. . ,r , ,-; r" • 26 Friday, December 16, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Learning Disabled Get Equal Chance at Jewish Education at UHS Editor's Note: United He- brew Schools, the Jewish Welfare Federation's after- noon communal system. is reaching out to serve chil- dren with special needs. Be- low are reports on two of I AL KLINE • DALGLEISH CADILLAC 6160 CASS AVE. TR 5-0300 the special classes currently scheduled at United Hebrew Schools. Nine years ago Beverly Mitchell and her late hus- band Richard decided their son, who was deaf, was en- titled to a Jewish education. The result of their interest was - a class for deaf and hard-of-hearing children which now meets every Sun- day at the man United He- brew Schools building. "The success rate has been phenomenal," said Brynah Leib, • a former teacher at the Detroit Day School for the Deaf, who has been teaching the special UHS class for four years. "Almost all of the boys have been Bar Mitzvah, and several students have been confirmed. - Mrs. Leib currently has three students in her class, which allows her to give each much individual atten- tion:' Becky Goldberg, 10, and Mark Levinson, are profoundly deaf. Becky's seven-year-old sister Amy, is hearing-impaired. This is Amy's first year in WINTER BALL DINNER DANCE at BETH ACHIM (Wasserman Hall) Saturday, December 31, 1977 9:00 P.M. Dancing to the Music of Hal Gordon and his Orchestra, with featured Vocalist Full Course Sit-down Dinner Reserved Tables Available Continental Breakfast Set-ups furnished (B. Y. O. B.) Tickets $22 5 ° per person Presented by BETH ACHIM MEN'S CLUB For tickets, call Beth Achim office: 352-8670 Chairman - Donald Davis Coordinated by Maynard M. Feldman In the World Zionist Congress Elections: VOTE FOR THE BUILDERS OF ISRAEL! • VOTE LABOR ZIONIST VOTE SLATE 2 • THE 29TH WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS WILL DETERMINE THE CHARACTER AND DIREC- TION OF THE WORLD ZIONIST MOVEMENT. WE MUST THEREFORE REASSERT THE VITALITY OF THE LABOR ZIONIST IDEA FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION AND FOR THE SOCIETY OF ISRAEL. _ . • LABOR ZIONISM FIRED THE IMAGINATION OF MANKIND. It rebuilt a desolate land, . It instituted the advanced social forms of of the Kibbutz and the Moshay. it built and supports a great labor move- ment—the Histadrut and its sister movement. Na . amat. • IN THE DIASPORA. * We support the Jerusalem Program. * We call for democracy in the conduct of Jewish communal affairs. * We fight for the protection of Jewish rights everywhere. * We continue our practical support for Jewish education and culture. "Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth," says teacher Brynah Leib as she helps Mark Levinson, 11, with his Hebrew reading at a special United Hebrew Schools class for deaf and hearing-impaired children. Becky Gold- berg, 10, awaits her turn to read. the class, so she works qui- etly on her own with a "Bible Activity Funbook - while Mrs. Leib works with Becky and Mark. "This is their first year doing Hebrew vocabulary," Mrs. Leib said, "and they already know several words: 'abba' (father), `ima' (mother), `morah' (teacher) and 'shalom.' We also go to visit the syna- gogue a lot so they know words like `shul' and First Becky reads the He- brew alphabet, followed by Mark. They sound the let- ters carefully: "k000-ff," "meh'mm." Mrs. Leib oc- casionally lends a helping hand: "It's 'nun,' Mark, put your tongue on the top of your mouth like this to make the sound, nnn. - "The sounds are very im- portant," she said. "The children have to be under- stood by others, so we go over the alphabet very of- ten." After the alphabet the children ready—slowly- from a Hebrew primer, then continue reading by them- selves while Mrs. Leib works with Amy. They discuss several Bible stories, including Noah's Ark, one of Amy's favorites. She tells the story animatedly, using sweeping hand gestures to illustrate • LABOR ZIONISM IS FIRMLY COMMITTED TO THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF ISRAEL, ENSURING SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR ALL ITS CITIZENS. • Through urban and agricultural cooperatives. * Through an enlightened labor movement. * Through the support of religious pluralism. OUR BONDS WITH THE AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT AND OUR FRIENDSHIP WITH TRUE PROGRESSIVE ELEMENTS EVERY- WHERE DEPEND ON THE FORCE OF THIS COMMITMENT. • THE LABOR ZIONIST MOVEMENT PLEDGES FULL SUPPORT TO THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL, PAR- TICULARLY AS THAT GOVERNMENT SEEKS THE PEACE