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FROM TEACHERS
Dear David
Please accept my grateful thanks for your invaluable contribution to Leadership Week.
It was a privilege to watch you work and an extraordinary experience to witness the
progress of individual students as well as the bonding of the year group.
The evaluation forms completed by the students clearly show that your sessions were
the highlight of the Leadership Week for all of them and many have requested the opportunity
to work with you again next year.
Without your contribution, Leadership Week would not have been such a meaningful
and effective program. I have no doubt the students will enter their final year
at St Andrew's College as more sensitive individuals and as a more positive and
cohesive year group. This is due in no small part to what you showed them on those magical days.
Once again, congratulations on your professionalism and your profound effectiveness
as a communicator and a human being. I have no doubt popular acclaim will have
you back at St Andrew's College early in the new year.
Yours sincerely
Vicky A McLennan
Head of Senior College
New Zealand
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FROM STUDENTS
To Whom It May Concern
I was privileged to be able to attend Mr. David Garb's life-changing,
intriguing and remarkable seminar whilst in Grade 11 at Herzlia High School.
We were informed by our school that we will be having a seminar. Naturally,
most people were excited because it was a day off from classroom work. We
certainly didn't know what we were in for.
From the moment I walked into the classroom, I felt a real sense of
uncertainty as I did not know what to expect. Dave instilled a sense of
respect, dignity and honour amongst ourselves. During the seminar, some
cried, some had tears in their eyes and some were just speechless. It was
clear that Dave's seminar had reached places that had never been seen within
ourselves, places which we never dreamed of exploring. We dealt specifically
with conflict resolution and how to deal with issues that are underlying and
worrying us. Also problems we face in our high school years.
At the end of the day once we were at least 20 minutes late, their was a
sense of fulfilment and achievement. We all felt closer as a class and
definitely spoke about it for months to come. David taught us to get real
and confront problems, conflicts and things that need to be processed. The
group work really made us all open up and comfortable to speak our minds.
I was privileged to meet David never mind have a whole seminar with him. I
recommend this course highly to anyone who wants to grow and 'get real' - it
is truly something that will stay with you for life.
Thank you once again.
Nicholas
Cape Town, SA
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Dear Sir
I am writing this letter to you in connection to the "David Garb Seminar".
I think it is important for you to know how everyone in the Grade 11 year
group thoroughly enjoyed it- hence the letter! It is very difficult to explain
in writing just how amazing the seminar was. In my opinion, words will most
certainly do it a disservice but I will try as best as possible.
I think it is safe to say that David connected well with everyone in
the group. You got the impression that he was able to understand us,
knew exactly what we were thinking and knew exactly what problems, us
as teenagers are going through without dramatizing it. He established
a relationship with us all that we felt free to speak without feeling
self-conscious of what we had to say.
For me personally, it has honestly had a deep impact on me. It made us
look inside ourselves and ask ourselves the obvious questions such as:
What are our passions? What are our fears? Our class (11B) has definitely
bonded even more since this experience. I really feel that we are much closer
and I look at people in a different light. All I can say is "WOW" thank you for
giving all of us the opportunity to experience something so unique and special.
It has really touched me in such a way!!! I strongly suggest that if possible,
this once in a life time opportunity be given to the Grade 11s in the years to come!
Yours Sincerely
JacquiC
South Africa
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I am writing to you in connection with the seminar held by Mr. David Garb.
As you know I am in grade 11. 1 am thankful for this seminar my only regret
is that it has been so long delayed! This letter is coming as a plea to introduce
Mr. Garb's seminar earlier and more frequently. In one year's time I shall be
leaving this school and there are certain realities I will have to face about
the things that I have been taught:
The skills that were imparted to me by Mr. Garb are not only useful for my future
life, they are crucial! I, on behalf of the members of grade 11B and myself, urge
you to make use of Mr. Garb's talents on a regular basis and a frequent one at
that. Never before have I witnessed camaraderie between my classmates as I saw
last Wednesday.
Math, Science, Computers, History, Biology, etc. all of these subjects are important.
I doubt any degree in those fields will prepare one more than the above-mentioned seminar.
It is common knowledge that I am a skeptic and I have extensive experience with
psychotherapy and derivatives thereof. Yet I believe save for my birth and learning
to read, there has never been a more impacting situation than Mr. Garbs seminar I attended.
Once again I urge you to consider this request. I also advise you to prepare
yourself for more letters of this kind. I thank you for introducing the opportunity
of the seminar to us in the first place and for your understanding.
Yours truly
Justen
South Africa
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A great sage once said, " If I am not for myself, who will be for me..."
I think these are the words that have impacted me the most from today's
lesson in life. Words cannot express my appreciation for sending the
whole of grade 11 on the "Getting to know yourself..." seminar.
I have been on many of these seminars and have been to many motivational
lectures and trust me when I say that not one of them have come anywhere
close to this one. I am still finding it hard to believe that the people
who opened up and shared with us their thoughts where the same people I
have grown up with and whom I consider to be some of my best friends.
I think this course made us realise that how privileged we are to be in
a school like Herzlia, I am almost sure that no other school in the Cape
has or is going to send an entire year group consisting of+- 150 impressionable
minds on such a crucial course. It taught us many skills that can help us to
build and re-enforce friendships and also to look at things in life with a
different perspective, be it at home or in school.
I think this course could not have come at a better time in our lives, we
are at a stage where we are going through a lot of stress and I think we
have all blown things out of proportion. I also think it was the right age
for such a course, however I do think the course should be a day longer or
even half a day. I think that it should be repeated next year just to see
the progress, impressions and even new friendships it created amongst the
pupils. The seminar would be more effective if teachers and possibly parents
of the school went on it, I think they are the ones that could benefit the
most from it.
As you are aware we students do not have the longest concentration span and
usually take such programs as a free day and a waste of time, but to see a
class eager to stay at school after the bell rang just goes to show what an
impression David has left on his students.
Thanking you once again
Anton G
South Africa
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On behalf of my class, I would like to thank you or whoever it may concern
for organizing the few days we could spend with David Garb. I personally enjoy the
sessions with David very much and I think that every high school class should spend
at least a couple of days with David each year.
Brendon L
New Zealand
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The following are some comments I collected from my class:
" It was a good thing to learn more about myself and about the class"
"It was excellent – I really enjoyed it." "I find Dave Garb an excellent person
to work with and overall its good for the class."
"The time with David has made me come to some really important conclusions
about the class and myself. It definitely helped the class in general."
"I think the courses we have done have all been very worthwhile and I always
feel much more focused afterwards."
"I thought the topic was very appropriate – it was great to be real and really
talk about life. We should have a lot more of this
stuff."
"Great, great, great!
I enjoy going out of my comfort zone and listening to people talk about things
you usually don’t hear them talk about. " "I had one of the best days of the year"
FROM PARENTS
Letter from ‘The Grapevine' -
Spending Mothers Day doing the Dave Garb Workshop was perhaps the finest gift I
could have wished for this year.
David took us on a very challenging and creative journey towards ourselves: so
that we could rest assured in the knowledge that setting boundaries for our children
did not require endless reading of child-rearing manuals but just a listening to our
very own hearts.
By acknowledging and learning what
it was that we truly felt we could then creatively and mirthfully set the boundaries
necessary for our children's well
being.
Thank you to those who organised it and thank you again to Dave for a wonderful and inspiring
workshop,
Mirjam Macleod
Parent
Cape Town
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