Don’t be intimidated by the expanse of blank walls and empty bulletin boards in your classroom. Don’t worry that art skills are not your strong point. (They’re certainly not mine!) My next few posts will offer suggestions to help you deck your walls with lively learning. To start, we present the All-Purpose Tree display – […]
Classroom Displays: Dino on Board
As we think about classroom displays, consider this FAQ. Do students really look at and learn from those painstakingly assembled wall displays? Students may have a vague sense that there is Jewish stuff on the walls and bulletin boards, but their attention is probably more focused on their friends’ smart phone apps or Silly Bandz. […]
Welcome – Baruchim Habaim
Shalom. Welcome. Jewish Educators are very accomplished multi-taskers. Many of us have families to tend to, other jobs, and community involvement. My blogs will try to convey information in a way that, if you wish, you can immediately apply the ideas presented. I was amazed to receive an e-mail reminding me that the first Religious […]
A stay of execution
A stay of execution is no victory. It is up to all of us to keep the pressure on. This bill must die. And if you are curious why: “The bill’s controversial third clause states that anyone who “entered” Israel as a non-Jew (and did not have a father, grandparents or spouse who was Jewish […]
The Victory Dance
Last week I found myself bopping to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”. Now, ordinarily, if I heard this tune pop up in Pandora or my radio I would turn it off. It DOES NOT reside in my iPod. This time was different: I was smiling. I was watching the video-gone-viral: “I Will Survive Auschwitz”. It […]
Worshiping at the Alter of Innovation – For Members Only?
I write this with love for Jewish innovation and ROI. This is actually an account of what my mind has been coming up with while the ROI summit has been taking place in Israel this past week. For the uninitiated, the ROI Summit is the brainchild of Lynn Schusterman, the Center for Leadership Initiatives and […]
Opening the Door Wider
The theme of rebuilding connections to Israel has been making Jewish headlines this past week. The newly released Jewish Agency strategic plan (Securing the Future: Forging a Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish People) sets out a blueprint that would lead to forging new links between Israel and the next generation, thereby ensuring the […]
Teva-JNF seminar: pt 4 – The Jewish Edge Effect
Changing frames of reference. That’s really the best way to describe this past week’s Teva Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education. Old ideas were presented in new packaging, and new concepts were introduced in the context of tradition (albeit in new garb, as well). These are examples of what I call the “Jewish Edge Effect”. A […]
Teva-JNF seminar:pt.3
I was on an upside-down bus today. Actually it’s called the “Topsy-turvy bus”. Here it is: Originally a work of art by the late artist Tom Kennedy, this unique mode of transportation has now become a tool for education: teaching new paradigms in the way we look at our relationship with the planet. The […]
Teva-JNF seminar:pt.2
I learned a new concept today: “The Edge effect”. This is a term used in environmental sciences that describes the phenomenon of increased biodiversity in areas where different habitats meet. This means that in areas where a forest and a meadow touch each other, you’ll find greater varieties of species coexisting. The introduction of new […]