Breaking Out of Old Patterns
Three years ago, while hopscotching from one educational blog to another, I came across the tail end of an interview in which an innovative teacher was asked, “If there were [...]
Chanukah: Lighting Up the Youtube Screen
It's that time of the year. Everywhere we go, at least within the United States, we hear Christmas music - sometimes written by a Jew- playing. Some of it is [...]
Classroom Management Begins with Creating Community
by Jessica Shamout - Classroom management begins with creating a positive learning community. A little preparation makes a world of difference for keeping students engaged and following directions. Here are [...]
Of Grades and Judaics – Responding to the Call to “Pursue Distinction”
By Rabbi Shmuel Feld In her recent call to “Pursue Distinction,” Manette Mayberg made an appeal to Jewish schools with a radical premise. She asked, “If we agree that we [...]
Finding the Good in Students
By Joel Lurie Grishaver In Pirke Avot, 1:15 we find this famous text. Shammai says: “Make of thy Torah study a fixed practice; say little and do much; and greet [...]
Teaching as Giving Credit
by Joel Lurie Grishaver Here is a very simple text that says a lot, more than we at first think it does. In the Talmud, Ta’anit 15b, we are told, [...]
Teaching as Friendship
By Joel Lurie Grishaver We all know that the Jewish tradition values teachers and teaching. What I intend to this year is look at Jewish sources that can inform our [...]
Hebrew Choice and Possibilities: Taking a Cue from Your Learners
This is the second in a series of articles exploring the diversity of Hebrew learning strategies at congregational schools. At Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, educators follow two guiding principles when it [...]
Hebrew Choice and Possibilities: Now More Than Ever
By David Behrman This is the first in a series of articles exploring the diversity of Hebrew learning goals options for congregational schools. We live, we are told, in times [...]
Jewish Education to Help Us Thrive
By Dr. Bill Robinson There is a new paradigm shift emerging in the field of Jewish education. It is one predicted in 2013 by my teacher and colleague, Dr. Jonathan [...]
Advancing Tolerance in Jerusalem: THE TEACHERS’ ROOM
Israeli Muslim, Christian, and Jewish educators participating in ‘The Teachers’ Room’ at HUC-JIR. (Photo HUC-JIR) “Teachers in Jerusalem are on the front lines,” explains Dr. Michal Muszkat-Barkan, Director of the [...]
The Power of Aggada in Classrooms, Communities, and Life
by Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger - [This is the first article in a series about the role of storytelling in Jewish Education, written by grantees of The Covenant Foundation.] Division [...]