schmoozED

Mock Trials on Shabbat

2009-05-10T04:06:00.002-04:00

So your school gets into a national competition, but the finals takes place on Shabbat.
Here's a thorny issue for an Orthodox day school...

If memory serves, there was a story about a young Dr. Tova Lichtenstein having difficulties taking finals at Harvard on Shavu'ot, and the school turning down Rav Soloveitchik's request to allow her to do so (remember that the Rav was the Chief Rabbi of Boston).

The contemporary story appears here.

The Illiteracy Epidemic

2009-02-22T06:20:00.003-05:00

I was asked to respond to an article by Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster that appeared in the recent issue of the Yeshiva College student newspaper,the Commentator. Entitled "The Illiteracy Epidemic -- Is there a Scandal of OrthodoxIndifference?" Dr. Aster questions the success of day school education in imparting basic text skills in its graduates.

My response appeared on the hirhurim blog, and I am cross-posting it here.

I invite responses from Lookjed readers.

Shalom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The illiteracy epidemic

We all know the inspiring story of Rabbi Akiva who reached the age of 40 as an illiterate ignoramus, yet through dedicated effort succeeded in becoming a Torah scholar of renown and a leader of the Jewish people. A less well-known story about Rabbi Akiva is his personal testimony that before he began to study, he had a negative - indeed, a violent - attitude towards those who did learn Torah. When describing his youthful desire to meet a Torah scholar so that he would have the opportunity to injure him, he specifically said that he would bite him in a manner that would break his bones (see Pesahim 49b).

Thus, the shepherd Akiva had two strikes against him. Not only was he an ignoramus, he also had a profound hatred for the institution of Torah study.

What drove a person of this character to submit to the ignominy of studying the alphabet as an adult, sitting in the same classroom with small children? What made him change his attitude and his ways? According to numerous stories in the Talmud and Midrash it was his devotion to his beloved Rachel, the woman he married.

The success of Rabbi Akiva's personal story notwithstanding, I do not think that employing attractive women to encourage young men to study Torah is a viable long-term plan to encourage Jewish literacy. Nevertheless, there are important lessons for educators in these stories.

Jewish schools - in every generation, but especially in an era of openness and choices - have a crucial responsibility concurrent with their job of teaching Jewish literacy and texts. They have to also teach them to value, love and desire to participate in Jewish life (in educational jargon we say that we need to get students to develop in both the cognitive realm and the affective realm).

In his article, Shawn Zelig Aster laments the lack of preparedness that he finds in students entering his class after 12 years of day school education. Of course, many of his students have had another year (or two) of study before they embark descend on the Yeshiva University campus. What did they do during their year in Israel, which was, in theory, dedicated in its entirety to the study of Jewish texts? My friend and colleague Yoel Finkelman set out to study this very question, and in a research study that he tantalizingly titled"Virtual Volozhin" examined what goes on in those programs. What he found was that many of these institutions put more effort into socializing their students into the value system of the Jewish community than they do actually teaching them to study on their own. (Don't just take my word for it. You can see Finkelman's study at http://www.atid.org/journal/journal00/Finkelman.doc ). Perhaps I should mention that in my own study on one-year Israel programs (see http://www.yasharbooks.com/Flipping.html ), most of the questions thatI asked related to issues of belief and practice - which showed marked"improvement" over the year - rather than accomplishments in text study. One question did ask how students graded themselves with regard to understanding a Hebrew Gemara shiur - 12% rated themselves as "excellent" at the beginning of the year; at the end of the year 16% gave themselves an "excellent" score. I would have hoped for better.

Which of those two goals is more important? Which responsibility is primary? Given a choice, should schools emphasize the mind or the soul? For different schools in different communities, for different teachers working with different students, the answers will vary. It is possible that a school that chooses to define its vision and goals as developing a student's Jewish identity, producing graduates who are committed to Jewish values, to Israel, etc., may be successful in attaining its objectives, even if it does not produce students who can parse a Jewish text. (I may or may not choose to send my child to such a school.) It would be irresponsible to say that "real" knowledge is the abilityto study Jewish texts and that belief and a sense of connection with Judaism is merely window dressing. Current educational theory recognizes that "intelligence" comes in all shapes and sizes, and that the ability to interact with others or to reflect on oneself intelligently (interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences), for example, must be valued together with the traditional modalities of literacy (reading, riting, rithmetic) - see Howard Gardner's work formore information on this - http://www.howardgardner.com/MI/mi.html .

Nevertheless, Aster's question is a good one. Given that we expect all of our students to learn basic concepts of literacy, after 12 years+ of day school education "Why can't Chani (or Moshe) read?" And more importantly, what should we do about it now?

There are many reasons why day school students don't learn to read,write and understand Hebrew.
* Americans don't learn foreign languages.
* Learning a language is difficult and time-consuming. It's a turn off (and, after all, we want to turn these kids on).
* Since it is hard to learn Hebrew, our community has made many basic Hebrew books available in English translation.
* Now that there are English translations, learning Hebrew is not all that essential.
* Since everyone learns from English translations, it is OK that my child's teacher can't read Hebrew in the original.

I am sure you can come up with more. Of course, as Aster argues, any short term advantages of this system will become disadvantages when the more mature student realizes that he or she is functionally illiterate.

In many day schools today there in no culture of speaking Hebrew or of seeing knowledge of Hebrew language as a value. Responsible educators should see that as a challenge - there is a need to change the culture in order to accomplish both the cognitive and long-term affective the goals of Jewish schools. Difficult as it is, changing the culture of education is something that can be done. If KIPP schools can take traditionally low-achieving inner city kids and turn them into successful learners by engaging parents and students and creating aculture of learning (see http://www.kipp.org/ ), our schools can do this with Hebrew language. Learning to read Hebrew should begin early and be presented as something challenging, but attainable. Today there are a variety of available systems for teaching Hebrew in the classroom that make use of current pedagogic methods of language acquisition.

Effective knowledge of Hebrew (and I am aware of those who claim that modern Ivrit and the language of Tanakh cannot be compared, but that is not our discussion at the moment) is essential for enjoying learning. I recall having the privilege of attending a course in pedagogy given by Nehama Leibowitz. After a few classes, a woman who taught 5th grade in a day school in the mid-West asked Nehama why her students enjoyed their secular studies classes so much more than their limudei kodesh classes. In answer to Nehama's question of when they started learning Humash, the teacher proudly said that they started in kindergarten. Nehama's response was that such children would never love learning Torah, since they never had the opportunity to learn its language. Her recommendation was that they should not start learning Humash until 2nd grade, devoting their time prior to that in learning the relatively small number of shorashim that make up all the words in Sefer Bereshit. Only when they could independently read and understand would they enjoy their learning.

