I grew up in a Conservadox home and synogogue in the United States, going to shul every Shabbat and sitting next to my dad. The last time I read Haftorah was almost 50 years ago at my bat mitzvah which was on a Friday night. I remember memorizing the Haftorah and not really learning the טעמים.
I learned to read a פרק of Megillat Ester in the same way, and manage to read it each year for many years now. Because I am not musical, I never considered learning how to READ Haftorah or learn the trope. I am happy to be part of this project which will honor the “Susie Dvoskin trope” and which will be a personal challenge for me ( and for Susie – as she has taken me on as her student!). I worked in Psychiatric rehabilitation for more than 30 years and I was director of Occupational therapy Services at a Psychiatric Medical Center for many of them. I made my staff incorporate tradition as part of the therapeutic activities used with the patients because my motto was: “belonging to a culture promotes health”.