Micki Appel, Tenth Grade, Alum, Shefa School, Manhattan
People often say that grades are the way to measure intelligence, but so much lies behind the grades. In my experience, confidence and hard work are the keys to success in school, much more important than the grades themselves.
I haven’t always known or appreciated the importance of hard work, resilience and having confidence in myself. I used to believe that I was not capable of succeeding in school, since I was always struggling to keep up with classroom material. Homework that was supposed to take ten minutes took an hour, I was ashamed to raise my hand and ask for help, and I was always being pulled out of class to seek additional tutoring. This impacted my self-esteem and feelings towards school. Many people did not understand why I was learning at a slower rate than my peers, causing me to compare myself to others and believe that I was not smart. However, my parents always knew that I just needed to find the right school to help me reach my full potential.
When I came to Shefa, a Jewish school for students with language-based learning disabilities, my whole impression of myself in school changed. I had teachers who knew the right approach to teach me, who with time helped me gain confidence in the classroom. In addition, being with other students who had similar experiences and challenges in school made me feel less alone and helped us grow closer to each other.
I started to feel comfortable asking questions when I was confused or when I wanted to learn more about a certain topic. This even carried into my Jewish identity. I slowly gained skills that allowed me to connect deeply with Judaic texts because I learned how to read and understand them.