A while back, I received a post on Lookjed, the Jewish educators'discussion list that I moderate as part of my work at the Lookstein Center at Bar-Ilan University. In it, an 11th grade rebbe in a modern Orthodox school described what he did in his classroom, and turned to the list for reactions to how he dealt with the student who admitted that he was functionally illiterate (to see the discussion, go to http://lookstein.org/lookjed/read.php?1,1310,1368 ). Most of thepeople who responded excoriated him for his willingness to test the student on themes and ideas, ignoring his deficiencies in simple reading and text recognition. While the author of the post took the criticism well, I felt that it was somewhat unfair, as he would have been hard-pressed to undo years of cultural messages and missed opportunities in the space of a twice weekly 45 minute Humash class.

Shawn Zelig Aster's call for a rededication of resources and attention to teaching Hebrew in elementary and high schools, however, is not being made from a high school classroom, but from Yeshiva University, whose abilities and resources far outstrip anything that a local yeshiva high school might have. Much as today's elementary school students deserve better training and preparation so that they will beable to feel comfortable studying traditional texts and participating in the mesorah, today's adult students deserve no less. Perhaps YU should offer serious ulpan classes while its freshman are students in Israel, or require that its associated one-year Israel programs do so. Maybe there should be a language prerequisite for attending Bible classes in YU, as well as remedial courses for those students whose abilities are not sufficient or for students who recognize that they have missed out on some of the basics. In the intensive Talmud programs it might be worthwhile to offer shiurim for students who need to work on their basic skills, even after years of day school study, and to make sure that the number of students in a given shiur remains small enough that individual attention can be paid to every student.

These kind of efforts may make a real difference. After all, it is never too late to learn. With the proper impetus, even someone who without the proper background can become a Torah scholar. Just ask Rabbi Akiva.

Education Is All in Your Mind

2009-02-10T15:12:00.002-05:00

Food for thought - here's an excerpt:
<<
Just telling students that their intelligence is under their own control improves their effort on school work and performance. In two separate studies, Mr. Aronson and others taught black and Hispanic junior high school students how the brain works, explaining that the students possessed the ability, if they worked hard, to make themselves smarter. This erased up to half of the difference between minority and white achievement levels.
>>

See the whole article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/opinion/08nisbett.html

Sports in Jewish schools

2009-02-06T02:09:00.002-05:00

It is not very often that I am moved by a story in the newspaper that describes sport competitions, but as a Jewish educator, this one made me proud.

Here's an excerpt:
<<
At SAR High School’s recent David Cooper Memorial Tournament, the Riverdale school hosted girls’ yeshivas from Toronto, Memphis, Houston, Kansas City and Philadelphia. The visitors, far from home, had almost no fans at the games.And then the stands were full and loud for the visitors. Several grades in SAR’s elementary school each adopted a visiting high school, dressing in their colors, waving signs and banners. One of the visiting coaches said, “Where did you get kids like these?”
>>

"Classroom Teaching" podcast on professional development

2009-02-02T16:49:00.000-05:00

This week, Classroom Teaching discusses tackling professional development. Rome wasn't built in a day, and we don't become masters of our trade in a year. A good approach to professional growth is to take baby steps for the short term while maintaining a long term perspective. This podcast includes some suggestions for choosing specific areas of focused growth.

To hear the episode or subscribe, go to http://www.lookstein.org/podcasts/.

Goings On

2009-01-29T09:34:00.008-05:00

As the economy tanks, the media is reporting a lot of scrambling in Jewish educational organizations. Some Jewish day schools are already feeling the economic situation, while others are expecting to next academic year, in the form of decreased enrollment and increased tuition subsidization requests. Some top Jewish education stories being talked about these days: Hebrew charter schools, broad tuition cuts, mergers, and "GED"-ing out.

Oznia: A Blog Of Israel Things

2009-01-26T05:08:00.000-05:00

Written by high school students, for high school students, Oznia is a collective of young bloggers and activists, dedicated to gathering exciting, engaging and challenging nuggets about Israel and Zionism.

The name "Oznia" is Hebrew for "earbud" and expresses our goal of getting students "plugged in" to the amazing diversity and complexity of Israel.

Classroom Teaching looks at the relationship between Judaism and thinking skills.

2009-01-18T16:05:00.002-05:00

This week, Classroom Teaching looks at the relationship between Judaism and thinking skills. Are we required to teach our students higher level thinking skills?

To hear or subscribe to the podcast, go to http://www.lookstein.org/podcasts/

Israel in Gaza - educational resources

2009-01-15T07:33:00.002-05:00

Both of these resources should be of interest to educators discussing Israel's "Cast Lead" campaign with students:

1. From Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz of the JEC in Cleveland

The JECC has posted to its website an Immediate Response Curriculum called, "Israel: Connecting with our Heads, Hands and Hearts (Gaza, 2009)." This is a guide that does not have easy or pat responses to share with our students, for as you know, the situation Israel finds itself in is complex. This Response Curriculum contains links to many resources so that teachers may find the ones that best help them educate themselves and then find ways to open the conversation with their students.

The curriculum may be found here: http://www.jecc.org/Curriculum/Response-Curriculum.htm or can be accessed by link from the JECC home page: http://www.jecc.org. We have discovered from past experience with our Response Curriculum that those who have trouble accessing the document are probably not using Internet Explorer ... so IE is the way to go. We have also learned that some people who have been to our website before are linking to an older version. If the Israel curriculum is not in the box at the very top of the page, just hit refresh and you’ll get the Gaza version.

Finally, in honor of the Inauguration on the 20th, you may find some materials in our Election 2008 curriculum to be helpful (also linked from the same webpage).Please feel free to forward this email to any listservs or educators who may find it of use.Our hearts and prayers are with Israel, as well as with all innocent civilians caught in the conflict.

Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz
Senior Director
Director of Curriculum Resources
Jewish Education Center of Cleveland

2. From Hillel Zaremba of CAMERA

As Israel continues ‘Operation Cast Lead,’ CAMERA has developed curricular materials for teachers who wish to engage their students about the conflict and the events and issues surrounding it. “FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on Operation Cast Lead: A Teacher’s Guide” is filled with concise information as well as links to articles and videos, appropriate for students in grades 7-12.

The material addresses the following questions:
· Where and what is Gaza?
· What is Hamas?
· Is Hamas the legitimate government of Gaza?
· Where and what is Sderot?
· Who is responsible for starting the current round of fighting?
· What is Israel trying to achieve in Gaza?
· Is Israel reacting in a disproportionate manner?
· Who is responsible for civilian casualties among the Palestinians in Gaza?
· Is Israel allowing a humanitarian crisis to develop in Gaza?
· How is the fighting being covered by the media?

All the video material referenced in the FAQs is only accessible via the Internet so you must be connected to the Web to use it.
The material is accessible by clicking
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=56&x_miscitem=22.

You may also wish to access our main Web site at www.camera.org as well as our blog “Snapshots” http://blog.camera.org/ for regular updates and analyses of the conflict and its coverage in the media.

Finally, for those wishing more historical background on the Arab-Israeli conflict, turn to Module 4 (“A Brief History of Modern Israel) on the “Eyes on Israel” curriculum CD which you should have already received.

Hillel Zaremba
Curriculum Coordinator
hillelz@camera.org

A story from Gaza

2009-01-10T15:22:00.004-05:00

I received this from a friend whose son is serving as an Israeli army chaplain with the troops in Gaza. I believe that it can be used in the classroom as a "current events" message, as a discussion of the laws of Shabbat or the laws of the kohen accompanying the troops to war (see Devarim 20:1-9) or as part of a Hebrew lesson.

The Hebrew story is followed by a slightly shorter English translation.

:הנה סיפור משבת האחרונה עם כניסת החיילים לעזה שסיפר לי הערב אחי שמשרת כרב צבאי בקבע

לאחר שבמשך יום השבת שהו קבוצת רבנים (כשלושה במספר), בבסיס מרוחק מה מהגבול, יחד עם מספר מאות חיילים שעמדו לקראת הכניסה הקרקעית, והעבירו את היום בשיעורים ושיחות חיזוק ועידוד, התלבטו הרבנים עם עליהם להצטרף לנסיעת החיילים מהבסיס אל החניון בו עמדו הכלים בשביל לעודד את רוחם עם היציאה

לאחר התדינות ביניהם הוחלט - בהססנות מה - להצטרף

הרבנים הביאו עמם ספר תורה מתוך כוונה לארגן תפילת מנחה, וכאשר רצו לרדת מהאוטובוס, אחי ביקש ממאן דהו להעביר אליו את הספר (כדי להקליש את בעיית ההעברה לתוך כרמלית), ואולם לאחר שירד מהאוטובוס וחכה למטה זמן מה והספר בושש לבוא, הסתכל חזרה פנימה וראה כי החיילים מעבירים את הספר מיד ליד מתחבקים עמו ואינם מרפים. לאחר מכן, עמדו יחד שניים מהרבנים, כאשר קבוצת חיילים ניגשת אליהם (הם בלטו בשטח כרבנים מזוקנים האחד אוחז ספר תורה בידו, והשני עטור בטלית) ובקשו לקבל מהם ברכה. היות וחלוקת ברכות אינה חלק רגיל משגרת יומו, סיפרו לחיילים כי יברך אותם בברכה אותה הוא מברך את בניו כל ליל שבת. לתדהמתו התחילו לגשת אליו כעוד ועוד חיילים, עד שהכמות היתה גדולה כל כך (לדבריו ברובם חבר'ה מסורתיים, הביינישים שבין החיילים פחות התענינו בברכתם), ולא יכלו יותר לתת ברכות אישיות. פרשו את הטלית, כבשמחת תורה, מעל ראש הנאספים ובירכו את הציבור בבת אחת

כמה מהלוחמים נגשו אליהם ואמרו להם בהתרגשות כי נוכחותם הרבנית במקום מחזקת אותם ונותנת להם כוח, ואחד אף הוסיף כי ברכתם חשובה ומשמעותית עבורו יותר מכל השיחות המקצועיות ששמעו לקראת ההכנה למבצע

עם השקיעה, כאשר התחילו טורי החיילים לצעוד בשיירה רגלית אל תוך הרצועה, נעמדו הרבנים ליד נקודת היציאה עם ספר התורה בידם, וזעקו לעבר החיילים העוברים לידם מילות עידוד וברכה (ה' עמכם, יברככם ה', ודברים נוספים בהשראת דברי הרמב"ם על הפחד במלחמה), החיילים מצדם חלפו על פניהם ונשקו לספר התורה שבידם

!אשריכם ישראל

אחי בקש לשמוע את דעתי על הסיפור מבחינת הלכות שבת, שכן היום הם קיבלו נזיפה מהרב החטיבתי על כך שהורו לעצמם

היתר להביא עמם ספר תורה לנסיעה שכל כולה בעייתית בעיניו מהחל ועד כלה (הוא לא קיבל, למשל, את טענתם כי יש להשוות את נסיעתם להצטרפותו של הבעל ליולדת הנוסעת בשבת לבית החולים).לאור דברי הרב הפיקודי אחי הרגיש נקיפות מצפון, שכן על אף שידע בבירור כי נהג בהתאם להשקפתו של הרב הצבאי הראשי הרב רונצקי,לא היה בטוח שנהג כשורה.חיזקתי את ידיו ואמרתי לו בלי לגמגם שלדעתי הסיפור כולו מרגש והינו בעיני קידוש ה' גדול

?האם מישהו סבור אחרת

השלמה קטנה לסיפור: כשדיברנו שוב אתמול, אחי סיפר כי אותו רב בכיר שהתנגד למעשה, דחה את הטענה כי בכך חיזקו את

ידי החיילים, באומרו ש"חיילי צה"ל חזקים מספיק והם לא צריכים שתחזקו אותם".בהמשך לכך סיפר אחי, כי פגש ביום ראשון בבסיס, את השליש החטיבתי במילואים, אותו הכיר מהסדיר, והתפתחה ביניהם שיחה

