Ever since I was a little child, my favorite song has been "לא עליך".

"לא עליך המלאכה לגמור, ולא אתה בן חורין להיבטל ממנה..."

"It is not up to you to complete [all of] the work, but neither are you free from trying... "

Taken from Mishnah Avot, the text of this song acknowledges both the potential and limitations of the human experience.  

I came to appreciate this lesson on a new level this summer while working at the Kayam Farm. Located on the grounds of the Pearlstone Retreat Center, Kayam is an organic Jewish educational farm that provides opportunities for people from all backgrounds to work the land and care for its animals. We created a pluralistic Jewish community together, supporting and challenging each other. Yet it was clear that we were all united by the recognition that our work can be imbued with a sense of sanctity, of kedusha. I was joining in the process of the human experience, acknowledging both my abilities and my restrictions as one person in this vast system.

Every Thursday was Harvest Day for the farm's Community Supported Agriculture Program. As I cut beautiful heads of romaine lettuce from the ground, I felt grateful for the ability to be a part of this process. I was reaping the benefits of the effort of those who came before me: the person who created the plot of land, tilled the soil, prepared the beds, placed the irrigation tape, planted the seeds, weeded the plants, and removed any of the predator bugs that would have prevented the lettuce from sprouting to its completion.    

Hopefully you have been following the progress of our new Pardes Center for Jewish Educators (PCJE) and thinking of how you can both contribute to and benefit from these developments. While the classic PEP program will remain the centerpiece/anchor of our pre-service program, the training component for educators has been expanded to meet the needs of a variety of people looking to enter the field of Jewish education. Click here for more information about PCJE. 

In North America, we are already involved with two very exciting projects detailed below. In addition we would be pleased to provide professional development for your school or in your community on the topics of tefilah, hevruta, making text study meaningful, and Israel education. 

1. A tefilah initiative with Ravsak. We are in the early stages of planning the project which we believe will have a major impact on tefilah in day schools. In June, we co-sponsored a think tank, in the New York area with tefilah educators from a broad array of backgrounds. We hope to recruit pilot schools in the near future, and work with our own PEP graduates whose schools are ready to make a serious investment in tefilah.
2. Middle school Rabbinics curriculum focused on creating rodfei shalom. Together with Daniel Roth's Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution, we have started a pilot project with two middle schools in the greater LA area (Sinai Akiva and Kadima). We have developed initial units on what it means to be a rodef shalom and another on bullying. We hope to expand the project in the 2013 -14 school year to more middle and high schools - and again would like to give priority to schools where our PEP alumni are teaching.

    

Peer Observation and Coaching by Susan Wall

Marc Baker (cohort 1), headmaster of Gann Academy, spoke at a luncheon during our summer curriculum workshop. He shared with the group the five core characteristics of a Gann educator. While all five were important, I want to focus, for this month's column, on the first trait: an educator committed to reflection, collaboration and growth.

The term "reflective practitioner" has entered the shared vocabulary of serious educators. We all speak of the importance of examining our work and thinking how we could make it better. My teacher, Dr. Seymour Fox, often compared teaching to medicine in that he saw them both as a combination of art and science. There is definitely a practice to teaching that can be taught; the art is in the application. Medicine, however, comes with an extended apprenticeship. New teachers should also view
themselves as interns/residents, who need an attendant to help them learn, grow and reflect. (That is why having a designated mentor to observe and reflect with new teachers is critical.)

Barbara Rosenblit (a master teacher who mentors all new teachers at the Weber School in Atlanta and who has worked will all eleven cohorts of Pardes Educators), claims that she learned to teach by watching great teachers. In fact, no matter how long we are in the field, we can learn by watching others and having others watch us.