Dr. Janusz Korczak/Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira

Every now and again I forget to remember Janusz Korczak's name. I've heard his amazing story on several occasions. He was a true teacher and kind human being. He died a kadosh. You can read about him via Wikipedia here.

My intuitive inclination has me thinking that Janusz Korczak and Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira knew of each other. It sounds like, despite the great religious divide between them, they shared much in their straightforward and real understanding of children. I wonder. I think of them within the same breath.

About two years ago a small book of Korczak's wisdom came out called, Loving Every Child: Wisdom For Parents. One of the Amazon comments includes this insight from the book, which puts us inside a child's mind, "Adults are not very clever. They don't even know how to take advantage of the freedom they have. They're so lucky, they can buy anything they like, they're allowed to do anything they want but despite all this they are always angry about something and any little thing is liable to make them shout." This reminds me of one of my favorite pieces of writing, the dedication of The Little Prince:

oTO LEON WERTH

i
I ask the indulgence of the children

who may read this book

for dedicating it to a grown-up.

I have a serious reason:

he is the best friend I have in the world.

I have another reason:

this grown-up understands everything,

even books about children.

I have a third reason:

he lives in France where he is hungry and cold.

He needs cheering up.

If all these reasons are not enough,

I will dedicate the book to the child

from whom this grown-up grew.

All grown-ups were once children--

although few of them remember it.

And so I correct my dedication:

k
TO LEON WERTH
WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY

The following was culled from Wikipedia. In his work as a teacher, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira attempted to reverse the trend toward secularization, which swept the Jewish community in Poland between the wars. The vibrant cultural life of the city, as well as the attractions of political movements such as Zionism eroded the number of students wishing to pursue a yeshiva education. These trends, Rabbi Shapira argued, could only be exacerbated by archaic educational methods, harsh discipline and rote learning, such as were often the practice of the day in yeshivot. According to Rabbi Nehemia Polen (a noted expert on Rabbi Shapira’s work) in his most important work, Chovas haTalmidim (“The Students’ Responsibility”), Rabbi Shapira argued that a child must be imbued “with a vision of his own potential greatness” and be enlisted “as an active participant in his own development.” Likewise, teachers “must learn to speak the language of the student, and graphically convey the delights of a life of closeness to God.” Rabbi Shapira argued for positive, psychologically sensitive, joyous educational methods.

I cited Chovat HaTalmidim here and got a nice flow of comments. I also cited pieces that were meaningful to me here and here (where I announced a writing contest, which is still open).


This post has been sitting in the proverbial draft drawer, the actual draft folder, since June 8, 2009 when I wrote it. It's one of those piece that I foresaw as epic, going into it with ambition. There is much more to say. I hope it is meaningful to those who read it. "I've said too much, but not enough."


GMAGB