At this year's Torah Umesorah convention, only one presenter
from the U.K. was invited: Rabbi Dovid Abenson, the U.K. and
Europe representative of the Framework Outside the
Framework remedial educational program.
Developed by Rabbi Zvi Zobin, the Framework Outside the
Framework system is unique in its holistic approach to
learning problems, focusing not only on perceptual
difficulties but investigating potential organic causes of
difficulties as well.
It is particularly significant that this program has been
brought to the notice of Torah Umesorah. Held in the scenic
Catskill mountains, the Torah Umesorah convention is the
largest annual gathering on chinuch in the United
States. Torah Umesorah is responsible for over 600 schools
with 170,000 pupils across North America.
Speaking to an attentive audience, Rabbi Abenson explained
that students of every age, every ability, and every
background can benefit from the Framework system. He
went on to say, "It is sad that `special' has become a
euphemism for `problematic' and `bad.' At Framework,
we put the darko of al pi darko back into
`special.' We show how to develop a unique educational
profile for each person, and we show how to adapt our
teaching to his needs."
Breaking the workshop into four sections, Rabbi Abenson began
with a video of a number of gedolim and
mechanchim attesting to the exceptional results the
Framework program has produced. He followed this with
actual examples of Framework Outside the Framework in
action, as well as an audio-visual presentation of individual
clients' successes. This included a special appearance of
Rabbi Abenson's Rebbe, Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, who has given
his personal brocho to Rabbi Abenson's efforts. A lively
question and answer session ended the workshop.
"We need to enable the talmid to enjoy and be
challenged by his learning," asserted Rabbi Abenson. "The
Framework program helps develop self-confidence and
improve self image by boosting essential learning skills
through objective feedback."
Rabbi Abenson's presentation provided an introduction to a
powerful learning tool. The Framework program's proven
successes and quick results -- often after as few as four
sessions -- generated so much enthusiasm that even before the
conference was over, Rabbi Abenson had been asked to return
to the US to train teachers in schools and to evaluate
students with difficulties.
The response is most gratifying not only to Rabbi Abenson,
but also to Rabbi Zobin who visits the U.K. periodically.
