Rebbitzen Vichna Kaplan never expelled a Student from BYHS!

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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling

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amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 9:44 pm

Rebbitzen Blimie Birnbaum Birnbaum (taught for 18 years in Bais Yaakov High School, and presently teaches in Bnos Chava seminary in EY) just said on her 9 days speech, how Rebbitzen Kaplan a"h, Talmida of Sara Shnierer, NEVER expelled a student!

Rebbitzen Kaplan accepted everyone no matter their level of frumkeit, and dealt with it privately, never embarrassing girls, and today many of the girls who may have done inappropriate things when in high school, are amazing Nshei Chayil bec of the loving acceptance of Rebbitzen Kaplan.

Is any principal like that these days?

amother

Diamond

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 9:45 pm

That's not true. I read the beautiful biography written about her and there was a specific anecdote that her husband, Rabbi Boruch Kaplan, fasted on the day that he had to expell a student from BY.

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 9:57 pm

amother [ Diamond ] wrote:

That's not true. I read the beautiful biography written about her and there was a specific anecdote that her husband, Rabbi Boruch Kaplan, fasted on the day that he had to expell a student from BY.

It seems it was a very rare occurrence. I wonder what the situation was. Did the book say?

amother

Chestnut

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 9:57 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Who is this teacher?
I went to byhs and never heard of her.
What grade/subject did she teach?

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:00 pm

amother [ Chestnut ] wrote:

Who is this teacher?
I went to byhs and never heard of her.
What grade/subject did she teach?

Blimie Birnbaum. She's definitely over 70 y.o. She taught in the 70s..

I think she may have left to Israel (shes now a teacher in Bnos Chava seminary) in 80s or 90s.

giftedmom

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:12 pm

To be fair those were very different times

Chayalle

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:14 pm

amother [ Diamond ] wrote:

That's not true. I read the beautiful biography written about her and there was a specific anecdote that her husband, Rabbi Boruch Kaplan, fasted on the day that he had to expell a student from BY.

Rebbetzin Birnbaum said no one was expelled during the 18 years that she taught in BY. It's quite possible that this particular incident happened at another time, not when she was teaching.

My mother A"H was a student of Rebbetzin Kaplan, and as I understood from her, quite a character. My mother always spoke of Rebbetzin Kaplan with tremendous respect (and even gave her daugher her name - 2nd name though - as my sister was born on her first yartzeit). My mother told me she was the soul of patience and tolerance.

Rebbetzin Birnbaum's point was, how rare expelling a student was for Rebbetzin Kaplan, and this was because of her tremendous Kavod Habrios.

My mother would have agreed.

amother

Chestnut

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:16 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Blimie Birnbaum. She's definitely over 70 y.o. She taught in the 70s..

I think she may have left to Israel (shes now a teacher in Bnos Chava seminary) in 80s or 90s.

Half the teachers in my times were over 70 too.
This was in the 2000s.

But never heard of her, maybe my mom did, she also went to byhs..

amother

Amaryllis

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:28 pm

It is actually quite rare for a student to be expelled nowadays as well.

chestnut

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:29 pm

I bet this was the case in all yeshivos and BY in those times.

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:30 pm

giftedmom wrote:

To be fair those were very different times

Im thinking the same.

But there are ways to expel.

I know of a (now retired Thank G-d) principal in a Brooklyn high school that no longer exists, who expelled a high school student by yelling loudly in the halls of the school, for all to hear, with adjectives like "retarded", etc, "Even a public school wouldnt take you" and that was the nice part of what he yelled.

amother

Ginger

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:40 pm

amother [ Chestnut ] wrote:

Half the teachers in my times were over 70 too.
This was in the 2000s.

But never heard of her, maybe my mom did, she also went to byhs..

Mrs. Birnbaum taught my mother at BYHS in the 70s.

amother

NeonOrange

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:43 pm

She's Rebbetzin Moskowitz's daughter

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 10:53 pm

amother [ NeonOrange ] wrote:

She's Rebbetzin Moskowitz's daughter

Her mother taught too?

amother

Diamond

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 11:29 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

That's really rare and abnormal. There are many excellent mechanchim and mechanchos who have had to make the unbearable decision to expel s child and have done it in the best way they could.

My point in my post early was that saying a blanket title like she never expelled a student, isn't accurate and creates unrealistic expectations. She did have to expel students and it was rare and taken extremely seriously, just like it is today by many many many principals

amother

Seafoam

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 11:29 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

amother

NeonOrange

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 11:33 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Her mother taught too?

I had her in Bais Yaakov Intensive - she spoke about her Holocaust experiences.

nicole81

Thu, Aug 04 2022, 2:03 am

There is no expulsion in NYC public schools, because it can ruin a child's life-- especially when they're highly disadvantaged to begin with. I know pretty much everyone graduates in jewish schools, so people may not understand this; the average graduation rate of my peer schools (same academic levels, sped, poverty, etc) is 76%. In my school, we hardly suspend, address things using a restorative healing approach, provide an abundance of social emotional support, and form very close and caring relationships with our kids. It's obviously not as simplistic as I'm making it sound, but my point is that it works, and is the most effective way to positively impact kids and help them reach their fullest potential as a person. With everyone else at 76%, we graduate 94% of our kids.

Embracing kids where they are, and giving them an abundance of love and support while helping them develop their social emotional toolbox is the only way to do it imo if we want to build better communities.

singsong

Fri, Aug 05 2022, 12:48 pm

I think Sara Shnirer and Rebbetzin Kaplan would be turning over in their graves if they would know what became of the Bais Yaakov system today.

amother

Amethyst

Fri, Aug 05 2022, 12:50 pm

amother [ Amaryllis ] wrote:

It is actually quite rare for a student to be expelled nowadays as well.

Sorry but you seem to have no idea what truly goes on in BY and how they're willing to destroy a child's life with a snap of the fingers.

*Spoken as a mother whose kids have been expelled for ridiculous reasons such as me, the mom, wearing the wrong color nail polish*

The principal of the above non-mentioned school actually told me that it's no big deal to kick my daughter out because he has at least 10 kids in line to take her place.

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