Reply To: Going off the Derech

aries2756-He had a lisp, and spoke a very Americanized Hebrew, so the kids made fun of him. We didn’t even know about it until he started acting out in school, and then it came out. He went for speech therapy, and he got rid of the lisp. But the kids continued to make fun of him for years! The kids weren’t physically abusive, it was more of an emotional thing, since my son was desperate to fit in, but they gave him the feeling that he didn’t. He also had a very tough RY, who was very punitive, and non trusting. Most of my son’s class left the yeshiva over the years, with only 7 kids remaining. He expressed interest in taking a karate class, but when we tried to pursue it, he didn’t seem to want to follow through. Yes, the army is going to be an option if he isn’t in a yeshiva. He hasn’t registered yet, I don’t think that happens before age 17. Not sure what his thoughts are about the army, he used to say that he doesn’t want to go, but some days he’ll say the opposite. He seems unsure..