Page 34 - issue
P. 34
Bais Yaakov
Weddings • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs that we are all different and we complement each other!
All Occasions For the rest of the period the girls participated in activities
Video Tape to DVD Transfers that made them more aware that each person has something
Promotional & Corporate Video to contribute to the class, to society, and to the world, despite
having a visible or invisible disability. They were given oppor-
Jeffrey Reches tunities to think about their circle of friends – whom they let
410.585.0007 into their inner circle and why. They briefly explored how and
why they, as middle schoolers who are campers, counselors,
rc.video@comcast.net and babysitters, have the power to include kids with disabili-
ties and to affect the attitudes of typical kids, as well.
Since 1991
Toward the end of the period, Mrs. Zelinger gave each girl
a pretty square of paper and said, “Hashem gave us an imag-
ination. What if you woke up and found out you had a dis-
ability? How do you think your family and friends would
react?” They wrote their thoughts on one side of the paper
without sharing them. On the other side, they answered the
question, what would you do differently because of this work-
shop?
“I got beautiful thank you notes from Mrs. Goldberg’s
classes,” said Mrs. Zelinger. “They said the workshop had a
real effect on them, because they had never thought of dis-
abilities in terms of interacting with people who have that dis-
ability – of possibly having a relationship with them! My goal
is to bring these B’More Inclusive experiences to the schools,
because I don’t think that the typical lessons taught on
Ve’ahavta l’rayecha kamocha – Love your neighbor as your-
self – necessarily encompass this idea: showing that someone
with a disability can be a friend and that the way you can
interact with that person is really just the way you would want
someone to act with you. My message is always empowering,
never pathetic or patronizing.
“Before I left, I asked, ‘What do you do if you see someone
in the park or in a mall who has a disability?’ The answer I
wanted to hear was something like, ‘smile,’ just as you would
want someone to smile if they passed you in the mall.
Because underneath, a person with a disability is a person
first. I am hoping to bring this message to all Baltimore’s
schools – staff and students alike.”
The workshop Mrs. Zelinger did in Bais Yaakov is part of
a pilot program in her research study, conducted with
Towson University, on the effects of intentional disabilities
awareness instruction on the attitudes and behaviors of
Jewish middle school students.
“We plan to administer a pre-survey to all the sixth-grade
students this spring,” notes Mrs. Zelinger. “We will then pro-
vide three free B’More Inclusive experiences to some of the
seventh grade classes in 2016-2017, and then administer a
post-survey in spring, 2017.” Middle school classes that want
to join the research project should contact Mrs. Zelinger, at
yzelinger@cjebaltimore.org.”
A Teacher Reflects
A couple of months after the presentations, I met with Mrs.
30 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
Weddings • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs that we are all different and we complement each other!
All Occasions For the rest of the period the girls participated in activities
Video Tape to DVD Transfers that made them more aware that each person has something
Promotional & Corporate Video to contribute to the class, to society, and to the world, despite
having a visible or invisible disability. They were given oppor-
Jeffrey Reches tunities to think about their circle of friends – whom they let
410.585.0007 into their inner circle and why. They briefly explored how and
why they, as middle schoolers who are campers, counselors,
rc.video@comcast.net and babysitters, have the power to include kids with disabili-
ties and to affect the attitudes of typical kids, as well.
Since 1991
Toward the end of the period, Mrs. Zelinger gave each girl
a pretty square of paper and said, “Hashem gave us an imag-
ination. What if you woke up and found out you had a dis-
ability? How do you think your family and friends would
react?” They wrote their thoughts on one side of the paper
without sharing them. On the other side, they answered the
question, what would you do differently because of this work-
shop?
“I got beautiful thank you notes from Mrs. Goldberg’s
classes,” said Mrs. Zelinger. “They said the workshop had a
real effect on them, because they had never thought of dis-
abilities in terms of interacting with people who have that dis-
ability – of possibly having a relationship with them! My goal
is to bring these B’More Inclusive experiences to the schools,
because I don’t think that the typical lessons taught on
Ve’ahavta l’rayecha kamocha – Love your neighbor as your-
self – necessarily encompass this idea: showing that someone
with a disability can be a friend and that the way you can
interact with that person is really just the way you would want
someone to act with you. My message is always empowering,
never pathetic or patronizing.
“Before I left, I asked, ‘What do you do if you see someone
in the park or in a mall who has a disability?’ The answer I
wanted to hear was something like, ‘smile,’ just as you would
want someone to smile if they passed you in the mall.
Because underneath, a person with a disability is a person
first. I am hoping to bring this message to all Baltimore’s
schools – staff and students alike.”
The workshop Mrs. Zelinger did in Bais Yaakov is part of
a pilot program in her research study, conducted with
Towson University, on the effects of intentional disabilities
awareness instruction on the attitudes and behaviors of
Jewish middle school students.
“We plan to administer a pre-survey to all the sixth-grade
students this spring,” notes Mrs. Zelinger. “We will then pro-
vide three free B’More Inclusive experiences to some of the
seventh grade classes in 2016-2017, and then administer a
post-survey in spring, 2017.” Middle school classes that want
to join the research project should contact Mrs. Zelinger, at
yzelinger@cjebaltimore.org.”
A Teacher Reflects
A couple of months after the presentations, I met with Mrs.
30 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
