It is no longer a matter if your children will be exposed to the ills and “shmutz” of the internet but a matter of when. Once they are exposed, how do we deal with it? How many of our children and students today are we losing due to the Internet?
We cannot ignore the fact that the proliferation of Internet access has changed the school and family dynamic. Until now the issue has seldom been dealt with in a comprehensive way. A program must be put into place.
Over the last seven months, the Chinuch Office created a commission of principals and melamdim of adolescents who have done an in-depth study of all Chabad schools, both boys’ and girls’. The shocking number will be revealed and discussed at this year’s Kinus. The commission is working on a comprehensive education program to give our boys the tools with which be able to be steadfast in their yiddishkeit.
Joining the commission is Dr. Isaac Schechter, a renowned Orthodox psychologist from Monsey, who has been dealing with this crisis over the past five years. Dr. Schechter will be addressing the hundreds of educators, offering insights as well as practical suggestions. Addressing the Kinus from the perspective of a Rosh Yeshiva will be Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schapiro, of the Yeshiva Gedola of Miami, who has also been heavily involved in this matter.
Open Communication
Every teacher in Chabad schools today wants to devote his best talents in educating his students and bringing out the best in them. The greatest challenge today is to reach young hearts and build a strong bond between pupil and educator.
How can an educator be sure of receptiveness? How can he be sure that, in addition to skills and content, the goal of our chinuch – inculcating yiras shomayim and midot tovot – is actually implemented? Is there any way an educator can be more perceptive of where he stands with his students?
Addressing this mode of communication is Rabbi Avrohom Segal, an outstanding Chassidic educational consultant, who fomented a veritable revolution in Israel and will be one of the main presenters at the Kinus. Rabbi Segal has developed an amazingly successful and powerful series of films and presentations on the art of communication. Through his thesis – current problems can be eliminated by effective dialog between pupils and parents or educators – he has impacted audiences from Kfar Chabad to Los Angeles in an unprecedented way. Rabbi Segal will show Kinus conferees some of his presentations.
New Board
Due to enormous request, a board of young principals headed by Rabbi Avrohom Wolowik, principal of Cheder Chabad of Monsey, will chair a number of different sessions and address topics of interest. Attendees are encouraged to send in relevant suggestions to: [email protected].
Registration
Kinus HaMechanchim, the annual Chabad Educators Conference for Principals and Melamdim, Mechanchim and Mashpiim of Boys’ Schools, will take place Sunday and Monday, 1-2 Tammuz 5774 / June 29-30, 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Danbury. CT.
Because demand for attendance is at an all-time high, we recommend that all teachers register as early as possible. Register here.
Believe it or not, I was in a Shul in Williamsburg, but they treated me like a regular there.
Anyway I saw on the wall a warning, signed by some of their Rabbanan, that …anyone who comes into the shul with an un-filtered internet phone is a “Rasha Gamur,” and will not be called up to the Torah.
i would hope that the hanholo of the kinus will reach out to r’ shlomo sternberg who has been involved and aware of this issue before it was recognised as a forefront issue. when he was in the o.t. zal he was the main person dealing with this particular issue as it relates to bochrim and young adolescents
why do they do this whole conference for teachers and principals?? if they really want to help the situation, they should adress it to teenagers..
Your right!
Thanks for sharing.
“Even a complete Tzadik Says every morning ” do not bring me to a Nissayon”.
-The Rebbe said this many times at Farbrengen
…how it was possible for the yidden to make an egel hazahav. I always could never understand how the yidden could have done such a thing…but to read that mashpiim and Rosh Yeshivos have smartphones …. Help!! How do we expect the talmidim to take this seriously if their own Rosh yeshivos use them? .
It can be done on a phone anywhere
Supervision dosnt eliminate the problem
Just wanna say that all those who say its because of a lack of geshmak in yidishkiet is untrue I am considered a chasidish bochur and feeel like I do have a geshmak in yiidishkiet yet that didn’t stop me from becoming addicted to the worst things online which I am still struggling with it started with small things and snowballed out of control before I knew it noone starts with wanting to see shmutz it just starts from kosher things
Here is a solution some people have found
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL0K9eJinVE&feature=kp
It’s great to see everyone coming out with their ideas on how to deal with the issue. Obviously the regulars will also start the blame game. All fine.
