Our students are having a great time, and it is incredible to see all they ways they are already growing! We are spending much of our first unit of learning thinking about how we treat each other and how we build Jewish community.
We studied the text from Deuteronomy 22:8 that commands us to build a fence around our roof decks, to keep anyone from getting hurt. The best part is that all these urban kids know what roofdecks are, so the text actually makes sense! In light of that text, we’re in the process of exploring a variety of physical and emotional ways that we keep each other safe at Makom Community.
We set up a trickly obstacle course and asked our students to make it safer. They took out the chair because it was too dangerous a hurdle, they taped down our hoola hoops so no one slipped, and they still gave each other great and fun challenges!
Then we spent some time articulating some of our own wants and needs. Each student made a prioritized list like this—and each item is on a velcro dot. That will allow each student to re-prioritize or move something to the “want” or “need” category as they see fit. We’re already hearing students ask each other, “Is that a want or a need?” when someone asks them to do something. Pretty amazing!
Thinking together about physical and emotional safety are the next steps toward writing our own Brit (two-way promise) for Makom Community—and great steps in building the emotional intelligence of our students, too. That Brit will tell each of us what we can expect from each other and how to build up Makom Community each day, too. And our students are at the center of the process of creating that Brit. We’ve been brainstorming for weeks what kinds of things might go on it. We’ll write and sign it at the end of next week, and we’ll share it with our families on Friday night.
We also had a great time having our snack and learning last week in the Sukkah that Mekor Habracha graciously shared with us! Thanks for letting us be your guests!
Enjoy the pictures!
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