Carol Green’s long denim skirt is not surprising, given the practicality of the fabric and the typically modest attire of teachers at Netivot HaTorah Day School, an Orthodox institution.
Carol Green [Frances Kraft photo]
But her colourful socks, incorporating a cheerful yellow bird with a bright orange beak, are hardly de rigueur. Earlier this month, she wore them to school because the Hebrew letter tzadi was the “letter of the week” in her Hebrew immersion senior kindergarten classroom. (Tzipor, which starts with tzadi, is the Hebrew word for bird.)
Full disclosure: Morah Chana, as she is known to her students, is my sister-in-law. Although a couple of people who know her professionally had suggested that I profile her for this column, I deflected their suggestions, to avoid the appearance of nepotism. But when her name came up again recently, and I heard more details about her approach to teaching, I decided it would be a shame not to interview her, and my editor agreed.
A native of Toronto who grew up in a traditional Conservative family, Green attended Associated Hebrew Schools and the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto before completing her BA in psychology at the University of Toronto. Later, she attended the Midrasha l’Morim, where she received a teaching diploma in 1987, and subsequently earned her special education and principal’s credentials from York University through its Jewish teacher education program.
Her career at Netivot dates back to 1986, when she began as a classroom assistant. Currently, Green splits her day between the school’s Shaarei Shomayim campus, where she teaches Hebrew immersion SK, and the Thornhill location, where she teaches Grade 1 Hebrew.
She likes to wear “child-friendly” clothing, and carries a key chain with attachments that often serve as conversation-starters for young students.
On the first day of school, she likes to wear a t-shirt that reads, “Shalom, Kitah Aleph,” in Hebrew letters. “That’s the first thing they learn how to read,” said Green, a mother of two who visits Israel about once a year.
“Learning has got to be fun,” she said.
A typical “letter of the week” lesson includes actions that relate to the letter when the letter comes up as part of tfillah or in songs. Her students think they’re just having fun, she said.
As a teenager, Green worked as a camp counsellor and a teacher in a Sunday Hebrew school. She enjoys working with young children, especially “seeing the light go on” when they learn to read and write. “It’s amazing what they can do.”
A believer in structure, Green said that once children get used to classroom routines, they “can flourish within them.”
The most challenging aspect, she said, is “making sure you really do touch every child, and that every child feels equally special.”
A lesson from the teacher: “In special education, you learn to catch a child doing something good. That’s what I train students to do: look for the good. If you look at the positives in each other, you’ll have a much more positive environment to learn in.”
