For those who have not yet heard, the concept of "full-time teachers" has begun to expand beyond the walls of Central Synagogue in Manhattan. Here is a listing for such a position from Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn , New York.
Our growing and evolving Jewish education program needs a core teacher!
Congregation Beth Elohim, a dynamic Reform congregation in Park Slope, Brooklyn, seeks a full-time (Mon-Thurs and Shabbat morning) or 4-day a week (Mon, Tu, Thu, Shabbat morning) Jewish Studies teacher to join our supplementary and family Jewish Education program, called Yachad.
The core teacher is part of a creative team of Jewish educators who develop curriculum, teach elementary aged students Jewish studies, communicate with parents and families, and lead innovative Jewish holiday and Shabbat programs for our families, and have ample opportunities for professional development. To learn more about our program, go to http://yachad.congregationbethelohim.org.
Qualified applicants have an interest in being involved in a vibrant, progressive Jewish community and educational program, a BA and experience working with children and families in formal or informal (camp, youth group) Jewish settings.
I was forwarding this list to a friend, and thought, well, why not share it with everyone? Here's the tracks from the mix CD that was made for one congregation's family Israel trip. Most of these can be found on YouTube (although no guarantees that what you're watching is the actual video created by the band and not a "tribute" by an enthusiastic fan, as in the link for Idan Raichel's song below). Enjoy!
Brachot Leshana Chadasha (Blessings for the New Year)
Last Spring, I participated in a panel convened by JESNA to discuss its recently released study of Educators in Jewish Schools.
The report confirmed what we had all already suspected - that just as Religious Schools are finally being taken seriously by the Jewish world, and as we are starting to see increased investment in their success, we are facing a teacher shortage. This may not sound like new news: After all, since at least as far back as the 60s we have heard that there are not enough qualified teachers to go around. What has changed is that now its becoming harder to find people who even WANT to teach in a Religious School (or a Day School), qualified or otherwise. JESNA cited all the reasons you would expect - low salaries, a general lack of respect for the position, and so on. Another segment of the panel presentation is posted here, in which I express my concerns about competition between institutions for a shrinking number of qualified professionals and note the trend towards individuals working as "home tutors" rather than school teachers.
Here is my favorite section of the JESNA report:
Teen Labor. These are the 32% of Jews in Jewish work who first entered the sector through part time or summer jobs held during their high school and college years, and who have continued in Jewish sector work ever since. If we include those who left Jewish work for some period of time before returning, the majority (52%) of Jews working in our six Jewish communities started when they were in high school or college. Most of those who held jobs as teens were camp counselors (35% of all Jewish workers) and/or religious school teachers (27%) and/or youth group advisors (14%). Not many held internships (5%).
We regard this finding as especially significant. Camps, religious schools and youth groups are American Jewry’s primary gateway into Jewish sector work, providing Jewish communities with about half of their Jewish personnel. Although designed as educational venues to socialize children, these organizations have a substantial, perhaps unintended, consequence for American Jewish life through their role as employers of teenagers and young adults.
One idea that I'm increasingly hearing being floated is the creation of a Jewish "Teach For America," that would attract students just out of college to spend a year or two teaching in a Jewish school (Chabad, as usual, is ahead of the curve with their "roving rabbis" shlichut program, which places rabbinical students in various under served Jewish communities). While this idea is quite attractive, it would face a number of significant challenges (besides funding and organization) - most importantly, perhaps: Ensuring that the participants have not only a support network but also a peer network (teaching can be a lonely business, after all).
"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
This is "On Children" from The Prophet, in honor of Jory:
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and he bends you with his might that his arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so he loves also the bow that is stable.
Amy Deutsch, one of the full-time teachers at Central Synagogue in NYC, writes:
"I have a picture that sits on my desk at work. It is of me and two of my coworkers wearing togas and talking animatedly about the Hasmonean revolt. You may wonder what I do for a living. I am a teacher.
"I work in an innovative educational program in New York City that employs religious school teachers on a full-time basis. Before I began my graduate studies, I was one of these teachers. When you are teaching full-time, you have the time to plan and use experiential educational techniques. In fact, we had the time to create a reenactment of the Hasmonean revolt—more often known as the story of Chanukah.
"The day began in the lobby, where we turned each fourth grader’s bedsheet into a toga. Then the “Greeks” attempted to convince the students of the superiority of Greek culture with an intricate slideshow pressuring them to assimilate. After the Greeks left the room, Judah Maccabee and his warriors arrived and helped the students fight assimilation. At the end of the day, Judah Maccabee and the Greek ruler got in a swordfight (somehow reminiscent of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader) and it seemed desperate, but ultimately Judah won, as he was strengthened by the students who started chanting the words of the Sh’ma.
