This article first appeared on MeaningfulMinute.org
I was recently sitting with a group of high school seniors attending Yeshivat Mevaseret (where I teach) this coming Elul, and to get to know them, I asked them about their high school experience. One young man responded, “I can’t stand my grade. So many NPCs.” The other guys nodded along knowingly. Another from a different high school responded, “Yeah we have some NPCs, but you guys have a ton.” It is important for Rabbeim to be relevant. As one very successful Mesivta Rebbi advised me at the beginning of my career, “The day you can’t relate to your talmidim is the day you retire.” To inspire the next generation, it is mission critical that we understand the world of our talmidim, the challenges they’re facing, and speak with them in their language. I did not know what an NPC was. Chazal say if we are embarrassed to ask questions we will not learn, so I asked them “What’s an NPC?” The chevra laughed but they patiently answered. “In a video game there are characters that you can engage with but cannot control. These characters are controlled by the computer rather than by a player. They are known as NPCs, or non-playable characters. An NPC often advances the game’s plot by citing scripted lines or assisting the playable characters. Covid was rough on some guys. They went into their room for 19 months and barely came out. They smoked, drank, binge-watched, and had little interaction with real people. When classes started back
Loading the rest…