Islam & The Female Body

This is an Arab woman named Amina. She posted topless photos of herself on the internet and inscribed on her torso "My Body is My Own and Not the Source of Anyone's Honor." She was then kidnapped and held captive in a Tunisian psychiatric hospital. A radical religious Leader of an Islamic sect has demanded that she be beaten and stoned to death.

stand up in her honor April 4th against misogyny.
Why?
Because a woman's body is beautiful and we should all have the right to do with it as we choose!

Social Influence

Body Language

I am the teacher who hangs out with the kids who are punished during recess and have to sit against the fence while everyone else gets to play.

Let's analyze my students body language for a minute, shall we?  The girl on the left is cross and pouty, while the girl on the right is like, "Oh yea, I am a bad girl and I know it. And I am proud of it too," throwing up the peace sign with her tongue sticking out.

 You know how they say, "glass half empty, glass half full."  The child on the left's glass is half empty.  The child on the right's glass is half full.   You know how I know this?  The girl on the right owns her behavior and makes the best out of the situation, while the other one sits in resentment.

Even little children can show adults life lessons if we choose to pay close enough attention.

Just Another Day On The Playground

There are about 5 recesses a day, which gives me plenty of opportunity to make the rounds between different grades.  This afternoon I hung out with the first graders.  We pretended to be Kungfu fighting  Power Ranger superheroes.  Fortunately for us, there wasn't too much crime going on on the playground today, so we were able to mess around ;)

Sisterhood

Today I went over to my little sister Naama's house after school.  We painted each other's faces with colored lipsticks.  She painted a rainbow on my cheek and I gave her whiskers.  I think this captures both of our personalities rather well.  She is fierce; whereas I am playful.  I bring out her inner silly and she brings out my "time to take things seriously" mode.  Good thing I have a 12 year old to balance me out.

We Are Human-- Not Sheep

A teacher should not tell a student WHAT to think, they should teach a student HOW to think.  Take a look at the message this picture conveys:

The teacher thinks inside the blank box, as do the students in the front two rows whom she has influenced.  The teacher is trimming the student in the third row's critical thinking abilities into a square.  But the child in the last row remains an untouched circle.

Learning is not about conforming.  Learning is about exploring the multiple possibilities while thinking for yourself.  All children deserve to have this right!!

A Colorful City

Today I had the day off and took a jaunt through the backstreets of Tel Aviv.  I made the theme of my excursion "Not all those who wander are lost."  I spent my time analyzing symbolism and street art.

Graffiti 

A slate of imprinted stone with a biblical reference hanging on an apartment building.  This is rather common in Israel.

This is a famous artist with galleries all over Tel Aviv.  I do not know the artist's name.  All I know is that I love butterflies and a lot of her artwork is made up of colorful butterflies!

Symbolism on an abandoned building.  Star of David and pound sign.

Be Free!!!

My great grandmother's name was Rose.  I am named after her in Hebrew.  

Wise owl on the building of an art gallery I walked pass.

Colorful back door of a restaurant in the Shook.

Stop to smell the flowers.

Heart Mosaic.

Ces't La Vie

Today during recess a group of my students were following me around.  A teacher on the yard noticed and admired the relationship I have with them.  "They love you!"  She said.  I told her I loved them too.  I feel like an important female figure in their life.  These children look up to me.  It's pretty cool.  I have never really had anyone look up to me before.  Knowing how much of an influence I have in their lives prepares me for the immense impact I will have on others in the future.

Props

Props always make a lesson more engaging.  Children do not like to just sit around and read straight out of their workbook.  So today when I took out the slow learners group; after having gone over the entire lesson with extra time to kill, I thought of a way to make things more interactive. What did I do?  I took out my cell phone and picked out short text messages that they could read.  They thought this was very funny.  I would have them read the text message and then decipher it by telling me its meaning in Hebrew.

Another prop that goes over well is the light up microphone I bought from the liquor store across the street.  I test my students by asking them how to say a word in Hebrew and only when the microphone gets passed to them are they allowed to answer the question.  This teaches them to be patient and not shout out the answers all at once.