"Though I was supposed to stay in character, I found myself incredulous at this moment. 120 fourth grade students were chanting the Sh’ma. Some of them had even added the hand motions we had taught them the year before. They were on their feet, filled with pride and passion for their Judaism. I realized then how blessed I was to help foster the development of Jewish identity in my students. It is a gift to be a teacher—and especially to be a teacher who gets to wear a toga."
Amy Deutsch is a current Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholar. She is studying for a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education at the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
"We are now engaged in a crucial public conversation about educational reform, but a conversation is only as good as the questions it entertains . . .
The question we most commonly ask is the 'what' question - what subjects shall we teach?
When the conversation goes a bit deeper, we ask the 'how' question - what methods and techniques are required to teach well?
Occasionally, when it goes deeper still, we ask the 'why' question - for what purpose and to what ends do we teach?
But seldom, if ever, do we ask the 'who' question - who is the self that teaches? How does the quality of my selfhood form - or deform - the way I relate to my students, my subject, my colleague, my world? How can educational institutions sustain and deepen the selfhood from which good teaching comes?
"I have no quarrel with the what or how or why questions - except when they are posed as the only questions worth asking. All of them can yield important insights into teaching and learning. But none of them opens up the territory I want to explore . . . the inner landscape of the teaching self."
Many thanks to Jo Kay for reminding me of this quote.
I'd only add three points. First, that Larry Hoffman asks this "who" question differently: "What would make you true to your calling?"
Second, that institutional transformation is ultimately about the transformation of individuals and their relationships with one another. Or another way - we can only change the world by changing our own behaviors.
And finally, that all this is predicated on the notion that people are not, in fact, interchangeable. Individual people actually make a difference.
You have probably already heard that the Kesher model is being imported from Boston and Cambridge to NYC this coming year. Two institutions are giving it a try: The JCC of the Upper West Side and Jewish Community Project Downtown. Here's the job posting from JCP:
Jewish Community Project Downtown (JCP), a young, vibrant and rapidly growing organization in lower Manhattan, is looking for the right person to join our team as the Founding Director of our new after-school initiative and/or become our Director of Jewish Life. JCP is located in Lower Manhattan, NY.
Responsibilities of the Kesher Director (Part-time):
Hire, mentor and supervise teachers
Oversee and implement the PR and marketing for Kesher
Participate in leading and teaching classes and activities
Work in partnership with classroom teachers to adapt the Kesher curricula to JCP
Create lasting bonds with students and all families at JCP
Responsibilities of the Director of Jewish Life (Full-time):
In addition to running the Kesher program, the Director of Jewish Life will:
Set a vision for Jewish life for JCP and the larger Jewish community of Lower Manhattan
Organize all family holiday programs – Hannukah, Purim, Passover, High Holy Days
Represent JCP and its Kesher program with pride and articulate its mission in the larger Jewish community
Work in partnership with JCP’s administrator to shape and oversee the budget and fiscal records
Create, design, and implement family education program
Qualifications of an ideal candidate
A Jewish educator with a drive for excellence and comfort working in an informal, dynamic, team setting
Strong organizational skills and excellent interpersonal skills
Has vision, confidence and a desire to grow professionally
Conversational and/or fluent in Modern, spoken Hebrew
Advanced Judaic knowledge
Advanced degree in Jewish Education, Education, Early Childhood Education or strong related field experience, perhaps even a current student looking for a long-term job opportunity
Enthusiasm for working in a non-denominational setting that welcomes diverse families
Minimum 2-5 years in the field with strong references
Rachel Brumberg, in her former capacity as Associate Director of Professional Development and Advancement at JESNA, developed this list of helpful hints for those who are ready to take on the challenge of applying for a, shall we say, "real job."
When e-mailing a prospective employer, capitalize and use punctuation, at least to indicate that you know what proper grammar is.
If you're thinking of using a word that can be substituted for tushie or is tushie-related, DON'T.
Clearly identify the job for which you're applying, and be sure to read the job description fully.
Use an e-mail name that makes sense to other people (firstnamelastname@hotmail.com) rather than using your nickname, a pet's name, or any kind of indication of your hobbies or sex life.
Don't submit a multiple page resume if you're just graduating from college.
Remember to spell check and grammar check.
Please don't tell me you're a Friend of Jonny's (or Avraham's or Joy's or Howard's, or any Exec) if you're not.
If you're going to contact an employer for a second time, please don't chastise them for not getting back to you; no one likes a whiner or someone who yells at them.
Even if you're interviewing with a "casual" organization or company, maintain your own formality.
Spell out abbreviations.
Send only what the employer asks for - if they only want three references, please send only three. "The fatter your file, the slimmer your chance."
Visit your Career Center and get their help - they're there for a reason!
Research the organization and the position (if possible) before you interview.
If you’re given a choice of text color in your e-mail program, use black.
