant about anything related to rap and hip-hop (they don’t know my music at all), and overall very entertaining! One admitted to struggling with drugs and alcohol, and missing the last 2 years of high school. He is past the army but has no money for university. He’d like to travel. They all work at a day camp, one goes to a Reform Jewish school, and one seemed Jewishly knowledgeable with strong opinions about gender roles. One knew that that were all kinds of Jews in America and Israel, and seemed fine with that. They are disappointed that my time is limited here. So am I. I feel I should do so much for these boys, who are so eager to learn and grow. They found their way into my heart very quickly.
7/7 Today was a day for Hop on Pop, just for me to get a sense of what I was dealing with. The girls felt successful with this! It is hard to believe coming from the States, that HS girls were finding Dr. Seuss so interesting. I was truly afraid of insulting them, but they really enjoyed it. I also showed them how I use the Internet, which was rather foreign to them. I thought it might be a great tool for furthering their English reading ability. They seem to live in a kind of bubble of poverty and ignorance in some ways. One student didn’t come simply because she hadn’t the money for bus fare that day.
7/8 The day began with Yisraela, who walked from Armon HaNatziv to German Colony to study with me, a good 40 minutes. It was wonderful to sit with her in Café Hillel, soaking up the mellow jazz, enjoying a great pastry and coffee, and working with this super-motivated young woman. The topic: CD reviews. It wasn’t all that difficult, and she stuck with it. We spent a great 1.5 hours together. She is hesitant to do this work without me, though I encourage her to.
My next 2 students tried Cat in the Hat, a book that has a more easy to follow narrative than Hop on Pop. It was brand new to them. English is so full of idiomatic language that it can be very frustrating! The lack of consistency is maddening.
Our conversation wandered between why some people don’t’ have computer access, to the challenges of motherhood they see their moms dealing with, to their own fears about it. They seem to want to work outside the home, though have no idea in what. They are curious, lovely people who could go far, if given the tools! We also touched upon how American Jews feel about Israel, issues of support and opinion both here and abroad. They are very supportive and it is hard for them to understand why others might not always be. We also tried to define clearly what the difference is between a state and a country. The US is so large that it is hard for them to grasp relative sizes of places. Additionally, we touched upon Gush Katif and issues of upheaval. They knew about that firsthand.
They were interested in “miracle stories,” stories of heroism during military operations. They told me of the Rachel Imenu legend, which they found fascinating, and for them it is true. (http://www.jewishblogging.com/blog.php?bid=177928)
The hardest part of today with them was hearing about their parents, some of whom came here as professionals but now work as house cleaners…they are too tired by days’ end to study Hebrew, the key to their professional success. It seems like a vicious cycle.. I guess I am feeling strongly about Israel’s struggles to take care of this population—if we brought them then we surely must. But the pie seems cut into such slivers….I felt very sad for this situation. I continue to be so pleased however, that they greet me with a smile daily, and are truly trying.
Finally, today I met with 4 boys, ages 14-20. They were a lot of fun! They love and sing American music, are very curious about America, and have fine reading and comprehension skills. They want to learn CURSIVE! I explained that this is not as popular in America anymore with the advent of keyboarding, but they said it is so beautiful that they must know it. They also wanted comprehension questions on some literature. The only books I had with me were the Cat in The Hat I had used earlier in the day. These lads were familiar with it from the movie or series (?). Again, I felt awful for not having something more age-appropriate, but they jumped right in. I asked them many comprehension questions and they were strong. We decided to divide our time between conversation, reading, writing, and comprehension skills. They were so thankful, so active, and very joyful with each other. They found me pretty funny, way too ignorant about anything related to rap and hip-hop (they don’t know my music at all), and overall very entertaining! One admitted to struggling with drugs and alcohol, and missing the last 2 years of high school. He is past the army but has no money for university. He’d like to travel. They all work at a day camp, one goes to a Reform Jewish school, and one seemed Jewishly knowledgeable with strong opinions about gender roles. One knew that that were all kinds of Jews in America and Israel, and seemed fine with that. They are disappointed that my time is limited here. So am I. I feel I should do so much for these boys, who are so eager to learn and grow. They found their way into my heart very quickly.
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