Hanging out with my 1st grade student singing into the microphone.

Some People Dream Of Success, While Others Work Hard & Achieve It

Today the 5th graders were preparing for English standardized testing with a listening comprehension exercise.  One of the low achievers started to sob during the middle of the exercise.  She did not answer one question because she did not know any of the answers.  All I wanted to do was go over to where she was sitting and comfort her.  But I could not.  Instead I watched her as she pulled her sweatshirt over her face to hide her tears.

Throughout the entire year I have been working with her; although, she refuses to learn.  She goofs off during class, she doesn't listen, she doesn't apply herself, she cheats-- and she knows less English than my first graders.

This has showed me that you need to earn whatever it is that you want to achieve.  The amount of effort you put into something results in the success of your yield.  My student is a shining example of this principle and experienced a harsh reality check as all the other children breezed through the exercise.

Enthusiastic.

Hanging out with my darling 3rd grader during Recess.  Her name is Liel.  She loves to give me bunny ears.  She lives near me and sometimes we walk home together.  Whenever she sees me she erratically runs up to me with her pink rolling backpack.  She is a firecracker, just like me.  I look forward to seeing her, as she puts a smile on my face.

Good Deed Day

Today was Israel's national Good Deed Day.  The entire school received t-shirts that said "Doing Good" on the front of it. They spent their time repainting the school- from its fences to murals to buildings.  The children were running up and down the schoolyard with paint all over their clothes, hands, and faces as the sun shined down upon them. It was a happy day and I think the children enjoyed a break from their normal routine inside the classroom.

My fifth grader Osher double fisting the paint brushes.

Touching up the railing.

Being meticulous. 

Picking up trash.

Painting a mural on the ground.

Proud of her mess.

Oy Va Voy

In case you're wondering how my students feel about English, this pretty much sums it up!

Free Like A Bird

Rolling around on the lawn at the Caesarea ruins.  

Isn't it beautiful?

How lucky I am to experience such a beautiful place on Earth.

SMH -- Shake My Head

I asked my 10 year old student if he wanted to learn English today. He responded by asking me if I wanted to get slapped across the face. Lol.  Of course he didn't mean it, he was just being immature.  Boys will be boys, you know? 

Evolve or Dissolve

Peace seems like such a Utopian idea to me.  Humanity has not been able to attain it for the thousands of years in which we have been around.  But there is hope.  What we really need to understand is that in order to initiate peace in the world, it all starts with the ways in which we influence our children; the future generation.

^^ Do you see what I mean?  It's all a choice.  It's a choice to be prejudiced.  Hate is learned; love is inherent.  You know how I know that?  Take one look at any mother bringing a new born into this world.  All love.  Now.  Look at this video.  It is of the Hamas children in Gaza training to be terrorists-- a learned mentality:



This stuff is not a joke.  It is very real, and very creepy at that.  Is this supposed to help humanity fall asleep at night?  The thing is, there is hope: This doesn't have to be our future.  Every single human being can make a difference in this world by cultivating an environment of compassion & be a model example for our children.  Racism, hate, terrorism-- these things can be prevented.  It all starts with us.  Acceptance, sharing, and justice- these are the lessons our children should be learning in school.

Welcome To Ceasarea

Ceasarea is an ancient city located in the Carmel Region of Israel near Haifa.  The region of Carmel is known for their vineyards, and its name literally translates to "Vineyard of God."  What a GORGEOUS area, wow.  The ruins at Ceasarea mark what was once the capital of this ancient Roman province, governed by Pontius Pilot.  It is a very important region in historical Christianity because it is the only place in the world where there were scrolls found that proved Pontius Pilot was a real figure.  Proof of Pontius Pilot is a vital aspect of their understanding of the bible, as he was the governor who sentenced Jesus to death.  

The shore.

Now in ruins, this open space where the water is boxed in used to be palace gardens.

Overlook.

This is Ceasarea's 5,000 seat amphitheater that housed theatrical performances and was also considered a place of worship.  Next summer, Madonna will be performing here.  If you are asked to perform here, you can consider yourself as part of elite super stardom.

Entrance to the Amphitheater.