השליש שמשמש באזרחות כחשב כלכלי במסגרת מקצועית כלשהי, הרצה לאחי על המימד הכלכלי של הוצאות הצבא השונות, והזכיר דרך אגב כדוגמא, כי את מערכת הרבנות הצבאית קשה להצדיק מבחינה כלכלית. ואולם, מיד לאחר מכן, הפטיר שגם על נקודה זו יש מקום לד. השליש סיפר, שלקראת יציאת החיילים לתוך הרצועה, הוא הסתובב בין החיילים ושוחח עמם על תחושותיהם לקראת המבצע, וכמה מהחיילים סיפרו לו על כך שזמן קצר לפני כן, עבר במקום רב צבאי עם ספר תורה, שחיזק ועודד את רוחם. השליש סיים את הסיפור, אותו הביא בתור ראיה לאפשרות לתרגם את תרומתה של הרבנות הצבאית להצלחת

המבצעית של הפעולה מתוך נקודת מבט כלכלית חילונית, ושאל בתמימות עם אחי יודע במקרה על מי מדובר

Kiddush Hashem

This evening, my brother, who serves as a career military rabbi, told me the following story, which took place this past Shabbat, when the IDF entered Gaza.

He was one of three rabbis who spent Shabbat on a base not too far away from the border, together with a few hundred soldiers who were preparing for the ground incursion. After spending the day delivering shiurim and motivational speeches, the rabbis wondered if they should perhaps travel with the soldiers from the base to the staging location, in order to boost the soldiers' morale. They deliberated and finally decided – with some hesitation – to go along with the soldiers. Hoping to arrange a minchah prayer service, the rabbis took a Sefer Torah with them. When it was time to get off the bus, my brother asked someone to pass the Torah to him (in order to mitigate the halachic issue of bringing something into a karmelit). However, when he got off the bus, the Torah stayed behind. He looked back into the bus and saw that the soldiers were passing the Torah from hand to hand. Each soldier took the opportunity to embrace it tightly.

Afterwards, a group of soldiers approached two of the rabbis. (The bearded rabbis stood out; one was holding the Sefer Torah, and the other was wearing his talit.) The soldiers asked the rabbis for a blessing. Since giving blessings isn't included in a military rabbi's standard job description, my brother told the soldiers that he would recite the blessing he uses for his sons on Leil Shabbat. To his amazement, more and more soldiers began approaching him. (According to him, most of them were traditional – i.e. not outwardly observant. The bnei yeshivot seemed less interested in receiving a blessing from the rabbis). Soon, so many soldiers had amassed that the rabbis could no longer give personal blessings. Instead, they spread out a talit – as is customary on Simchat Torah – over the crowd's heads and blessed everyone in unison.

With great emotion, several soldiers exclaimed that the rabbis' presence gave them strength and boosted their spirits. One soldier even added that the rabbis' blessing was more significant and meaningful for him than all the training sessions he had heard in the period leading up to the operation.

As the sun began to set, the long infantry columns set out towards the Strip. Meanwhile, the rabbis stood near the crossing with the Sefer Torah in their hands and called out words of encouragement and blessing to the soldiers. ("May Hashem be with you," "may Hashem bless you," and other phrases inspired by the Rambam's writings on fear during a battle.) The soldiers, in turn, kissed the Sefer Torah as they marched along.

Ashreichem Yisrael! (How fortunate are you, O Israel!)

My brother wanted to hear what I thought about the story, in terms of the Shabbat laws. He and his colleagues had been reprimanded by the brigade rabbi for permitting themselves to take the Sefer Torah with them. In fact, he claimed that the entire trip was problematic. (For instance, he rejected their argument that they were in a similar position to a husband who travels with his wife to the hospital on Shabbat when she is about to give birth in order to give her emotional support.) The commanding rabbi's words caused my brother to second guess himself. Although he was confident that he had acted in accordance with the world view of IDF Chief Rabbi Rav Ronsky, he wasn't sure if he had acted properly. I immediately assured him that in my opinion, his behavior constitutes an incredible Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of Hashem's Name).

How could anyone disagree?

(Thanks to Ariella Gold of Nof Ayalon for providing the English translation)

Bloom's Taxonomy in the Judaic studies classroom

2009-01-06T05:38:00.002-05:00

Classroom Teaching is back after a short Chanukah break!

This week Mark Smilowitz discusses higher level thinking skills. For students to be fully engaged in learning, they need to be challenged with tasks that go beyond remembering and explaining. This episode reviews the six thinking skills of Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy and suggests ways of using them in the Judaic studies classroom in order to nurture higher level thinking.

Visit www.lookstein.org/podcasts/ to listen or subscribe.

More prayers for Israeli soldiers and civilians

2009-01-05T02:27:00.004-05:00

In a recent blog post I suggested that prayer for the wellbeing of Israeli soldiers should be included in Jewish schools and classrooms at this time. As the missile attacks on Israel's southern cities continue and with the Israeli army now engaged in a ground operation in Gaza, there is all the more reason for prayer.

Yediot Aharonot reports that the call for prayer crosses all politicaland ideological boundaries in Israel, ranging from the Eidah Haredit (the "ultra-Orthodox") whose leaders have issued a statement calling for reciting tehillim to the Masorati rabbinate who have penned a Mi-she-berakh prayer specific to this occasion.

The announcement from the Eidah Haredit calls on the community to recite tehillim and to include va-aneinu in Shemonah Esreh since aside from the specific request for rain (which Israel needs right now), va-aneinu includes a request for general issues. If va-aneinu is not readily available in your siddur, you can find it at http://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%A0%D7%95 or http://www.new.katif.net/news.php?table=city_news&page=3615

The Yediot Aharonot article also has a tefillah that they say was put together by Rav Mordechai Eliyahu.

Teachers make a difference II

2009-01-03T16:26:00.002-05:00

In this NY Times article, "Troublesome Student Makes Good, and Honors Disciplinarian" we see, yet again, that the right teacher can save a student.

Teachers make a difference I

2009-01-03T16:23:00.002-05:00

In this New Yorker article, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how to figure out who is going to be a good teacher. But first he shares some information on how important good teachers are:

<<
Eric Hanushek, an economist at Stanford, estimates that the students of a very bad teacher will learn, on average, half a year’s worth of material in one school year. The students in the class of a very good teacher will learn a year and a half’s worth of material. That difference amounts to a year’s worth of learning in a single year. Teacher effects dwarf school effects: your child is actually better off in a “bad” school with an excellent teacher than in an excellent school with a bad teacher. Teacher effects are also much stronger than class-size effects. You’d have to cut the average class almost in half to get the same boost that you’d get if you switched from an average teacher to a teacher in the eighty-fifth percentile. And remember that a good teacher costs as much as an average one, whereas halving class size would require that you build twice as many classrooms and hire twice as many teachers.
>>

A worthwhile read.

