[HANASHIR:7953] Re: Help with 7th Graders...

[janeen <janeen...>]

Eric ... when looking for L'cha Dodi's to sing with them .... keep Craig
Taubman's in mind.  It's spectacular!
janeen

----- Original Message -----
From: Eric Simon <erics (at) radix(dot)net>
To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 8:48 AM
Subject: [HANASHIR:7952] Re: Help with 7th Graders...


> >So, instead of beating my head against a wall week after week, I'm
looking
> >for alternative ways to engage them in Judaic music.
>
> Just one suggestion . . . but it worked for me last week with a tough 7th
&
> 8th grade class.
>
> Part of my mission that week was to teach greater fluency with Adon Olam.
> I used the recent modern tune (apologies to the composer(s) whose name(s)
I
> can't recall right now), which has a slow part in the beginning and then
is
> fast in the second half.
>
> I sang it (most already knew the tune, thankfully), and then challenged
the
> kids to see if they could sing it faster than I had.  The only rule is
that
> they had to use the siddur (which was Hebrew) and no transliteration.  I
> also permitted groups.  I got the ball rolling by asking, "OK, boys, do
you
> think you could sing it fast?"  This, of course, challenged their
> "manhood", so they got up and sang.  Then I asked "any girls think they
can
> do better".  And they did.  Then one boy said that he could do it faster
if
> he did it himself.  And so he did.  And on and on.  (Had I had a stopwatch
> (yes, I'm serious) this would have worked even better -- althought it
> already worked great).
>
> By the end of 20 minutes, those who did not know the song had heard it at
> least 10 times, which was, in part, my goal.
>
> ====
>
> Other ideas off the top of my head -- from a complete rookie (I've only
> been doing this a few months).
>
> -- doing songs which have "subversive" parts.  I.e., the NFTY "Heveinu
> Shalom Aleichem" that has the "oohh ahhh" parts in the middle.  Or DF's
> "Not by Might", they have a "iggy biggy peanut butter" that they say
> between verses.
>
> -- choice of music is essential.  The more "rockin'" it is, the more
likely
> they will like it.  ("Not By Might" is an example that falls into _this_
> category, too.)
>
> -- I don't know if this will work yet.  I asked them what they thought of
> the L'Cha Dodi that is sung at their shul.  They said that they hated it.
> I told them that at sometime in the near future I would bring in at least
> two different L'Cha Dodi tunes the next time, and they could choose which
> one to sing.
>
> ====
>
> A side note and question:
>
> Part of why they hate all this is because they hate Sunday school to begin
> with and (imho) don't know enough about Judaism to appreciate it.
>
> One (of many) examples: In October I tought DF's "L'chi Lach" during the
> parsha Lech L'cha, and I introduced the song by mentioning that, at which
> point someone shouted out: "Who cares?  What does this have to do with
me?"
>  While, in part, he was being a wise ass, I could also tell that he really
> wanted to know if Torah was relevant at all to his life.  I really feel,
> sometimes, that I want to reach out to them on a personal level.
>
> Like invite them for a shabbos dinner at my house.
>
> Is this crazy?  Or what?
>
> (This is made more complicated by the fact that I am observant, and I am
> teaching in a Conservative Sunday school, and I don't want anyone to think
> I am "recuiting").
>
> -- Eric
>
>

------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------+