But sometimes before finding the solution, there has to be a clear ‘YEDIAS HAMACHALA’; really understanding the issue and the numbers etc. without that, it’s like going to war without knowing who’s the enemy.
The numbers aren’t hidden. Ask your teenage son – he’ll tell you. Just make sure you’re sitting then.
Hatzlocho
I’m curious to know what percentage of internet users, when they are all by themselves, don’t have to worry about anyone seeing what they doing, and their activity is not recorded, will not have an urge to go “somewhere.”
I will be there this year! A big thank you to rabbi kaplan and his team for making this happen!
Do like the Amish do. They don’t even use electricity.
The roshei yeshivos and mashpiyim are always on their smartphones or tablets too. Even seeing this in pictures taken at the Ohel which I find shocking. Adults can’t go 5 minutes without the internet. You have shluchim on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
will you have a article after the Kinus about what the numbers are? i am a parent and there is no reason i should not now how to deal with this as well.
Condemning and yelling about the Internet will not inspire our youth to change their actions. On the contrary, it will only entice them to do it even more. We need to infuse our youth with a chayois and geshmak in Yiddishkeit and Chassidus. Maybe our Roshei Yeshivos and Mashpiyim are not reaching out to our youth like they should. Today, is needed a whole different approach when dealing with our youth. For years on end we have neglected them, busy fighting about every stupidity and nonsense and now we are seeing the results of that. “IT’S ABOUT TIME OUR LEADERS… Read more »
Mother of 2 addicted teenage boys i finally said that’s it and chucked phones in the garbage and got internet out of house ( beware these kids are BRILLIENT and got round all restrictions ) and the change is UNBELIEVABLE BH !!! Gone with it went the movies , tv shows , music, bad friends, and a whole lot more! obnoxious attidude ,detachment and zombie like exsistance gone too! They are so much happier !Their grades have improved , they are reading , biking , back to their hobbies, relationship with us and their sibs improved dramatically too! I got… Read more »
The internet is a double edged sword. It has tremendous potential. So does a car. We don’t get a license to drive until we reach the proper age. We are not permitted to drink legally until a proper age. The same is true with the internet. That does not mean that adults do not fail with regard to the sites one can easily access, but, at least that is an adult with adult seichel and adult b’chira. Not only does the internet shlep us to improper places but it shapes our thinking and leads us down paths people never ventured.… Read more »
But for some people, they had to get rid of the computer, and that suceesfully broke the addiction cycle. No, they did not wind up bringing it back into the home.
Maybe that did not treat the “cause,” but it was better than the dangerous path they were on. Sometimes you have to resort to emergency methods and treat the symptoms. After that, get to the cause.
It seems that the pull of the internet is such that, if someone says, “I have no urge to look ‘elsewhere,'” is this person really allright? Now, this is also a problem with adults, but we especially want to protect our children, at least. It happens like this, especially if an image (not full exposure, but just not up to our standards) pops up. You know there is something out there that you have been warned or heard about. So, you go on the computer, thinking it won’t happen to you, because, in other settings (e.g. walking the streets) you… Read more »
We saw to it and rightfully so to have a big asifa regarding Shofar why not explaining the ills of internet ???
and which devices should we not allow our children to acquire.
Many parents don’t know that with a tablet or any
communication device you can reach all the schmutz.
Nachman S.
can this be spoken about in schools? why cant there be a parents Kinus about his as well?
When the internet was not as available ten years ago and kids were dropping out little was said and done. The issue is not solely the internet. The question to be asked is why they are turning to the internet? Treat the cause not the symptom.
banning is a waste of time talking through the issues and monitoring is the only way.
Looks like it will be a great Kinus!
would like to see this matter resolved for our childrens safety in the very near future
Ill Try to come