WHICH ISRAEL SO RICHLY DESERVES. For dynamic leaderihip in the World Zionist Movement: VOTE FOR THE BUILDERS OF ISRAEL! VOTE LABOR ZIONIST VOTE SLATE 2 Labor Zionist Alliance, Pioneer Women, Friends of Labor Israel, Friends of Pioneer Women, Habonim/Dror the narrative. Later on Mrs. Leib dis- cusses the holiday of Ha- nuka with the children. She tells them, simply, so they will comprehend, the story of the celebration, and they talk about the menora and the dreidel. The following week she will teach them .the blessings for the can- dles. Both the children and Mrs. Leib understand sign lan- guage but Mrs. Leib does all her teaching orally, even though lip-reading is harder for the children to under- stand. "This is a totally oral pro- gram, - Mrs. Leib said. "We want the children to under- stand the synagogue serv- ices, to be able to integrate into the hearing world:" The future of the class for the deaf, which has had a maximum of seven students at one time, is uncertain. "We'll keep the class as long as there's a need," said UHS Superintendent Jay Stern. "If there are other students who need our serv- ices, they will be welcomed. But if there aren't, we'll also be happy because it means our job is done." * * * A special class for the learning disabled had been discussed many times in the past before one was started in October, said Rabbi Sid- ney Green, prirlcipal of UHS' Bnai David branch. "It's estimated that 10 percent of the children in any school have a learning disability," Rabbi Green said. "If there were all these children with prob- lems—maybe 20 in a school of 200—where were they, why weren't we dealing with them? - Rabbi Green said many learning disabled children never enroll in Hebrew School. - For one thing, par- ents who realize their child will have trouble in a regu- lar class are often embar- rassed to ask if there is a special program for the learning disabled so they never contact_ us, - he said. "In addition, many par- ents are told by the special- ists who work with their children in the secular schools that the child shouldn't take on any extra load in addition to regular schoolwork. In theory, I ab- solutely agree. But they just don't realize the importance of Jewish education." Rabbi Green said the few learning-disabled children who did enroll in regular UHS classes failed to keep pace with the other children their age. Most eventually caused behavior problems for their teachers. The present class of six boys was organized after talks with teachers about students who weren't learn- ing. The class is so small partly because they wanted all the students to be about the same age, he said. The 11 and 12-year-old boys in the special class meet twice a week at Bnai David. Teacher Hartly Har- ris is working on two main subjects: the Bar Mitzva service and the haggada. "Most of them will be having a Bar Mitzva next year," he said. "We're not teaching the Haftara- they'll have special tutoring for that. But we want them to be able to understand the Saturday morning service and to be able to read the blessings and Haftara, not just recite them from mem- ory. We're learning the notes to the chants and some of them seem to find chanting easier than read- ing. "We're starting on the_ haggada so long before Passover because we want them to be able to do more than recite the- Four Ques- tions. We want them to be able to lead the seder." Starting at the beginning of the haggada, Hans and his students go over the meanings of the items on the seder plate; then each student reads the kidush. Rabbi Green hopes to have more speical classes in the future. "Teachers have brought several students to my attention, but we wouldn't accommodate them because they were too young to fit in with • the present class, - he said. "Maybe in a year or so we'll be able to have 'a special 'aleph' class so we can help children with learning problems from the beginning, before they waste four years in a regu- lar class. "And I'd like to see sepa- rate classes for different problems," he said. "Maybe one class for slow learners, another for those with read- ing problems. Now Hart- ley's task is very difficult, even though there are only six in the class, because their problems are so differ- ent. "Our goal is to have them go on to Hebrew high school___,) after their Bar Mitzva," he said. "Right now they have no motivitation to enjoy He- brew school. Their attitude is so bad there's no chance they'll go on. "These children have a right to more than toler- ation from a teacher for whom they are a problem. 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