Lookjed's Tenth anniversary

2009-01-01T05:33:00.000-05:00

This past year I have posted a number of Lookjed "classic" conversations as part of a celebration of ten years of Lookjed discussions. Lookjed is now officially celebrating its tenth anniversary - the first invitation to join Lookjed was sent out at the end of 1998, and the inaugural mailing appeared at the beginning of January 1999 (for a variety of reasons, the volume numbers now change at the beginning of the academic year). For those of you who wax nostalgic about this kind of thing, you can access the first month of mailings in the listserv archives at
http://listserv.os.biu.ac.il/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind9901&L=LOOKJED

Over the years I have received quite a bit of feedback and constructive comments (you are always welcome to share your thoughts by writing to me or by posting at http://www.lookstein.org/comment_post.php ). One response that sticks in my mind was the individual who responded angrily to my postings about Israel, in response to the intifada that began on Rosh haShanah 2000. My correspondent wrote that he had signed up to the list to receive information and participate in conversations about Jewish education, not politics. In response I told him that I believed that Israel should be part of the curriculum in every Jewish school today, and that during a time of war it was the responsibility of every Jewish educator to be knowledgeable about what was taking place there. Every classroom, every school and every community are different from one another, but when Jewish soldiers are taking up arms to defend the Jewish state, it is something that should be discussed in Jewish schools around the world.

I am sure that you are all aware of the ongoing rockets and missiles that have been directed at Israeli cities and villages, and the Israeli army's response to those attacks. Aside from reading the online Israeli newspapers, here are some other resources that may be of interest/assistance to the Jewish educator -

http://www.dailyalert.org/
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs puts out a daily newsletter that links to Israel related news stories in online publications around the world. You can subscribe to it at http://list-dailyalert.org/daily-sub.html

http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Eye+on+Israel/Current+Issues/
The Jewish Agency has a "current issues" page that has updated information and materials on Israel related topics

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051593.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456531523&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz have both reported that the Israeli army has opened a front in the online battle for public opinion by launching a YouTube channel with reports about the current military operation in Gaza

According to this Jerusalem Post article, the battle for public opinion is going on in the United States
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733120038&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123066366430243153.html
James Taranto, writing in the online Wall Street Journal, contrasts between what goes on in hospitals in Gaza and in Israel during these tense times, and argues that the press makes more of the opposition to Israel's Gaza operation than is really there (the first two pieces in the column).

Whether or not a teacher feels it appropriate to introduce a classroom discussion of Israel's political aims in this battle, showing concern for the soldiers who are putting their lives on the line in defense of the Jewish State is certainly appropriate.
If you do not have ready access to the tefillah le-shlom hayyelei tzahal, it appears at http://tinyurl.com/tzahal or http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tfila/tfilot-2.htm#3

Shalom

Podcast on Differentiated Instruction

2008-12-23T15:27:00.000-05:00

Do all students learn in the same way? Of course not. So why should we teach them all in the same way? It may sound difficult, but there are practical ways teachers can easily adjust their lessons to meet the different needs of different students. This week in Classroom Teaching, Mark Smilowitz shares some reflections on using differentiated instruction in the Judaic Studies classroom.

To listen or subscribe, go to http://www.lookstein.org/podcasts/

Jewish Education in the World of Web 2.0 - Book announcement and excerpt

2008-12-22T03:37:00.004-05:00

What We Now Know About Jewish Education
Edited by: Paul A. Flexner, Roberta Louis Goodman, Linda Dale Bloomberg
Tora Aura Productions (2008)

*****************************************************

As regular Bookjed readers know, this is a forum that offers reviews, links and announcements about published books and materials that may be of interest to Jewish educators. Today's "Bookjed special edition" stands out because it features a new volume that attempts to bring together a wide range of thinkers and researchers to comment on the current state of Jewish education - not only in formal settings but also in synagogues, camps, centers and other venues.

I have invited Paul Flexner, one of the editors of the volume, to share a few introductory remarks about the vision of the book, and have included an excerpt whose focus is on a new "venue" where Jewish education is taking place - the internet. Brian Amkraut's "Jewish Education in the World of Web 2.0" discusses some of the challenges and opportunities offered by modern technology and calls on the educators to become knowledgeable and familiar with a virtual world where so many of our students gather today.

A full sample section of What We NOW Know About Jewish Education: Perspectives on Research for Practice is available online at http://www.torahaura.com/samples/69010.pdf (Amkraut's article appears on page 39), and the book can be ordered online at http://www.torahaura.com/ItemDetails.aspx?ItemNo=WHAT or from online booksellers like Amazon.com.

The articles in the book are not meant to simply be read for enjoyment, they are supposed to inspire discussion and dialogue, something that the internet generally - and Lookjed specifically - has had success at supporting. Towards that end, I invite you to read the full article online, and respond to it. Here are some of the questions that come to my mind, but I encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns on this matter.

Aren't there some foundations of Jewish education that don't change even in an age of web 2.0, which helped "do-it-yourself Judaism" gain momentum?
How can we engage students and teach them about Judaism (mostly a constant) while they are part of a web 2.0 generation (mostly in flux, with new media, a constant barrage of information, an endless number of opinions/soapboxes, an immediacy of information, etc.)?
Can we harness web 2.0 to teach/interest students in Judaism/Jewish subjects?
Can we use web 2.0 to rethink relationships between teachers/students/parents/board?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts Web2.0 and Jewish education.

Shalom

Rabbi Shalom Z. Berger, Ed.D.
The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education
Bar-Ilan University

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The code word of the recent Presidential campaign was ‘change’ and we have certainly observed a lot of change in the last few months as a result of the economic meltdown in the United States and the rest of the world. But, change is not something new. In Jewish education we have been experiencing dramatic changes over the last two decades with the rapid expansion of day schools, new initiatives designed to increase involvement and interest in our synagogues and youth movements, the impact of camping and the JCC’s on so many lives, and the entrepreneurial spirit that touches so many aspects of Jewish life especially through Birthright Israel.

