Page 50 - issue
P. 50
GENUINE and positive way.
FREEDOM Mrs. Yehudis Feldman, Chumash
by Esther Berkowitz up your life. And what is the primary teacher and coordinator of the pro-
villain that causes many of us to lose gram, shares some of the background
It’s erev Pesach, 2016, and I’m a high track of, misuse, or waste our time? behind the challenge: “Genuine
school student. Since nursery, I Technology, of course. Freedom was designed for the current
have been taught that Pesach is all teenager, who wants to free herself
about freedom. But practically The statistics Mrs. Rabenstein pre- from the enslavement of technology
speaking, what does freedom mean sented regarding the widespread mis- but doesn’t really know how. After
to me? This year, with uncanny tim- use of technology were shocking but speaking with many girls and teachers
ing, Bais Yaakov’s Discovery not surprising. Who hasn’t experienced and communicating with schools
Program launched a new challenge the feelings of disgust and emptiness around the world, we developed an
during the month of Nissan that really that come over a person after spending effective and user-friendly program that
hit the nail on the head. The title of the excess amounts of time using cyber- we thought the girls would embrace.”
program was M’avdus L’Cheirus – technology? But Mrs. Rabenstein
Genuine Freedom. showed us a way out: “What makes ◆◆◆
something good or bad is whether I
Mrs. Shifra Rabenstein, a noted Bais control it, or it controls me.” There were two parts to the chal-
Yaakov teacher, kicked off the program lenge. Each girl could choose one of
with a penetrating idea: Time is the This compelling speech was fol- these options – or even both, if she was
only thing you can’t live even a second lowed by a very moving video presenta- ambitious!
without. Your life is an accumulation of tion and an original song produced by
minutes and seconds, so how you the students of Bais Yaakov. The mes- A. One out-of-school hour per day to
spend your time is really what makes sage rang loud and clear in a beautiful be her “machsom hour.” During this
hour, she does not use her cell phone,
computer, or any other technology. In
addition to that one hour, her cell phone
is shut off every night by 12:30 a.m.
B. Each day, from the time she gets
up until the time she goes to sleep, the
student cannot use any form of social
media (Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube,
Facebook, etc.) and will not watch any
secular movies or shows (including
streaming).
What a challenge! And yes, there
was an incentive: We received tickets
according to how many days we com-
pleted either part of the program. A girl
could receive a ticket for completing
even one part of the program for one
day! This ensured that everyone would
feel included, even those girls for whom
this program was truly a challenge. The
tickets were entered into a drawing,
and the prize was an exemption from
one final exam! There were four win-
ners, one from each grade. In addition
to this incentive, a barbeque lunch was
planned for anyone who earned two or
more tickets – another way for every-
one to be a winner. But, as we all know,
the real prize is gaining control over
our own time, something that is right-
fully ours.
A beautiful and easy-to-use calen-
dar, created by the Discovery heads
Shani Bortz, Esti Leff, Chani Isbee, and
Sara Naiman, was distributed, so we
46 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
FREEDOM Mrs. Yehudis Feldman, Chumash
by Esther Berkowitz up your life. And what is the primary teacher and coordinator of the pro-
villain that causes many of us to lose gram, shares some of the background
It’s erev Pesach, 2016, and I’m a high track of, misuse, or waste our time? behind the challenge: “Genuine
school student. Since nursery, I Technology, of course. Freedom was designed for the current
have been taught that Pesach is all teenager, who wants to free herself
about freedom. But practically The statistics Mrs. Rabenstein pre- from the enslavement of technology
speaking, what does freedom mean sented regarding the widespread mis- but doesn’t really know how. After
to me? This year, with uncanny tim- use of technology were shocking but speaking with many girls and teachers
ing, Bais Yaakov’s Discovery not surprising. Who hasn’t experienced and communicating with schools
Program launched a new challenge the feelings of disgust and emptiness around the world, we developed an
during the month of Nissan that really that come over a person after spending effective and user-friendly program that
hit the nail on the head. The title of the excess amounts of time using cyber- we thought the girls would embrace.”
program was M’avdus L’Cheirus – technology? But Mrs. Rabenstein
Genuine Freedom. showed us a way out: “What makes ◆◆◆
something good or bad is whether I
Mrs. Shifra Rabenstein, a noted Bais control it, or it controls me.” There were two parts to the chal-
Yaakov teacher, kicked off the program lenge. Each girl could choose one of
with a penetrating idea: Time is the This compelling speech was fol- these options – or even both, if she was
only thing you can’t live even a second lowed by a very moving video presenta- ambitious!
without. Your life is an accumulation of tion and an original song produced by
minutes and seconds, so how you the students of Bais Yaakov. The mes- A. One out-of-school hour per day to
spend your time is really what makes sage rang loud and clear in a beautiful be her “machsom hour.” During this
hour, she does not use her cell phone,
computer, or any other technology. In
addition to that one hour, her cell phone
is shut off every night by 12:30 a.m.
B. Each day, from the time she gets
up until the time she goes to sleep, the
student cannot use any form of social
media (Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube,
Facebook, etc.) and will not watch any
secular movies or shows (including
streaming).
What a challenge! And yes, there
was an incentive: We received tickets
according to how many days we com-
pleted either part of the program. A girl
could receive a ticket for completing
even one part of the program for one
day! This ensured that everyone would
feel included, even those girls for whom
this program was truly a challenge. The
tickets were entered into a drawing,
and the prize was an exemption from
one final exam! There were four win-
ners, one from each grade. In addition
to this incentive, a barbeque lunch was
planned for anyone who earned two or
more tickets – another way for every-
one to be a winner. But, as we all know,
the real prize is gaining control over
our own time, something that is right-
fully ours.
A beautiful and easy-to-use calen-
dar, created by the Discovery heads
Shani Bortz, Esti Leff, Chani Isbee, and
Sara Naiman, was distributed, so we
46 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
