It’s been awhile since I’ve last written. I’ve been focusing on the tachlis of creating a meaningful learning experience for my students – the kids who will be attending the religious school I’m running.
I’ve been obsessing on Hebrew lately. What’s the purpose of teaching decoding to kids? Remember, reading implies comprehension. My guess is that most kids, despite our best efforts, really don’t understand (or don’t care about) the meaning of the Hebrew they’re reciting. They just mouth the sounds: ergo decoding. At the risk of sounding really cynical, I’m going to guess that a large chunk of the parents who send their kids to a congregational school do it for one main reason – to prevent performance anxiety. They want their kids to shine at their 13-year-old-coming-out-party. Is this the really the point of what we Jewish educators are doing?
The other day, my friend Adrian Durlestor sent out the following tweet: “how far over prevailing synagogue suppl sch rates can independent jewish suppl school reasonably charge?” It got me thinking about the purpose of congregational schools. It’s certainly NOT supplementary. The idea that our schools “supplement” what our kids learn at home became irrelevant probably in the 50’s or 60’s. Nowadays Jewish education is contracted out to Jewish educators. And the failure of the “supplementary school system” is that successfully performing at one’s bar/bat mitzvah is the definition of a good religious school education for many of the parents.
Where did we go wrong? I’m not sure the answer really matters. These parents who grew up in the congregational school system of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are just passing on to their children what their experiences taught them. It’s more where we go from here - which is what I’m struggling with.
Do we teach Hebrew so that the kids can decode their Torah portions without error, or because the Hebrew language is that which defines the Jewish people? Remember – back in the 3rd century BCE (!) the Torah was translated into Greek by 70 rabbis for the Greek speaking Jews of the Diaspora. I wonder if back then they were having the same conversation we’re having now about Hebrew education. What does this tell us about the goals of teaching Hebrew? Where do we put our energy? What should be the focus of whatever Hebrew instruction we implement? Given the realities of the amount of time we have the kids, what should we be aiming to accomplish?
So the question, it seems, is what constitutes a quality Jewish education? Who decides and is there more than one answer?
ReplyDeleteRS Clark
Bravo, Peter, on challenging the term "supplementary." It really no longer describes (if it ever did) what congregational (or, for that matter, independent ones) what is being asked of these programs.
ReplyDeleteThis morning, eJewcator tweeted "Learning to be creative-in Jewish Education. Yes it can be learend and yes it can be done."
I responded "Being creative in Jewish Ed-that's old news, and not the problem. Structure needs focus now more than content."
Also, like you, for years I have questioned how and why we teach Hebrew. I notice you won't go as far out on a limb as I have in some provocative posts years ago when I suggested we could consider not teaching Hebrew at all, but that is clearly an unspoken option in what you write. Actually, I can't see abandoning Hebrew (and wrote what I wrote to be provocative) but I can see us simply intriducing students to Hebrew, giving them a taste, enough to pique their interest, and if they choose to pursue it further, to have the means for them to do so. However, not all students will make this choice, and that should be OK for us. Fact of the matter is, we don't have a truly authoritative text of Torah anyway, and to pretend otherwise is silly. So what we teach our students as Torah is still interpretation and redaction at the hands of the Masoretes and countless others. For me, learning Hebrew was important so that I could attempt to discern my own understanding of the sacred texts-however I recognize that few of my students will ever develop that interest-and would fare just as well presented with several interpretations and translations in their own language, along with context to enable them to discern what drove those particular interpretations/translations.
I am a child of the 50's and 60's, with children who learned the traditional Jewish experience through their grandmother. Our home was not really a Jewish home - we were active in the Reform Temple, celebrated many of the holidays, but when one entered the home, save the mezzuzah, it was not a Jewish home. My Shabbos experiences were so unpleasant and had a lot to do with that. My wife's parents were 2 day a year Jews.....and Chanukah, of course.
ReplyDeleteWhether from my parents, really my mother, Sunday School or friends, both children are more cognizant on a daily basis of their jewishness. When we are with them I see that Shabbos is made up of positive experiences, not dressing in the dark, no phone, no television and missing once in a lifetime events.
I'm thrilled to see that in them and their Chavurah friends - all members of a Reform Congregation. As this trend continues, ideally the parents will take an interest in learning Hebrew and the children will hopefully follow suit.