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Gerafi uses costumes, props to bring history alive in class. (NATASHA FILLION/The Gazette)
Teacher of the Week
Grade 5 teacher known for dressing up to drive home a lesson
Karen Seidman
The Gazette
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Gerafi uses costumes, props to bring history alive in class. (NATASHA FILLION/The Gazette)
Teacher of the Week is a weekly feature spotlighting a local educator.
Name: Ariel Gerafi
School: Hebrew Foundation in Dollard des Ormeaux
Grade: 5
Experience: 17 years
Extracurricular activities: Making films with students, coaching the bible contest
Hobbies: Making films, fishing, travelling
Most recently read book: Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, by Spencer Johnson
No one told Ariel Gerafi about the cold winters before he moved here from Israel to be a teacher.
But Gerafi said the cold is negated by the warmth of the community. And that must be why in just three years he has become such a beloved teacher at Hebrew Foundation School in Dollard des Ormeaux.
Nominated by a Grade 5 student at the school, Gerafi was described as “an amazing teacher” who “makes learning fun for everyone.”
He is known, in particular, for dressing up in costumes “to help bring history to life.”
The way Gerafi sees it, he doesn’t do anything extraordinary as a teacher.
“A teacher has to be dynamic and make the lesson come alive,” he said in an interview. “An elementary school teacher can’t sit behind a desk and lecture. It has to be experiential education.”
School principal Rabbi Zev Lanton discovered Gerafi, 40, in a small village in Israel, teaching underprivileged children.
“I saw the way he was beloved by the children, who were clinging to him like grapes to a vine,” said Lanton.
When Gerafi said he was interested in coming to North America, Lanton wasted no time in making it happen.
“He has been a big bonus to the school. He has made the classroom experience so real and he’s so creative. He finds a way to reach all children, even those with issues,” he said
Gerafi teaches Hebrew, bible studies and judaic studies to one regular and one special education class.
Lanton said it’s not unusual to find the students up on their chairs, singing in his class.
“He wants the children to be happy to come to school and to go home happy,” Lanton said.
According to the student who nominated him, he has become an important part of the school and has taught the students so much about their Jewish heritage and Israel.
“I feel lucky that he is my teacher,” the student said.