by Ari Block from Mishkan Shalom
Every person is unique, and their brain works differently. My experience at TAP has helped me understand both the joy and the challenge of working with many different thinking and behavioral types in one room. I had previous experience as a congregational school teaching assistant, and TAP helped me better understand their behavioral differences.
In the past two years, I have encountered kids aged 8 to 10 with needs different from others. Some of these kids simply required a different, less distracting environment to do their best work. For example, during the closing circle, some kids who have been paying attention the whole time and not engaging in side conversations will suddenly become distracted after entering this larger room with more students in it.
Another observation I made was that some students found it easier to pay attention to certain activities than others. For instance, while we might be watching a video, someone could become distracted and therefore distract other students, but as soon as we shift to an activity such as reading, they become completely focused and stop distracting others altogether.
These experiences, combined with my new knowledge at TAP, have encouraged me to view the world through others’ perspectives and understand why a student might excel at paying attention one moment but lose their focus the second we change activities. Overall, it has enabled me to help students get back on track during class and understand what challenges arose initially.