Abigail and John Magnus (and yes they do deserve their whole names, both of them) behaved like utter beasts. At half time the Rabbi told me they were fighting with each other and not listening to him. Of course, I was not having that. We go to his house, he and his daughter give up their time, they are not paid for these lessons.
I guided them very swiftly into understanding that they had crossed a boundry and their behaviour was unacceptable. As we had been dropped off there was no possibility of removing them to the car and anyway, they are old enough to understand that they have a responisbility to behave and I wanted them to make the choice to behave well for the second half.
When they realised that it was no laughing matter and that they had treated the Rabbi with disrespect they were very chastened and gave a verbal apology. The two of them are now sitting at the kitchen table writing a letter of apology.
Although this may seem a bit over the top I have a few reasons for this. One reason is that Rabbi Larry is a very sensitive soul. It is important to him that the children enjoy the lessons, learn about their faith and language and want to return. He therefore does not like to get cross with them. Secondly, saying sorry is a hard thing to do. I know too many adults who cannot say sorry. It takes a certain amount of guts to be able to say why you are sorry. Thirdly, writing a sorry note is a skill that we all need from time to time.
Once they have written the letters and sent them off, we will not specifically mention this again.
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