Faculty members of HALB’s Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls and the Davis Renov Stahler High School for Boys were privileged to hear from Dr. Deborah Gilboa, a well-known child physician and youth development expert, at their joint Faculty In-Service Day held on Thursday, August 29.
“Our society sends the message that it is our job to make sure our children are happy,” Dr. Gilboa said in her keynote address. “We cannot make someone happy who is determined not to be.” In her engaging and illuminating presentation, Dr. Gilboa noted that religious people don’t escape from pressure. Those in the Jewish world have always measured themselves by what they could learn, placing achievement as one of their top priorities. However, we as parents and educators must keep talking about character; achievement will usually follow.
In addition to hearing from Dr. Gilboa in separate sessions about how to teach resilience to boys and girls, faculty members of both schools had time for self-facilitated reflection among themselves. The teachers found Dr. Gilboa’s relatable stories and important suggestions to develop crucial life skills in high-schoolers extremely helpful.
To further the discussion, Dr. Gilboa will join the SKA/DRS community once again in December, presenting to HALB faculty members, parents, and students so that we can continue creating a common language about anxiety and supporting our student population.