The Hebrew School Dropouts Want Back In

 By Allison Andrews for Kveller

Last month, at the very last minute, I finally sent off my children’s application to our synagogue’s Hebrew school. For the second time.

Three years ago when it was time to sign up our oldest daughter for Hebrew school, I eagerly filled out the paperwork. My husband and I love our funky, spirited, and opinionated Reconstructionist synagogue, and I thought I found a community that would provide a Jewish connection and community for the entire family. Let the Jewish learning begin! They were starting a new family-

based, Shabbat-based Hebrew school program. We would be in on the ground floor, as they say, and start my daughter off on an amazing journey of Jewish learning.

But it did not quite work out that way.

My daughter is super bright and creative but she is also severely dyslexic and struggles with a complicated set of learning, social, and sensory issues.

It turns out the community building family time at that start of the Hebrew school Shabbat learning program overwhelmed my daughter.

It turns out that it was too loud and there were too many activities going on at once. There were too many transitions and there was too much noise.

It turns out that what works for most kids doesn’t work for my daughter.

By first grade she dreaded going to synagogue. She was begging us not to take her to class on Saturdays. She was struggling at regular school and we were working hard to sort out all of her learning issues.

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