Page 35 - issue
P. 35
Bais Yaakov Back by
popular demand
Goldberg and several of the girls. Mrs. Goldberg said that one
of the purposes of the unit is to teach the girls how to do Bike Riding
research, and explained why she chose disabilities/diseases Camp
as the topic. “I feel that children this age are very sensitive.
They are just turning from it’s-all-about-me thinking to an LEAVE YOUR TRAINING WHEELS
awareness of what other people are feeling. This is the age AT HOME!
when they stop thinking, ‘I don’t like my hair, I’m too short, I
wish I had freckles, I wish I didn’t have freckles, I wish I had SESSION 1 Wed & Thurs, June 15-16
curly hair, I wish I didn’t have curly hair.’ The teenage angst SESSION 2 Wed & Thurs, June 22-23
is slowly being replaced with an appreciation for what they do
have and noticing other people’s situations. 11:00AM-1:00PM Cost $100
“A disability just means that you can’t do something as Call to reserve a slot
easily as someone else can do it,” said Mrs. Goldberg. “We all
have disabilities – every single human being. If you are shy, 410-358-1997
that can be a disability; if you are loud, that can be a disabil-
ity. Anything that makes you stand out or different is a dis-
ability, because everyone wants to fit in, blend in, be the
same.”
Lessons Learned
I turned next to the students and asked what they had
learned from this unit. From their replies, it was obvious that
they got the point, and gained tremendously from the combi-
nation of their research and Mrs. Zelinger’s visit. Some 20 to
25 disabilities or diseases were studied, including Crohn’s,
dyslexia, ADHD, diabetes, Tourette’s syndrome, and hemo-
philia. These are just some of the thoughts the girls shared
with me:
Shoshana Meisler researched Crohn’s disease, since it is
so common among Jews, and she and her partner know so
many people who suffer from it. “Before I studied Crohn’s, I
felt uncomfortable and wasn’t really sure how to act around
my friend. Now, I see there is nothing really different about
those who have it, except that they have to eat differently. I
wouldn’t eat junk food or gluten products in front of her any-
more. Just as Mrs. Zelinger said, everyone has weaknesses.
With some people you can see the disability; in other people,
you can’t.”
Sara Kruger and her partner Shalva Rishe researched
dyslexia. “I learned a lot,” said Sara. “I used to be scared of
someone who has a disability, and now I am totally not. I
understand that Hashem put people in the world to be dif-
ferent; if everyone were the same, life would be very boring.
You should be friends with all kinds of people – people who
are really smart, people who are different, people who come
from different backgrounds, people who have challenges in
life. I feel you should just be nice to everyone and not think
that you should only be friends with certain people.”
Aviva Graber and Devorah Leah Neuberger researched
Down syndrome. “It gave me a new perspective on people
who have disabilities and how they view themselves,” says
Aviva, “not just how we view them. When you have knowl-
edge, it helps you to understand and accept people for who
u 410 358 8509 u 31
popular demand
Goldberg and several of the girls. Mrs. Goldberg said that one
of the purposes of the unit is to teach the girls how to do Bike Riding
research, and explained why she chose disabilities/diseases Camp
as the topic. “I feel that children this age are very sensitive.
They are just turning from it’s-all-about-me thinking to an LEAVE YOUR TRAINING WHEELS
awareness of what other people are feeling. This is the age AT HOME!
when they stop thinking, ‘I don’t like my hair, I’m too short, I
wish I had freckles, I wish I didn’t have freckles, I wish I had SESSION 1 Wed & Thurs, June 15-16
curly hair, I wish I didn’t have curly hair.’ The teenage angst SESSION 2 Wed & Thurs, June 22-23
is slowly being replaced with an appreciation for what they do
have and noticing other people’s situations. 11:00AM-1:00PM Cost $100
“A disability just means that you can’t do something as Call to reserve a slot
easily as someone else can do it,” said Mrs. Goldberg. “We all
have disabilities – every single human being. If you are shy, 410-358-1997
that can be a disability; if you are loud, that can be a disabil-
ity. Anything that makes you stand out or different is a dis-
ability, because everyone wants to fit in, blend in, be the
same.”
Lessons Learned
I turned next to the students and asked what they had
learned from this unit. From their replies, it was obvious that
they got the point, and gained tremendously from the combi-
nation of their research and Mrs. Zelinger’s visit. Some 20 to
25 disabilities or diseases were studied, including Crohn’s,
dyslexia, ADHD, diabetes, Tourette’s syndrome, and hemo-
philia. These are just some of the thoughts the girls shared
with me:
Shoshana Meisler researched Crohn’s disease, since it is
so common among Jews, and she and her partner know so
many people who suffer from it. “Before I studied Crohn’s, I
felt uncomfortable and wasn’t really sure how to act around
my friend. Now, I see there is nothing really different about
those who have it, except that they have to eat differently. I
wouldn’t eat junk food or gluten products in front of her any-
more. Just as Mrs. Zelinger said, everyone has weaknesses.
With some people you can see the disability; in other people,
you can’t.”
Sara Kruger and her partner Shalva Rishe researched
dyslexia. “I learned a lot,” said Sara. “I used to be scared of
someone who has a disability, and now I am totally not. I
understand that Hashem put people in the world to be dif-
ferent; if everyone were the same, life would be very boring.
You should be friends with all kinds of people – people who
are really smart, people who are different, people who come
from different backgrounds, people who have challenges in
life. I feel you should just be nice to everyone and not think
that you should only be friends with certain people.”
Aviva Graber and Devorah Leah Neuberger researched
Down syndrome. “It gave me a new perspective on people
who have disabilities and how they view themselves,” says
Aviva, “not just how we view them. When you have knowl-
edge, it helps you to understand and accept people for who
u 410 358 8509 u 31