All of these changes have been the result of and have spawned serious research in Jewish education. We now know so much more about what we are doing than at any time in the history of the Jewish people. Our colleagues in the universities, national agencies and on the front lines are seriously exploring Jewish education from every angle. Research papers, monographs and books have appeared in the last 20 years to guide the advancement of the field. However, all of this new understanding and knowledge is scattered in journals and monographs that appear irregularly and are often missed by the very people who might be in a position to create real change in their own programs

It was this need to take a fresh look at all of the research that motivated the compilation and preparation of the recently published What We NOW Know About Jewish Education: Perspectives on Research for Practice published by Torah Aura. Our goal was simple – to gather the best thinkers in the field of Jewish education to reflect on the latest research in their particular area and to present a summary of the knowledge and insights in a single volume. Little did we know when we started that the project would take four years and that the result would be a volume that is over 600 pages with over 55 chapters covering almost every aspect of Jewish education.

Contained within its pages are essays on the place of Jewish education in contemporary life along with reviews of the research compiled from the perspectives of the learners, teachers, curriculum and contexts. The book concludes with a section on planning and change which we hope will drive the future for the community as it grapples with the continuing need to improve on what we have already created.

We hope that the publication will inspire an ongoing dialogue on these pages as well as within every Jewish community about how Jewish education can be shaped to engage an even greater number of our youth and their families in the years to come.

Paul A. Flexner
Co-Editor
What We Now Know About Jewish Education

**********************************************************

Jewish Education in the World of Web 2.0
Brian Amkraut

Challenge of Web 2.0
That technology is rapidly transforming the very fabric of American society is no doubt an understatement. In a world in which broadband access and open-source software facilitate file sharing, streaming media, and the development of user-generated content, Web 2.0 represents merely the latest stage in this consistently fluctuating environment. The challenge for Jewish education—and all education, for that matter—rests not merely with ever changing technological developments—both the explosion of information available and the ability to access that information—but more significantly on the individual’s changing attitude towards authority and empowerment. The collaborative, interactive, and user-generated world of the new Internet enabled by Web 2.0 reflects a social and an intellectual culture in which the individual end user has the ability and is even encouraged to shape and create the frame of reference for Jewish life in the 21st century.

Jews today, both young and old, but more often young, define Judaism on their own individually generated terms, regardless of whether their perceptions coincide with the “establishment” of organized Jewish life. This phenomenon challenges the long-standing approach to Jewish life in which conceptions of community were defined by geographical parameters, and religious and cultural standards were determined by authoritative figures, most often rabbinic but occasionally otherwise. While “legitimate” Jewish authorities clearly dismiss such unauthorized attempts to redefine Jewishness, isn’t it possible that this user-generated Judaism represents the latest step in a chain that includes such revolutionary but ultimately significant challenges as the havurah movement, Kaplan’s call for reconstruction, Zionism, early Reform and even Hasidism? In every stage of modernity, Jews have developed interpretations and understandings of their tradition as a response to the challenge of new circumstances, and these reactions quite often build on contemporary trends in social and intellectual culture.

Responses
What responsibilities do Jewish educators have in the environment where anyone can blog on Judaism’s significance, Google provides the most popular answers to Jewish questions and a wiki-Judaism could soon represent a new type of religious denomination? Must our teachers and educational institutions serve, as Jonathan Woocher suggests, as a conservative force amid a sea of unrestrained individualized challenges to communal authority? While Woocher (see previous chapter) quite accurately assesses the concerns that emerge in the “age of Google,” the development and proliferation of Web 2.0’s infrastructure and software may already make some of those observations academic. Shouldn’t we also ask whether trying to restrict or repress the individualized expressions that are helping define the age of Web 2.0—in venues such as MySpace and YouTube—is either possible or even desirable? In the minds of the champions of the information revolution, access, not merely to information, but also to the tools of production and authority, represents nothing less than the most current manifestation of freedom. When parents genetically screen embryos, are they playing God or exercising their God-given right to shape their own future? The cover of New York magazine from February 2007 calls the perception of freedom embraced by 21st century youth “the greatest generation gap since rock and roll.”

When the landscape of Jewish life is shaped by mainstream American Jewish educators calling for conservatism, and social scientists like Cohen and Sheskin continue to measure Jewish identity almost exclusively by the yardsticks of intermarriage and affiliation, then Jewish leaders don’t address the many and varied ways that 21st-century Jews are using today’s cultural tools to express themselves and redefine what Judaism means for them. Cohen and others see the rejection of denominational models largely as an issue confronting Conservative Judaism, where the engaged and more educated segment of that movement feels increasingly uncomfortable in their synagogues. In a recent response Eisen, the new chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, began an articulation of a clear Conservative outlook for the movement.

Cohen has also hypothesized that American Jewry can already be classified as bifurcated between the “inmarrieds” and the “intermarrieds.” Yet Cohen and others ignore the fact that 21st-century adherents increasingly relate to their faith or other aspects of identity in individualized and often innovative terms. Using the many resources available, including the Internet, cable television, and even books, to chart an expression of Jewishness, they respond to their personal needs and world outlook regardless of what “organized Judaism” presents as normative. Anecdotally, a significant proportion of the “user community” posting on the many Jewish websites calls for Jewish unity rather than denominational and political factionalism.

Not surprisingly, unconventional forums allow increasing opportunities for communication and connection among Jews sharing attitudes and interests they feel are underrepresented in the mainstream Jewish establishment. While, statistically speaking, only a slim minority of young Jews currently participate in the social networks, blogs, and other venues for “user generated Judaism,” the impact belies their numbers. As one colleague suggests, the historical legacy of the 1960s counterculture was not shaped by a majority, but rather by the active and engaged minority. We should not quickly dismiss the new attitudes toward Jewish community, Jewish identity and Jewish religion simply because most Jews do not yet share or even respect these innovative approaches. What is radical and revolutionary today may prove to be normative in the not-too-distant future.

