One Step Closer …

Towards the climax of the emotional saga of Yosef and his brothers, the Torah describes Yehuda’s approach to Yosef. This step closer does not occur in a vacuum; rather, it is another increment in Yehuda’s ongoing personal transformation of character and leadership. Yehuda’s careful, systematic and passionate eloquence occurs after the complex learning and growth opportunities he chooses to take, after his experiences in the sale of Yosef and his family travails.

This model of learning from our mistakes — being consistent and incrementally progressing — is the way any successful agent of change functions. For students, teachers and parents, the path to genuine change has certain key features, which ultimately leads to self-efficacy and self-trust. When people can recognize their own greatness and unique contributions, they feel free to be responsible for their agency, and step into their greatness.

 Step Lightly —
Mixing Formula and Fidelity …

Success in academic arenas stems from the richness of a school’s intentional educational approach. Every aspect of a child’s experience at school should be analyzed to best support the child’s rigorous learning experience. Rigor should primarily refer to the depth of thinking, analysis, synthesis and revision required of our students to actively engage in the learning process. Systematic instruction in foundational skills and adhering to research-based programs — both for academic and social skills — creates the space for incredible growth.

While love, care and good intentions are a good foundation, they are not sufficient for effective growth. Careful, systematic “light” steps scaffold children’s progress and provide the impetus for “lofty” and creative depth of learning.

STEM blended with social emotional learning is one of many phenomenal examples where this approach can be visible. STEM expert learning specialists can collaborate with classroom teachers to genuinely weave all of the collaborative social skills, emotional resilience and high level cognition and thinking into the fabric of the children’s individual learning journeys.

Every student — from early childhood through eighth grade — should engage in multiple STEM experiences over the course of each year. Students must explore, model and experiment in physics, chemistry, earth science and life science in ways that are consistently cross-cut with engineering. This may look like: kindergarteners through second graders building successful bird feeders that do not attract squirrels and investigate how the sun warms the earth; third and fourth graders building a moving model body limb for an animal or a person; fifth and sixth graders learn how to use Arduino to create a blinking light and begin using an engineering notebook or seventh and eighth graders program VEX robots with its concurrent physics understanding. This consistent, step-by-step model allows for the steady accumulation of knowledge and skills.

 Step Lofty … With Flexibility and Freedom

Creativity and collaboration belong in our communities of kindness. One of the most stressful constraints is a time pressure or limit. These frequently occur during competitions and yet, these are the phrases that I love to hear from students: “Come on, you can do it!” “I see you tried the one on the right. Maybe just try another strategy … ” “Do you need help?” “Thank you so much!” When competition allows a student self-development through attainment of goals and incorporating self-monitoring and self-reflection, this actually leads to the agency and confidence to cooperate with others in the language of kindness and patience, even under stress.

The habits of mind that form the bedrock of a community of kindness require consistent practice over time. Ultimately, students need to adapt the scripts that they have practiced to real world applications. How do we speak to each other when we have differing ideas and strategies? How do we listen deeply? How do we weigh our information and make choices from our knowledge? How do we engage when one of our ideas fails and we need to change course? How do we divide work assignments in a collaboration?

People remember kindness; they remember the way you made them feel. The associated emotions of joy, passion and curiosity can be aroused when people feel safe to be emotionally vulnerable in their learning. When teachers and administrators build positive and trusting relationships with students, that is the foundation for learning. Most importantly, when students know that we trust them, they have the capacity to trust themselves and actuate their uniqueness. Ultimately, students are the agents of their own loftiness and feel great pride in reaching their goals.

In the adapted words of Emily Dickinson, may we continue to facilitate our students as they “step lightly on this narrow spot … ” of this world and give them the agency to “step lofty … ” into their great future.

Mrs. Chana Luchins is the principal of General Studies at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison.