A Student Publication of the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School • 1609 Avenue J, Brooklyn, New York • Vol 55, Issue 1 • October 2020 / 5781
Students struggle to adapt Many ignoring Covid-19 to changed classroom life precautions after school By Adelle Ayash Managing Editor
By Jack Saad Junior Editor
When Flatbush originally shut down in March, no one knew when the return to in-person classes would be. Yet here we are in September, covered with masks, sitting behind plexiglass, completing daily health screenings, showing QR codes, and the list goes on. Overall, the school spent more than $500,000 on all of the changes, according to Executive Director Rabbi Rothman, a considerable investment in safety that has led to whisperings about some of the changes sticking. But many students have not been pleased. Junior Jacob Cohen is one of the numerous students who have complained
about the long hours of wearing masks, and the sweat that accumulates under them as the day progresses. “I would definitely not want to keep many of these changes, especially the mandatory masks,” he said. Cohen is also unhappy with the lack of ability to hear teachers and classmates in the classroom, though he understands the reason behind it is necessary. Junior Ronnie Mizrachi agrees: “Teachers often struggle to give over certain critical points in their lessons because of the lack of engagement from their students. … They struggle to maintain a normal conversation due to masks and plexiglass providing sound and interaction barriers among everyone in
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ASL graduates to full elective Vivian Cohen School News Editor
The extensive list of electives offered to juniors and seniors has adopted yet another option this year: American Sign Language (ASL). This course was previously taught as a Tsei U’lemad once a week during lunch, but increased interest in the class led the administration to ask ASL teacher Ms. Francine Steinhaus to develop the curriculum into a full-scale elective course four days a week. Steinhaus was originally recommended to teach the Tsei U’lemad by Dr. Joyce Fruchter, a former science department chair at Flatbush, after Ms. Steinhaus was recognized for her expe-
In This Issue People: Page 2 D’var Torah: Page 4 Fun and Games: Page 6
rience teaching in various schools such as Shulamith high school and Fordham University. Tsei U’lemad coordinator Mr. Katz agreed to implement the idea, which became popular among students. The idea of communicating with deaf people happens to be of interest to many students, which made ASL a perfect elective opportunity. Electives coordinator Ms. Bacon said she is “always looking for potential electives to offer students so that they can choose from a variety of courses to pursue their interests and passions,” and readily worked on transforming the Tsei U’lemad into a full course. ASL is not an ordinary class; it doesn’t
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Entertainment: Are movie theaters dead? Page 5
With the start of Yeshivah of Flatbush’s new year in very new circumstances, the adage “Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh LaZeh” (“All of Israel Are Responsible for One Another”) has been invoked frequently. While necessary protocols have been instituted and enforced to prevent the rampant Covid-19 from closing the building’s doors, some Yeshivah of Flatbush students engage in a disregard of basic of social distancing and other safety practices after school hours—behavior that has already caused an uptick in mandatory quarantines and was a major factor in Thursday’s switch to full distance learning for seniors. In school, almost all students have been following the Yeshivah’s protocols, but once they exit the building some change their behavior, visiting each other indoors without masks, attending large gatherings, and engaging in various other behaviors widely acknowledged to allow for easy spread of the virus. Although the administration has little say in student behavior outside of school, students’ actions outside of school have already affected the ability of a growing number of them to attend classes in person. Outbreaks have already caused several yeshivot throughout New York to switch to online-onlu learning, and Flatbush has instructed the senior grade to remain home this week due to a multitude of quarantined students. A full shutdown may be the Yeshivah’s fate if the severity of the matter is understood only as being “school rules.” The student body itself is split in their view of the numerous students disobeying these protocols and not following social distancing. Some students side with the argument of senior Ralph Betesh, who missed the first two weeks of in-person learning due to being exposed to the virus: Betesh believes in the school’s protocols and says if students comply with them they can make it through the year without a shutdown. “As long as everyone is safe and socially responsible I don’t mind doing my part and staying home; however, many students aren’t contributing to the cause and they need to be aware of the possible consequences of ignoring the virus.”
Fashion: Mask up in style Page 7
Betesh is recounting the recent exposure to coronavirus that affected a substantial amount of Flatbush juniors who gathered in close proximity and are now stuck home awaiting the result of Covid tests and enduring the ramifications of their exposure. Few students are committing the more egregious offense of knowingly attending school after exposure to people with the virus, but those few have the potential to ruin privileges for others. Freshman Rachel Askenazie agrees with Betesh and is worried for a possible abrupt end to her freshman year because of these actions by other students: “Due to Covid I have already lost so many aspects to my freshman year and I don’t want to lose anything else because my peers aren’t being socially responsible outside of school.” On top of these events many students have been taking their at-home learning to the inside of their friends’ houses, a practice known as “Zoom parties.” According to the administration, this defeats the whole purpose of learning at home, which was supposed to limit the interaction between students. A recent e-mail sent out to students and parents explained that “only one student should use a device to Zoom at a time. It is inappropriate and against the point of protecting everyone’s health to have two or more people using the same device to Zoom into a class.” Overall, school officials have been very impressed with the students so far, and report that that the majority of the student body has shown nothing but respect for the protocols. According to Rabbi Beyda, even the high number of students in quarantine demonstrates the students’ regard for the protocols. “I think we are seeing people being honest and accountable for themselves and I suspect that seeing all these people in quarantine will make students even more careful,” he said. Rabbi Galpert seconded these sentiments and is proud of the student body in its efforts so far. He believes that mistakes are part of the learning curve for students and it will take time to acclimate to this new norm. With time, students will come to comprehend and internalize the consequences of their actions, he insisted.
Sports: Are HS sports coming back? Page 8 phoenix@flatbush.org | 1