36 Mechanchim Reflect on a Transformative Experience
“It’s a whole mindset change.”
That was how one participant described his experience at the 12th annual Gold Star Teachers’ Training Course, which recently concluded with 36 mechanchim participating both in person and online.
Organized by Igud Hamelamdim and held at Darchei Menachem, the course brought together teachers and aspiring teachers for intensive training in the practical realities of chinuch, including classroom management, setting expectations, understanding students, and creating a productive classroom environment.
Led by veteran mechanech and trainer Rabbi Michel Rotenberg, the Gold Star course combines practical skills with a fundamental shift in the way teachers view themselves and their classrooms.
“It’s not just the skills,” one participant explained. “It’s a whole mindset change.”
He described how the course changed his thinking from worrying about whether students would listen to understanding that a teacher can confidently establish a classroom with clear expectations and boundaries.
“I really liked changing the way I think,” he said.
Another participant saw the practical value almost immediately while working in a day camp. A child repeatedly approached him saying, “I’m bored.” Previously, he would spend several minutes trying to come up with an activity for the child. After learning a different approach in the course, he simply asked, “What do you suggest?”
It worked.
For him, the experience demonstrated that the training was not merely theoretical, but provided tools that could be used immediately in real-life situations.
Other participants expressed similar feedback, describing the course as highly valuable and saying that every teacher should have the opportunity to participate.
The impact was also noticed by principals.
One principal shared that he personally knows four Rebbis who participated in the Gold Star course, including two members of his own staff who are in their first year of teaching.
All four told him that the course was the best preparation they received for entering the teaching profession. The two first-year Rebbis on his staff, he added, are among the strongest first-year teachers he has seen.
“I would love to take credit for that,” the principal wrote, “but the truth is that so much of their success comes from the strong foundation, mindset, and practical classroom skills they gained from this course.”
He strongly recommended that schools have their staffs participate in the program.
For Rabbi Reuven Mizrachi, who was instrumental in organizing this year’s course, the program carries a special personal significance. Years ago, Rabbi Mizrachi himself participated in the Gold Star course, an experience that had a lasting impact on his approach to chinuch and helped shape him into the highly regarded teacher he is today.
Having experienced its impact firsthand, Rabbi Mizrachi was eager to help bring the same opportunity to a new generation of mechanchim.
Participants also received a complete set of materials, including a personalized binder with each teacher’s name on the cover and booklets accompanying the various components of the program.
For Igud Hamelamdim, under the direction of Rabbi Avrohom Bluming, the Gold Star course is part of a broader mission of strengthening chinuch by investing in the teachers who have the greatest day-to-day influence on children.
“Our goal is to reach the core of chinuch by giving our teachers and future teachers the tools they need, and the perspective they need, to have the greatest possible impact on their talmidim,” Rabbi Bluming explained.
After 12 years, the response from participants continues to demonstrate the value of that approach.
They left with practical tools and a new perspective on the classroom — with the ultimate test beginning when they walk into their classrooms and put what they learned into practice.
That is when the real impact of Gold Star begins.
