Making Your School Days Count

How do you prepare for a new school year?

Some students prepare for the school year by buying new outfits and school supplies. Families flock to stores advertising Back-to-School sales in droves, hoping to get good deals on notebooks, protractors, clothing, folders, and more.

But last week while many students were still out of school some students decided to prepare for the upcoming school year not only materially, but spiritually as well. Rabbi Manis Friedman hosted a special talk for Bais Rivka students in the Beis Levi Yitzchak Library on Kingston Ave.

Among the other topics that were discussed Rabbi Friedman also encouraged the students to make this year different.

“The first thing you have to do before starting the new school year is make a plan,” Rabbi Friedman urged. Rabbi Friedman suggested students make sure they return home after every school day having learned something new so that they could share it with their parents. “If you come home at the end the day and you didn’t learn anything, what were you doing for 6 hours? You are hurting yourself if you come home from school with nothing [to show for it].”

Rabbi Friedman encouraged the students plan to get together once a week in the Beis Levi Yitzchak library so that each student could share or explain something she learned that week to the rest of the group. “This,” said Rabbi Friedman, “would make school so much more meaningful.”

“Make a plan,” Rabbi Friedman emphasized. “Don’t just let [the school year] happen.” The rabbi told the students to decide in advance what area of study (e.g. siddur, history, halacha) they wish to focus on and make an effort to study that subject in depth. He also warned them against rote memorization.

“Make this year count,” he said. “Make it a really good year and whatever challenge comes your way, don’t say: ‘absolutely no.’ Say: ‘absolutely yes.’”