tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34150549.post3799992642608418353..comments2023-04-04T09:29:30.819-04:00Comments on New Jewish Education: My Statement of Jewish Educational PhilosophySaul Kaiserman (thinkfred)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07072524572244310450noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34150549.post-77751938315796130262014-06-05T10:38:53.045-04:002014-06-05T10:38:53.045-04:00Nancy: I am so unbelievably flattered that you, on...Nancy: I am so unbelievably flattered that you, one of the people who inspired me in my youth and young adulthood to follow this path, took the time to write this feedback. <br /><br />I have updated the language in the 4th paragraph from "they" to "we." Thanks for that! I hope that the later paragraphs in this piece incorporate your thoughts about empowerment, and about Judaism as a way of life rather than a subject to be studied - I definitely feel as you do!<br /><br />Two other pieces of feedback I have received, and my thoughts in response:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ishalev" rel="nofollow">Isaac Shalev</a>: "If the classroom is the place for creation, rather than consumption of culture, where is the place for Jewish acculturation? I'm deeply concerned about the the content piece." I would argue that culture is always a creation or a becoming. Yet anything new intrinsically is built in a dynamic relationship with what came before (that's where the content comes in).<br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/adrian.durlester" rel="nofollow">Adrian Durlester</a>: "Must it be "classroom" and "school?" Can Jewish education evolve past this limiting model?" For sure it can and should - and perhaps in the summer camp (for example), some of what I've written here is already taken for granted. I'm more familiar with the school as a setting, but I think much of what I wrote I would stand up for other types of environments.Saul Kaiserman (thinkfred)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07072524572244310450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34150549.post-21464073345219257082014-06-01T10:05:54.871-04:002014-06-01T10:05:54.871-04:00Kol ha-kavod Saul. I've never responded to a b...Kol ha-kavod Saul. I've never responded to a blog post before (I know, embarrassing) but yours has inspired me! I love the first paragraph - perfect! A thought on paragraph 2: Certainly the future is unknown but a certain percentage of it, theoretically and realistically, can be determined by one’s own actions. This notion of empowerment is crucial in helping our students feel as participatory characters in the ongoing saga of the Torah, today’s living Torah: Us. <br /><br />I often wonder why we refer to our schools and synagogues as the "center of Jewish life", as if there were another life. Offering Judaism as a “subject” in school like math or science has always confused me. The Tanach as a record of history, a collection of guidelines for life, certainly acknowledges the existence of many cultures and alternative lifestyles, but it is clearly in context of one’s own life if one is a Jew. <br /><br />I often experience this question when surveying a “Jewish” classroom. If we compare a classroom in a Temple Emanu-El or a Church of God (evangelical), which will call out “Jewish” to you? For me, both, because I live Jewishly, I experience the world Jewishly, I approach challenges from a Jewish perspective and I strive to help my students and their teachers to view the world “through Jewish eyes.” Having a Kiddush cup up on the bulletin board does not make a Jewish classroom or make a classroom Jewish.For me, math is a Jewish subject, science is a Jewish subject, literature is a Jewish subject because the source of it all, is the same and the meaning intrinsic is from the Creator of the world.<br /><br />Something you might want to consider in paragraph 4, is your sudden change from "us" and "we," to "they." I'm grateful for your context throughout of "inclusive we" but wonder about the shift here to "they."<br /><br />You've inspired me to think about an assignment for every Jewish parent or parent of Jewish children and teachers of Jewish children to write a personal statement about one's own perspective on raising the next generation of Jews. Thank you Saul!Nancy Bossovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12431312691691451428noreply@blogger.com