The following is a letter from a teacher in Israel who received books shipped to her school from our Social Action Committee (as published in the May 2007 Contemporary):

Dear Wonderful Donors!

I want to share a great morning I had with my eighth grade class last week.

The class read different books, mostly abbreviated classics such as Alice in Wonderland, Around the World in 80 Days, etc. In groups they were asked to prepare a game for the rest of the class. We met at one of the pupils’ homes and the kids played like kids. They sat anywhere they could find and played old-fashioned children’s games. It was lovely watching them, especially as they were obviously enjoying themselves! A lot of effort had gone into the game preparation. They are so much more creative than most adults could ever be.

The most amazing thing doesn’t come over in the photos. The day we did this activity one of the teachers' unions was on strike. This means there's no school. However, it wasn’t my union, so I had to work. I contacted all the pupils the day before and told them we were learning as planned. Of course they grumbled that all their
friends could sleep late whereas I was making them get up early and do school stuff. (I'm so cruel!). Anyway, a few days later I asked for their feedback and these comments summarize their feelings:

"It was a bit annoying that everyone else was asleep, but actually I really enjoyed it."

"If we hadn't had this activity, I'd have wasted the whole morning sleeping."

"If I'd been at home, I'd have been bored."

"Can we do it every Sunday?"

"We’re going to my house next time" (and this was after having had problems getting a volunteer for this time).

So, ladies and gentlemen who have supplied my school with so many fantastic books, thank you. You've got kids who don't read in their own language, reading in English and getting lots of fun out of it—that’s quite some achievement. And please don't write back saying it's me—yes, it's partly me, but it's lots of you and your books, and of course the kids in this particular class, who are a pleasure to teach (well, most of the time!).

Amanda

3800 Glenbrook Road · Fairfax, Virginia  22031 · phone 703-425-1880  · fax 703-425-0835  · info@olamtikvah.org

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