Kavod for a Teacher Who Cares - Hebrew College Today

ROSE BRONSTEIN'S STUDENTS HONOR THEIR BELOVED MENTOR

BY JODI WERNER GREENWALD
Photo by Ben Harmon

When Paula Korman MAJS'93, saw a segment on the Today Show reuniting students with teachers who made a difference in their lives, she immediately picked up the phone to call one person: Rose Bronstein P'41, BJEd'45, MHL'70.

"You made me feel like I mattered," she told her Hebrew College teacher, adviser and mentor. Bronstein responded, "That was my intention! You still matter, and you always will."

A dedicated Jewish educator for 51 years who, now retired, still remains in regular contact with a large number of her students, Bronstein has a way of making them feel like they can fulfill their potential. And most of them do.

"I didn't know I could be a teacher until she said so," Korman said. "She still encourages me, to this day."

A Jewish special needs educator at Children's Hospital Boston, Korman noticed that in each job she has been asked to teach reading and language. Though she wanted further training in this area, she at first hesitated at the thought of going back to school. Then she spoke with Bronstein, who encouraged her all the way. Now she is conducting post-graduate work in reading and language at Wheelock College.

Korman joins more than 100 of Bronstein's students, family and friends who have gained inspiration from their mentor and now want to give back. Over the summer they began contributing funds to create the Rose Bronstein Fellowship, which will support students enrolled in degree programs and commemorate Bronstein's 80th birthday.

The fellowship goal is $100,000; in the first three months, her long list of supporters have contributed nearly $40,000.

"The fact that so many people feel fondly for her is a compliment to her, and deservedly so," says Aaron Landau BJEd '65, known at Hebrew College as Irwin Aaron Landau, a former elementary school student of Bronstein's at Beth El Hebrew School in Dorchester.

Now a high school teacher in La Mesa, California, Landau joined Bronstein and her sister, Isabelle z'l, for a Passover seder in their home before Isabelle died three years ago. Today he regularly calls Bronstein and visits when he's in the Boston area or she visits family in Los Angeles.

"My mother died when I was 12, so in many ways, Rose became a surrogate mother to me," he says. "She was one of the last people who remembers my mother and father. She's a link to my past and a favorite person of mine."

On November 5, more than 50 of Bronstein's students and friends gathered with Bronstein's niece, Judi Resnick, and cousin, Nancy Smith, for a special celebration of Bronstein's monumental birthday. Directly following a meeting of the Boston Chug Ivri, a Hebrew discussion group Bronstein coordinates, the reception was attended by colleagues, administrators and former members of the Women's Association. With personal anecdotes, songs, even the cake featuring messages in Hebrew, it was a day to remember.

"I'm still living in the aura of that wonderful event," Bronstein says. "So many of the messages were in Hebrew, which made me very happy."

Half a century ago, a love of the Hebrew language and the desire to instill in others the importance of Jewish continuity sparked Bronstein's remarkable teaching career. It began at Beth El Hebrew School in Dorchester, where she was assistant principal and taught the intensive elementary school curriculum for 20 years. With her colleague Sidney Hillson, she then came to Hebrew College in 1965 and stayed for 31 years, influencing more than three generations of students as Prozdor teacher, lecturer in Jewish education and supervisor of student teaching.

"Of all the significant personalities who have shaped the fabric of this institution and have had a profound impact on hundreds and even thousands of people, no person has been more significant than Rose Bronstein," says President David Gordis.

"It's absolutely amazing to me that so many students whom I taught those years ago have remembered me," Bronstein says. "They have shown me that what I tried to do meant something to them.

"I thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart for their wonderful generosity. I am so touched."

When fully funded, the Rose Bronstein Fellowship will be the newest addition to the merit-based Hebrew College Fellows Program. To contribute, please contact David Chivo, 617-559-8727, dchivo@hebrewcollege.edu.