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THE GEMARA SKILLS PROGRAM
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When Merkaz L’Chinuch HaTorah opened The Kriah Clinic in the mid-1980’s, it focused primarily on young children who had trouble mastering the basics of Hebrew reading. Over the years, however, Merkaz L’Chinuch HaTorah expanded to meet the needs of a broader and more demanding population: children and boys, and eventually young men who, despite all efforts, despite tutoring and practice, despite obviously high IQs and clear “street smarts” couldn’t succeed in yeshiva. There were boys who were recommended as bright, who could ask intelligent questions on the Gemara, yet in the classroom were tongue-tied and helpless with a new text The age range expanded—from 6 year olds who couldn’t blend, to mesivta boys who couldn’t sound out the Gemara, to boys who, having been at the top of their high school shiur, in Bais Medrash found themselves doing somersaults to avoid reading in chevrusah, to adults who dreamed that perhaps they could learn to read, to follow an advanced shiur, and even learn independently.
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Thus evolved a new program—The Gemara Skills Program. A highly individualized and discrete program, from evaluation through remediation and follow-up, the Gemara Skills Program has provided scores of boys and young men, from middle school through mesivta age, from Bais Medrash to Kollel, with the skills and support they need to maintain and achieve authentic success in their learning, while remaining in their own yeshivas.
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THE METHOD
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The Gemara Skills Program uses a variety of techniques ranging from those of the traditional yeshiva and chedar to the innovative methods of the Rishonim, to state of the art techniques of language acquisition. The focus is on phonetic competency, acquisition of fundamentals of language and a comprehensive vocabulary, and building higher level comprehension skills through visualization and mastery of the Gemara’s structure. These skills are reinforced through guided practice in texts, sequenced according to levels of difficulty. Outlines and flowcharts are developed by the talmid himself, under the rebbe’s guidance. This unique approach has proven effective with children and adults of all ages, including dyslexics and those with A.D.H.D. and other learning disorders.
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REMEDIATION
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Remediation is individually tailored in frequency, place, length of session, and rebbe, as well as in methodology. The program is designed based on the evaluation and conference. Programs range from twice weekly after-school sessions at the Merkaz to a daily program during school hours at the yeshiva itself. For older boys, especially, discretion, schedule, and location can be major issues, and the Merkaz bends over backwards to make the student comfortable with the learning setting.
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The remediation is supervised by our director, Rabbi Elkins, who is in frequent consultation with the rebbe, fine-tuning all issues of method and motivation on a regular basis. Where appropriate, the yeshiva and regular rebbe are involved, whether being asked to adjust the tests or requirements for that talmid while he is involved in his remediation process, or to support and reinforce the skills the student is now mastering. If there have been behavioral issues, the Merkaz can work together with the administration to develop understanding as well as behavior modification plans. Such behavior issues generally subside as the student improves and sees success in his skills.
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RESULTS
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Remediation time can range from a few months to a year or more, depending upon the severity of the problems and the years of neglect that must be restored. But the goal is the same for every talmid: achievement of his full potential in learning and restoration of his self-esteem. For most, that means full competency in his yeshiva setting. When the program is completed, results include a young man back on track, a happier family, a promising future: a level of success that neither he nor his parents had thought possible.
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SUMMER PROGRAMS
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During the summer months, the Merkaz runs special intensive programs, when tremendous progress can be made without the pressure of the regular yeshiva curriculum. Rebbes learn with the boys during regular learning seder at their summer camps in the Catskills, while older boys receive intensive sessions in Brooklyn or Lakewood. Many students from outside of the New York area, and even from overseas, use the opportunity of these summer programs to obtain remediation that is unavailable out-of-town.
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VIDEO AND TELECONFERENCING
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The Gemara Skills Program can be carried out through a combination of phone and video conferencing with the talmid, rebbe and/or parents. This has enabled us to reach talmidim who are at a distance from Brooklyn, such as the Midwest, Los Angeles, England and Eretz Yisroel.
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