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The Charlotte Jewish News - March 2014 - Page 5 Right Dudes By Stephen Debresen, Fifth Grade Teacher, Charlotte Jewish Day School When someone is ten years old and a boy, the world, although large, may still seem eonquerable. However, as he goes through life, he soon diseovers there are sev eral obstaeles in his way. A fourth or fifth grader’s view of the world is more eomplex than you would imagine. He sees the ob vious, but at the same time he begins to look at the underlying eauses of eertain feelings inside. That feeling is emotion. This emotion ean be in the form of eompassion, kindness, joy, righteous ness, and even anger or frustration. Right Dudes was formed so I eould help boys searehing to find answers and ways to deal with everyday obsta eles that life brings to them. CJDS offered a program for the girls ealled Strong Girls and I kept hearing about the wonderful impaet it was having. I wondered if I eould bring the same kind of program for CJDS boys. Mariashi gave her full sup port and in the early part of 2013, I began weekly meetings with the fourth grade boys. At first they were eonfused as to why they had to meet with me. My goal was twofold. First, I wanted to provide an environment that would be a safe zone for them to express issues they were deal ing with or pressures they felt, without the fear of getting in trou ble. Seeond, I wanted to build a bond with the boys who would be in my fifth grade elass the follow ing year. The impaet was immedi ate and the student response has been tremendous. Fifth grade boys eannot wait for Thursday so The "RightDudes’ far back, right. with Mr. Debresen in the that they ean meet and diseuss sehool life with me, and any soeial or emotional obstaeles they want to overeome. The majority of our time is spent on dealing with and understanding eaeh other. How ean eight boys with sueh strong personalities eoexist and eompro- mise to keep the peaee amongst themselves? It is not easy. I have Schools approaehed eaeh situation by first stating the ground rules for our diseussions and ensuring that at the end of eaeh session everyone leaves understanding eaeh other a little better. You might be thinking what kind of problems do fourth and fifth grade boys have? You would be surprised. I have been in awe when listening to some of the deep diseussions and maturity demonstrated by eaeh and every one. Not only do we look at prob lems but we try to delve into it further to examine why the problem exists. Most of the time, group dis eussions are sehool-related, however, there have been times when a student has a general question about life and thanks to the safety net that Right Dudes offers, they are eomfortable to talk about it without any fear of ridieule. Boys feel free to dis euss a variety of topies impor tant to their lives beeause they know they will not fall vietim to taunting or teasing. I have spent many sessions debunking myths and elarifying misinterpreta tions. I am so pleased with the CJDS Charlotte Jewish Day School Free JEWISH Books 8c Music to Nurture Jj Jewish Families ik ^ MARCH PJ LIBRARY EVENTS: Sunday, March 2 11:00 AM Camp Mindy Rec Hall "TASTE OF MITZVOT" RSVP at www.NEXTGenChadotte.org Co-5ponsored by The Jewish Preschool on Sardis Saturday, March 22 10^)0 AM Temple Israel "TORAH TOTS" RSVP at www.NEXTGenChatlotte.org Co-sponsored by Temple Israel A gift from the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte For more information, please contact Tair Giudice, Director of Outreach and Engagement, at the Jewish Federation, 704,944.6759. growth in their maturity and the overall effeetiveness of this pro gram and that I have been able to ereate this opportunity for them and proud of the way eaeh boy has responded. This method of eom- munieation and fellowship is not the only answer to life’s obstaeles, but it is a good foundation for dealing with them. ^ RA^cVsSR Secfer Learn how to run the Seder for your own family. Tips, ideas, supply lists and fun ways to engage your children. Wednesday, March 19, 9:15-10:45 AM at The Jewish Preschool on Sardis, 6619 Sardis Rd., Charlotte 28270 -OR- Monday, March 24 7-8:30 PM at The Ballantyne Jewish Center, 8632 Bryant Farms Rd., Charlotte 28277 DIAMOND /C [JR CHARISMA The Diamond Specialists Since 1980 The Arboretum Shopping Center 8042 Providence Road Suite 1000 Charlotte, NC 28277 704-341-1188 Come visit our spectacular new showroom
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 1, 2014, edition 1
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