“My daughter is still young, and I am CERTAIN that all of this love and attention that is given to her is allowing her to grow and mature into a beautiful girl.”
Story by: Anonymous
The partnership that is needed between us and our childrens teachers and educators is so strong.
I grew up ‘out of town’. One of my biggest hesitations in raising my family in Crown Heights was the schooling options I would have to choose for them. It all seemed very cold to me. Constantly churning students through the system, with what appeared to me to be a lack of love, kindness and acceptance. How wrong I was. Thank Gd all my children have been cherished and taken care of but one of my daughter’s principals has really stood out. Mrs Sztillermans door is always open to my daughter. This is definitely not in her job description, but her love for her students and her wish to see them well adjusted and happy in school brings to her to do this for her girls.
One year, my daughter was feeling quite nervous and anxious about starting a new school year. Mrs Sztillerman arranged with us to have her come before school starts, to show her around her new classroom, in an effort to make her feel calmer and more confident about the new year. I could see that there were a million other things going on; meetings she had to be at, decisions that had to be made. But she calmly sat with my daughter, showed her a picture (from a whatsapp profile) of what her new teacher looks like and spoke to her about her worries.
During corona, she stopped by our home one Erev Shabbos with a curated package of activities for my daughter, and to do a ‘porch visit’ to check in with her. When I was pregnant and on bed rest, she made every effort to look out for her, knowing she needed the extra attention that I couldn’t provide; even buying her a baby gift when they baby finally arrived. My husband and I had to leave town for work for a few days and she took my daughter out for ice cream after school.
These are not just stories of kindness. My daughter is still young, and I am CERTAIN that all of this love and attention that is given to her is allowing her to grow and mature into a beautiful girl. As parents, we can do everything in our power to raise our children to be happy and healthy. However, the partnership that is needed between us and our children’s teachers and educators is so strong. After all, they are in their care for majority of the day, every single day. To say that Mrs Sztillerman looks out for my daughter’s needs, and makes sure they are met is an understatement.
Mrs Sztillerman is a true model of Chanoch Lnaar Al Pi Darko; doing everything that she can to make sure every child feels like they belong and are connected.
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I completely agree. Mrs Sztillerman is amazing, such a kind and warm soul. I remember when I was in elementary school and she worked in the office. I was often sent out of class and would sit in her office when the school didn’t know what to do with me. She was always so kind. She would make me feel valued and respected, would never make me feel ashamed or bad about myself. It was such a relief. She would try to make me feel comfortable and involve me projects she was working on. Many years later, I am grown with children and whenever I see her she recognizes me, talks to me like an equal, and shows such interest in my life.