Conclusions?
Can any of us reach significant conclusions regarding the nature of Jewish life and Jewish education in the future based on the ever-expanding possibilities for Jewish expression? Perhaps the most important response by educators to the engagement of Jewish youth with the interactive world of Web 2.0 is not to apply a corrective or “authentic” view of Judaism, but rather to become conversant with user-generated Judaism and become personally familiar with the media, digital or otherwise, that enables such extensive individual engagement. Should we give any weight to a possible “Long Tail” of Judaism that allows all of us to provide our “recommendations” for Jewish life, in the style of Amazon.com and Netflix? On the other hand, whether or not the “Jewishness” that flows from these sources corresponds to late-20th-century normative patterns pales in comparison to the very fact that 21st-century Jews, many of them unaffiliated and removed from serious discussions of Jewish life, some raised in interfaith or faith-less homes, now actively engage with some aspect of their Jewish identity. Even if their opinions, behaviors, and religious beliefs fail to conform to standards deemed acceptable by communal leadership, they are creating their own dialogue while attempting to participate in the larger communal discussion. In large measure the culture of Web 2.0 is merely the latest means, and perhaps the most powerful, of continuing the 3,000-year-old conversation that is Judaism.

Implications for Educators
Considering the broad ideological and religious spectrum that Jewish educators represent, detailed policy recommendations to respond to the technologically enabled social culture seem inappropriate. Of course, some institutions do attempt to control the flow of information available to their students, but this approach hardly appears realistic. The following brief list suggests action steps Jewish educators may take on their own and collaboratively to respond to the constant changes in the 21st-century learning environment.

• Become familiar with the increasingly popular genres of technological and communal activity that currently engage children of all ages, including social networking, online gaming and user-generated content. (You might have fun while learning a bit about your students.)
• Assess how students use technology as an information source. They will continue to Google and rely on Wikipedia, so the informed educator should understand in general terms both the mathematical and advertising basis for Google and other frequently used search engines and the communal “wisdom” that creates wikis of all sorts.
• Continually update your literacy in this space. The constant flow of information and rapidity of technological innovation means that year to year, if not more frequently, significant change will likely appear.
• Don’t go it alone! Take advantage of the many resources that provide virtual community for Jewish educators to share their concerns, experiences, and suggestions for navigating this brave new world. And if you are uncomfortable with what you find, create your own and expand the conversation even further.

A note on the passing of Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Rackman

2008-12-14T02:22:00.001-05:00

With sadness the Lookstein Center notes the passing of the noted Jewish leader and educator, Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Rackman, whose vision shaped educational institutions in the United States and in Israel, whose shiva has ended last week. Aside from his role as a pulpit rabbi in Congregation Shaaray Tefila of Far Rockaway and at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York, Rabbi Rackman served as Provost of Yeshiva University, where he also taught, and as President and Chancellor of Bar-Ilan University, which he played a role in founding.

In explaining his vision of Bar-Ilan University, he argued that the basic Jewish heritage studies that were required of all students played an important role in bridging the gap between religious and secular in Israel. "We have never attempted to create baali teshuva. Rather, Bar-Ilan has sought to develop educated alumni who will not be foreign to their heritage. At the very least, Bar-Ilan alumni are able to appreciate the wisdom of Jewish civilization".

Rabbi Rackman was one of the first rabbinic voices calling for a reevaluation of the Jewish community's attitude towards Jonathan Pollard's incarceration, and in recent years he was at the forefront of seeking ways to alleviate the pain and suffering of agunot - women "anchored" to their husbands who would not offer them a Jewish divorce - plumbing the depths of Jewish law in an attempt to find means to dissolve their marriages.

His work in the interests of furthering the position of women in the contemporary Jewish community led to the establishment of The Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women's Status - http://www.law.biu.ac.il/English/rackmanE.shtml

Among those who shared their memories of Rabbi Dr. Rackman online are:
Professor Deborah Lipstadt, Emory University

Rabbi Michael J. Broyde, Emory University

David Weinberg, who was spokesman of Bar-Ilan University and a student of Rabbi Rackman

Newspaper obituaries include:

The Jewish Week

The Jewish Star (a local paper in Long Island's Five Towns where Rabbi Rackman served as a pulpit Rabbi)

The New York Times

Yehi zikhro barukh

The Rabbi Dr. Joseph H. Lookstein Center for Jewish Education
The School of Education
Bar-Ilan University

About Your/Our Kids

2008-12-10T13:58:00.002-05:00

The following is a letter sent by Dr. Kalman Stein, principal of The Frisch School in northern New Jersey, to the parent body. I am posting it here with his permission, but I would like to emphasize that the problem he describes is not limited to The Frisch School; I know that other New York area schools have shared the letter with their parents, as well.

<<
Dear Parent:

There's an old Yiddish expression which I often heard from my mother: "Oder mir darft nicht, oder es helft nicht," which loosely translated, in the context I'm about to use it, means that there are certain things that should be so self-evident that if one needs to talk about them it probably won't do any good.

As most Frisch parents know, I believe that it is the school's responsibility to be aware of and to react to our students' out-of-school activities and that I have arrogated for myself the role of the gadfly who gently (or not so gently) tries to keep parents aware of what's going on out there in their children's world and to speak/write about parental responsibility. I must admit, however, that lately I've been wondering whether Mom was right and whether I, therefore, should just stop tilting at windmills. I wonder whether there is any purpose to once again annoy parents with advice which should have come with the instruction manual they received on the way home from the hospital and especially whether it makes sense to continue preaching to parents who've seen/heard and apparently ignored my sermons in the past.

However, my colleagues and some of the school's key lay leaders have encouraged me to get back on my soapbox. So here goes. A couple of real and recent vignettes:

A tenth grader is home on a Saturday night with her friend. Some other kids, including some slightly older boys, somehow learn that they're home alone and decide to join them. They bring some alcohol with them. There is some drinking, some loosened inhibitions, some impaired judgment, some fooling around. Nothing awful. Nothing to get hysterical about. Unless, of course, one thinks that a bunch of unsupervised teenage boys and girls and some drinking is something that adults in our community ought to be upset about. Simple question: Where did the parents of these youngsters, fifteen and sixteen-year-olds, think their sons/daughters were that recent Saturday night? Did they know that they were going to someone's house and, if so, did they bother to find out whether there would be any adult supervision?

