If You're A Teacher - Please Watch This (Click For Link)

A few years ago I visited my all time favorite teacher. He told me about an episode of The White Shadow that he noticed listed in TV guide when it premiered. He refused to watch it. The topic was too scary for him. Years later, after he'd left formal education for adult programming, he watched the show from a safe distance.

Today I viewed this piece and it was intense. I don't know that it'll speak to everyone, and I don't know that everyone it speaks to will admit it. I think a good idea for a meaningful school staff meeting would be one that has this video at its center.

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Perhaps a school's teachers should all watch it together, then have about fifteen minutes to write what thoughts and feelings the show brought out for them. Then have a mental health professional talk about the reality portrayed in the episode. (I would not have people read aloud what they wrote or thought, unless it's a very small and very motivated group lest it become a symphony of complaints.) The final step should be a clear and sincere offering of follow up from the guidance and administrative staff to discuss this with teachers one on one.

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This is being posted on Rosh Chodesh Av, a time when we start limiting our simchah, focusing on the fact that we live in an unredeemed world. The Rabbis tell us that the geulah will come due to children's learning. Anyone involved in education is involved in a serious and holy task. May we all be blessed to work on ourselves, teach our children well, and hasten the redemption.