Understanding the Problem Comes Before Solving the Problem

I had a year of experience working in a religious school classroom with kindergarten through 1st graders before going through TAP. The kids sometimes seemed to have a harder time adapting with the classroom environment. I did the best I could to help them be able to learn and have fun, but occasionally I was not able to figure out how to help them be successful. TAP helped me be better able to aid all of the kids in the classroom with their Jewish learning experiences by helping me understand where the children’s actions are coming from and giving me tools to assist them.

It is impossible to create a solution before understanding the problem. The thing that stuck with me the most from TAP was the quote  “All behavior is communication.” Knowing this helped me understand the obstacle between the kids and learning. Once I knew what the obstacle was, I could help them overcome it.

One thing I learned at TAP was that understanding is the first part of helping. Without essential tools it is extremely difficult to support the kids. I learned many tools at TAP that I use in the classroom as a madrich and I have used many of the tools I have learned in TAP. The tools also felt especially applicable in a religious school classroom because they were reinforced with Jewish values.

TAP helped me to be more understanding of kids having a harder time and once I had that understanding TAP gave me the tools to better assist in kids Jewish learning.