A student's parents make her a party, a Sweet Sixteen, I think, in a club in Manhattan. There are adults at the party and, as far as we can determine, there isn't any smoking or drinking going on inside. But, of course, there's outside the club. There's inside the cars that some of the kids were allowed to drive to Manhattan and to drive their friends to the party. And in some of the cars there's drinking. There's driving with open alcohol containers in the car which fortunately—or probably unfortunately—was not noticed by a policeman. There are kids being driven around Manhattan and ultimately back home by other kids who've been drinking. But it's not a problem because, after all, "It's been x time since he last had a drink". Have none of the parents whose children drove or were driven by other kids seen the 11:00 News, heard a TV commercial, read the front page of The Record just about any Saturday or Sunday morning? Are we all so certain of our children's maturity and resistance to pe er pressure that we're quite confident that teenagers with wheels and freedom in the Big City on a weekend evening is a really terrific idea?

A kid who doesn't attend a yeshiva high school makes a party. Some of his Frisch (and other yeshiva) friends come and invite their Frisch (and other yeshiva) friends. I'm probably exaggerating but I've been given the impression that if one got close enough to the house one could experience that very identifiable smell which I remember so well from certain parts of the Columbia campus in the late sixties. Some of our kids, I'm happy to say, took one look (or sniff) and decided to leave. Some stayed. I don't know who, if any, indulged (whether or not they inhaled). Yes, they were seniors. But does that mean that their parents didn't need to know where they were going? Did even one parent make a phone call? Have parents come to the conclusion that substance abuse is a rite of passage—some kids seem to have concluded that it's a right of passage—or that it's a good idea for high school kids who don't smoke or drink to face the challenge of how to handle themselves when confronted with a situation such as this one?

What's the school going to do? We are going to try very hard to identify the students involved in incidents such as these. Not because we want to punish them. Because we want to help them by working with them and their parents. And because we want the message to get out to the kids - maybe it's been too quiet on this front for a year or more - that The Frisch School is going to deal very strenuously with substance abuse, a message which will also be delivered at grade meeting in coming days.

What is a parent do? I can't say it any more clearly. After tilting at windmills for a bunch of years one finds that all his lances are shattered.

Dr. Kalman Stein
>>

Financial Crisis Hits Jewish Education

2008-12-10T13:07:00.006-05:00

An elementary day school in Lakewood, NJ, Bais Faiga has closed until further notice after teachers walked out, having not been paid for several months. Students from the school are now home with parents or attending impromptu "camps". I don't know the details, but it is certain that the recession certainly is in play here, whether it be an increase in tuition assistance or a decrease in donations/tuition payments or both.

In a recent discussion in Lookjed, subscribers shared practical ideas for reducing costs and maintaining a positive cash flow in schools.

Podcast- Putting some variety in your lessons

2008-12-09T05:10:00.000-05:00

This week in Classroom Teaching, Mark Smilowitz shares one way to put variety into your lessons in order to grab more students' interest and attention and hold it for longer. Includes a fun Chanuka lesson idea.

Listen or download episodes at http://www.lookstein.org/podcasts/.

New podcast: Talking with parents

2008-12-02T04:06:00.000-05:00

This week in "Classroom Teaching", Mark Smilowitz talks about talking with parents.

Parents should be your allies in helping your students grow and develop. Here's a "top ten" list of guidelines to help conduct constructive communication with parents.

To hear or subscribe, go to http://www.lookstein.org/podcasts

Dealing with traumatic news reports - Terrorism in Mumbai

2008-11-30T03:23:00.001-05:00

North American educators were likely on vacation this past Thursday and Friday as scenes of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai were appearing in the media. The terrorists, who took aim at innocent victims in a place that we do not immediately associate with a significant Jewish community, deliberately chose a Jewish site as one of their points of attack. Having seen these pictures and read about the murder of hundreds of people - among them Jews in the Chabad House - many of our students will return to school this week with questions about identifying themselves as Jews and their own safety and security.

For better or for worse, circumstances in Israel have created an environment where educators have learned to be prepared to help children cope with traumatic events. Following the 9/11 terror attacks, in cooperation with Dr. Mooli Lahad, director of the Community Stress Prevention Centre at Tel Hai College, the Lookstein Center developed a mini-site called "Islands of Resiliency" that offers articles, educational materials and links to organizations that offer suggestions on how to deal with traumatic events. This resource may be helpful to you in preparing for class. You can access it at http://www.lookstein.org/islands/index.htm

This is also an opportunity to discuss with students the history of the Jewish community in India, a country unique among nations, with a Jewish community dating back centuries (according to the traditions of some local communities, as far back as the first Temple period) with little, if any, history of anti-Semitism. See
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/indians.html
http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/india.htm
http://www.haruth.com/AsianIndia.html

Shalom

Podcast - When a kid fails a test

2008-11-26T16:15:00.002-05:00

Last week's podcast on defining the role of the teacher got some active discussion going on Lookjed - see http://lookstein.org/lookjed/read.php?1,17407

In this week's "Classroom Teaching" podcast, Mark Smilowitz talks about what to do when a kid fails a test.
Whose problem is it?
What should you say to the student and what do you say to the parents? Here is a comprehensive guide to handling this situation with competence and professionalism.
See http://www.lookstein.org/podcasts/

November 29th resources

2008-11-23T02:18:00.004-05:00

With November 29th approaching, I would like to draw your attention to a new resource recommended by Joyce Levine called On the Road to Statehood.

<<
On the Road to Statehood is a series of twenty web-based lessons that focuses on Zionist history from 1881 until November 29, 1947. Students experience this pivotal era in Zionist history through the eyes of ten characters that are featured throughout the site, who tell their own historically relevant stories. These stories engage the students and help make the historical periods come alive for them.

Along with first-person narratives, material in each chapter is also presented through text, photos, posters and links to other resources such as interactive maps, illustrations and newspaper articles. Activities and enrichment opportunities are included, as is a glossary. The timeline helps students order the events they are learning about in historical sequence, as well as understand how events relate to each other. Through these engaging, interactive and multidimensional lessons students gain an appreciation for the interplay between historical, political, social and cultural factors.

The lessons may be used as a complete series or a smaller number of lessons may be selected. You might consider using the first lesson - which introduces Kaf Tet b'November - as we approach November 29.

Goto www.roadtostatehood.org. Check out the introduction and first chapter; look over the teacher's guide and the rest of the site. See if this might be suitable for your students.
>>

The webquest that I developed some time ago is available at http://www.lookstein.org/webquests/nov29.htm
Some of the links are being updated, so be patient if they do not all work the first time you try it.

Shalom