The Gopins: When a Child Cannot Read [Divergence 6/6]
May 6, 2025
auto_awesome
Chana Gopin navigates the challenges of raising her daughter Bayla, a dyslexic student at Yeshivat Shalshelet, alongside Shulamit Roth, the school’s founder dedicated to supporting children with language-based learning differences. They discuss the emotional toll of academic pressure in the Jewish community and how specialized education can empower students like Bayla. Bayla shares her journey, emphasizing the importance of understanding and acceptance in learning environments, and the need for rethinking intelligence beyond traditional measures.
The Gopin family's journey emphasizes the vital role of tailored educational environments like Yeshivat Shalshelet for children with dyslexia.
Through community support and fundraising, Yeshivat Shalshelet aims to provide inclusive education, reinforcing that all children deserve access to Jewish learning.
The podcast highlights the emotional challenges faced by children with learning differences, stressing the importance of nurturing their self-esteem and unique strengths.
Deep dives
The Integral Role of Ketubah in Weddings
The ketubah, a traditional Jewish marriage contract, holds significant emotional and cultural value beyond being a mere document. It is not only read during the wedding ceremony but also serves as a keepsake that couples treasure long after their wedding day. Ketubah.com offers an array of designs that cater to different tastes, whether traditional or modern, and ensures the document adheres to halakhic (Jewish legal) standards, thus alleviating any concerns couples may have about proper observance. The personalization options available allow couples to choose texts that resonate deeply with their relationship, enhancing the ketubah's sentimental value.
Support for Students with Learning Differences
Yeshivat Shalshelet is a pioneering educational institution aimed at supporting children with language-based learning differences, helping them thrive academically, emotionally, and spiritually. Given the considerable costs associated with catering to such specialized needs, the school appeals for community support through fundraising initiatives to ensure every child can receive a Jewish education. This campaign highlights the urgency of financial assistance, as many families may struggle to find alternative education options for their children who require extra help. The yeshiva exemplifies a commitment to inclusivity, reinforcing the belief that all children deserve access to quality education in their Jewish community.
Intergenerational Divergence in Education
The podcast discusses the implications of academic pressure within the Jewish community, particularly how high expectations can lead to anxiety and affect self-esteem among students. Many individuals find their identities intertwined with their academic performance, making struggles in learning daunting experiences that impact their self-worth. This culture of valuing intellectual success can have negative repercussions on children's relationships with both their peers and their religious identities, leading to feelings of isolation or inadequacy. The discussion encourages a reevaluation of what constitutes success in education and proposes creating a more balanced approach that nurtures every child's unique strengths.
Navigating Learning Difficulties as a Family
The Gopin family's experience illustrates the challenges and realities of raising a child with dyslexia within a Jewish educational context. From an early age, they recognized the need for additional support as their daughter, Bela, struggled to keep up with her peers in reading and writing. Their journey involved seeking out resources, including identifying the right educational environment that could provide tailored support, ultimately leading them to Yeshivat Shalshelet. Through open communication and encouragement, they emphasize the importance of maintaining a positive narrative around learning differences, showing how families can collaboratively navigate educational challenges.
The Emotional Toll of Learning Disabilities
Children with learning disabilities often face emotional hurdles that extend beyond academic challenges, including feelings of isolation and fear of judgment. The podcast highlights how these children sometimes equate their reading difficulties with a lack of worth, affecting their interactions with peers and their self-perception. By sharing stories of struggles and triumphs, families can create an environment of understanding and support, which is essential for building self-esteem. It is crucial for parents and educators to recognize these emotional aspects and actively foster confidence in children as learners, ensuring they know their value extends beyond their academic achievements.
Creating a Supportive Educational Environment
Yeshivat Shalshelet serves not only as an educational institution but also as a community hub that provides children with the necessary tools to navigate their Jewish identities alongside academic challenges. Emphasizing inclusion, the school enables students to engage with their Jewish heritage meaningfully while receiving the support they need to succeed academically. The unique approach taken by the school involves individualized attention and ensuring that no child feels marginalized within the learning environment, fostering a sense of belonging. This model stresses the importance of creating educational frameworks that accommodate diverse learning needs, ultimately enriching the community as a whole.
Receive our FREE newsletters at 18forty.org/join. Our Intergenerational Divergence series is sponsored by our friends Sarala and Danny Turkel. This episode is sponsored by Yeshivat Shalshelet, which gives children with language-based learning differences the confidence and skills to thrive academically, emotionally, and spiritually. Donate to its matching campaign at theshalsheletdifference.org. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Bayla Gopin—a student with dyslexia— and her mother, Chana, who brought Bayla to Yeshivat Shalshelet when her previous school was ignoring her needs.
We also sit down with Shulamit Roth, Shalshelet’s founder, to talk about how we can expand the circle of who Yiddishkeit is for. In this episode we discuss:
Does our emphasis on text-based learning leave some students out?
How do we handle the perceived social stigma of needing to deviate from our “Plan A”?
How does a child deal with switching schools when school is such a huge part of their world?
Tune in to hear a conversation about how we can nurture every student the way he or she was created.
Interview begins at 11:40. Shulamit Roth is a language and speech pathologist who has dedicated her career to helping students with language based learning disabilities. Her passion for teaching Jewish students with language-based learning disabilities led her to founding Yeshivat Shalshelet, where she helps students access the beauty of Torah and achieve their academic and personal potential. References:
