HILLEL'S
owner, a scrap dealer, a
jeweler, writers, a syn-
agogue executive and a
rabbi. Many are active
within the established Jew-
ish community.
tudents are discussing
the Sh'ma in Rabbi
Pachter's rabbinics
class, the first session for
some after minyan. They are
focused on the task. Their
minds are fresh first thing in
>
the morning.
They discuss intricate
1 ,
details of one of the most im-
portant prayers. They talk
about the classic schools of
Jewish thought — the House
of Hillel and the House of
Shammai.
"He takes everything too
literally," Kevin says of
Shammai.
This is their last course
with
Rabbi Pachter. Next
.._
they will move on to study
Chumash and Israel, and
another section of the 7th
grade will begin studies with
>
Rabbi Pachter.
Before they can celebrate
with cookies and donuts,
Rabbi Pachter has one last
assignment. They must
learn the Mourner's
Kaddish.
David stands, the rest of
the class rises, and he reads
the prayer for the class.
They pass out snacks and so-
cialize for a few minutes
before the bell sounds.
Second hour begins.
English teacher Alicia
Nelson is planning a field
trip for her students. They
will go to the theater to see
Alice in Wonderland. Today,
however, they must get
through Jack London's Call
of the Wild.
Students discuss their own
experiences to help them
relate to the book's
characters. They want to
understand the meaning of
the word dominant and the
law of the jungle: survival of
the fittest.
To Josh, the law of sur-
vival means, "The best will
live and the worst and the
weakest will die."
Mrs. Nelson questions the
students. "What is domi-
nant?" she wants to know.
"Dominant is like the
Nazis," Lauren says.
"Well, let's not talk about
that today," Mrs. Nelson
says. "We'll get to that."
Now it is 11:45 a.m., time
for a JARC meeting and lun-
ch.
Throughout the year, the
7th grade will visit JARC
homes. Each student will
visit a home monthly.
First, the class will meet
with residents from four
homes after school one night
to help them make Chanu-
kah cards and decorations.
It is noon, hot dog Thurs-
day in the cafeteria. The
students get their meals and
divide themselves among
f IN REVIEW
•
There is not much
time for goofing off
and chitchat for
students in the 7th
grade.
three or four tables. There
are no assigned seats, nor is
there separate seating, but
the girls sit separately from
the boys — with the excep-
tion of one girl, who sits at a
table with all boys.
At 12:30 p.m., they rush to
their lockers and grab books
for one of three classes:
math, science or sifruit.
Daphna Feldman is
teaching sifruit, the last
class before electives at 2
p.m., and the students are
restless. Before class begins,
she takes a bag of potato
chips from one of the
students. Others are chew-
ing gum. As she sees them
chewing, she will motion for
each student to toss out the
gum.
Marla can't sit still. Dee
Dee sits in a desk next to the
teacher so she doesn't talk to
the other girls.
Scott is minding his own
business, subconsciously
Joshua Lutz listens
intently as teacher
Cherna Kowalsky gives
a lesson in social
studies.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
97