Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 30, 2011 Page: 2 of 24
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Page 2
Jewish Herald-Voice
June 30, 2011
Up Close
JHV: KATIE SHAFFER
JCC ESL class: (front) Marina Kuno, Irena Levina, Dalila Belenkaya, Sophia Khotimlaynskaya, Florensa Skoblova
and Elena Kozlova; (back) Raisa Tonkonogy, Susan Ganc, Yevgenia Braslavsky, Elena Sliozberg, Yakov Barzakh,
teacher Edith Zinn, Valentina Sukholutsky, Nikolay Vaserman, Mikhail Gurevich and Yuriy Simenov.
“She has been such a dedicated, committed volunteer,
and generous with her time, money and love.”
- Gayle Rockoff
ESL teacher retires
Passion and mitzvot filled the classroom
By KATIE SHAFFER
Edith Zinn, beloved English-as-a-second-
language teacher at the Jewish Community Center,
retired at the end of May, after more than 20 years
of service to the community
When Jewish families emigrated from the
former Soviet Union, many of the older adults
found it more challenging to learn English than
the rest of their relatives, and thus enrolled in
ESL classes at the JCC. An eager volunteer, Zinn
combined both kindness and passion to create
a class that not only taught language, but also
immersed its students in rich Jewish and American
culture.
“She’s very detailed with the class that she has
taught at the Center,” said Shirley Chaskin, a close
friend of Zinn’s. “Not only did she teach her Russian
students English, language and grammar, she also
spent hours and hours every day developing lesson
plans. She celebrated holidays and taught them
American and Jewish values.”
The now-86-year-old Zinn formed a strong bond
with each and every one of her students, and
the students felt like one big family. Her gentle
and patient nature helped her pupils to excel in
a variety of ways. She often spent time teaching
her students about certain Jewish holidays and
helping them to learn Hebrew songs.
“She has been such a dedicated, committed
volunteer, and generous with her time, money
and love,” said friend Gayle Rockoff. “She has
nurtured this group for over 20 years, and we are
so appreciative.”
Zinn’s last class was held May 31, complete with
food, flowers and plenty of memories to go around.
The students honored the volunteer, who had
taught them so much, and were heartbroken, yet
eternally grateful, as their beloved teacher retired.
“If I could use only one word to describe
Edith, it would be altruistic - a person unselfishly
concerned about, and devoted to, the welfare of
others. That captures the essence of the kind of
person Edith is,” said Chaskin.
“She rejoices with you on your triumphs,
comforts you when you need moral support and
grieves with you during times of tragedy. She
has great sensitivity of feeling and compassion.
She validates your strengths and overlooks your
imperfections. And, seeks no recognition for any
of her kindnesses,” Chaskin said.
Although she no longer is a teacher at the
JCC, Zinn’s contributions will live on. The entire
community is deeply grateful for the work that
she has done over the past two decades, and
her students never will forget her passion and
dedication to the class. □
Live and Learn
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Arts and Entertainment.......17
Community .............14
Community Calendar..........7
Editorial.................8
Federation...............5
Food and Dining...........22
Health.................24
In other words.............9
Marketplace.............19
Obituaries...............20
On Campus..............10
Schools................10
Shabbat Shalom...........13
Simchas...............11
Singles.................7
Sports................18
Synagogues.............13
Up Close................2
World..................6
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 30, 2011, newspaper, June 30, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth543964/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .