When Jewish Play is More Than Just Fun 1

David Bryfman

Zechariah the prophet writes about peace and prosperity coming to Zion.

Thus says the Lord: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. (Zechariah 8:4–5)

Allow me to humbly suggest that Zechariah almost got it right. True redemption will only come when old men and old women, together with boys and girls are playing in the streets of Jerusalem.

Who’s in Charge? 2

Making Hebrew School More Like Summer Camp

David Bryfman

I frequently get asked the question of how to make Hebrew School more like summer camp. Good question! After all summer camp is fun and Hebrew School is, well, at least in our collective narrative – not. If only life were so easy.

There are of course some core elements of summer camp that can’t be replicated in a conventional complementary school environment. First and foremost summer camp takes place in the summer, and for any of you have waited in carpool on those dreary winter evenings you know exactly what I mean. Second, by and large summer camp is voluntary. Very rarely do children, especially older ones, or those returning to their second plus summer, feel as if “they have to go.” And third, and this is not a flippant comment, summer camp is often deemed so successful largely because it is not school.

Learning, Doing, Being 4

Jewish Education and the Prefrontal Cortex

Joel Lurie Grishaver

I was at a gathering put together by the Covenant Foundation where I wound up in a small group with Lisa Colton who told me that I should know about Adele Diamond and instantly sent me a link to a podcast called Learning, Doing, Being: A New Science of Education from a November program on American Public Radio. Yesterday, a couple of months later, I listened to the podcast and was blown away.

Suddenly neuroscience was backing up everything I was saying. I have been arguing in my column/blog The Gris Mill for several years (1) that complementary schools are not only important to the Jewish future, but to the overall development of individual students. And (2) that schools need to evolve their process to maximize not only their Jewish impact, but their overall educational excellence. That excellence can be sold to parents. This article will expand in this direction.

They Shoot Teachers, Don’t They? 1

Joel Lurie Grishaver

Here they are again, folks! These wonderful, wonderful kids! Still struggling! Still hoping! As the clock of fate ticks away, the dance of destiny continues! The marathon goes on, and on, and on! HOW LONG CAN THEY LAST? (They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065088/)

Now it’s open season on teachers and their profession. Many states are trying to end collective bargaining, due process rights, seniority, and other job protections to make it easier to fire teachers and to retain novices. A large contingent of National Board Certified teachers are planning a march on Washington in July to express their opposition to these attacks on their profession.  (NYTIMES, http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/06/why-blame-the-teachers/it-started-with-no-child-left-behind )

They Shoot Horses Don’t They was a movie about the depression that looks at marathon dances, people who danced in competition until they were the last couple to drop. It is a sad film about the levels people will go to survive. Teachers have become today’s marathon dancers, struggling to keep on their feet.

Hebrew School as Camp 4

Joel Lurie Grishaver

School Metaphors

Schools use metaphors to know who they are. For a long time the “Hebrew School” (Congregational, Religious School, etc.) was imprinted on the American public school that in turn was rooted in the industrial revolution’s platoon system. Rows, textbooks, blackboards, talk of classroom management, homework, recess, and the other trappings of public schools were seen as optimal models for Jewish learning. Just as a generation of public school transformed Jews into Americans, American Jewry decided to use the same technology to Jewdify these new immigrants. Look at the work of Dr. Samson S. Benderly.

Similarly, Cherie Koller-Fox’s adaptation of the “open classroom” model (that had its ten minutes in the sun) gave birth ultimately to CAJE and a whole series of innovative educational strategies. Similarly, Nechama Skolnick Moskowitz and the URJ’s involvement in Understanding By Design shifted planning and assessment in many Jewish settings.