Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project Newsletter May 2009
|
|
|
|
|
The Jim Joseph Foundation
Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project Newsletter
May 2009 Sivan 5769 | |
|
Dear Hevre,
It
has been a wonderful year working with you. We have learned a great
deal about the types of alumni support that seem most useful. Beyond
any support that we may have provided to you, we thank you for the help
you have given one another via the forum and individual/conference
calls, as well as feedback you've shared with us.
In the
coming year, in addition to the pedagogic and professional support, we
would like to provide more in the way of continued text learning, for
those who are interested. We are currently meeting with faculty at
Pardes to think of ways to do just that. If you are one of those who
would like the opportunity to continue your Pardes-style learning and
would be willing to either help us brainstorm or be a sounding board
for the ideas we are generating, please let Abby know.
As
you know, the PEP alumni website is a useful resource for information,
ideas and updates. As you plan for the end of the year, be sure to
refer to the website for a listing of numerous classroom review/closure activities.
As
the year draws to a close, we wish you an enjoyable vacation.
(Remember, summer vacation is one of the real perks of the
profession). We will be here should you need any help over the summer.
We look forward to seeing a number of you at the summer curriculum
workshop, and hopefully, most of you, at the fall retreat.
Kol tuv,
Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project staff:
Dr. Susan Wall, Abby Rosen Finkel, Debra Weiner-Solomont
The Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project is funded by a generous grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation.
|
|
D'var Torah: Mordechai Rackover - Cohort 3 |
My Fave 3
A threefold cord is not readily broken. (Kohelet 4:12b)
T-Mobile
has a plan where you get to choose your 5 favorite people and call them
for free. I would like to propose a 'My Fave 3', a process of
clarification and reliance on 3 core concepts that make up your Jewish
'faves'. Using Shavuot as a background, let's look at challenges and work on our three.
Shavuot
is a holiday in conflict. Is it an agrarian celebration, some type of
pre-Mosaic holdover? Is it the holiday whereon we commemorate the
receiving of the Torah? If it is, why doesn't the Torah just say so? If the latter is in fact the case then what in fact was received on this sacred date those many years ago?
These questions will be asked in our classrooms and Batei Midrash
in the next week or so. They are reminiscent of the ongoing dialog that
classroom teachers have with skeptical children and doubtful parents.
They bore into the heart of what it is to be a Jew who is educated in
both modern scholarship and a revealed tradition.
While teaching middle school mishnah
some years ago we came up with a means by which we could express the
complexity and harmony of these possibilities. We made a braid of three
colors, each one representing a different conceptual thread in our
studies: green - agriculture and the cycle of agrarian society; red -
history and scientific fact; and blue - the revealed tradition
represented by the concept of messorah.
This
tri-colored braid was woven on the first day of class. We made it big
and thick and hung it over or beside the board. Really careful teachers
even color-coded board work throughout the year. The braid was knotted
on top and open on the bottom. Sometimes you need to look at one strand
at a time.
On Shavuot we are faced with all kinds of triplets: Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim; Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Hasadim;
Be deliberate in judgement, develop many disciples, and make a fence
for the Torah; Have a good eye, a humble spirit, and a meek soul. Each
of these triplets is composed of elements that in their own right are
enough to support our journeys. All three at once can carry us to
unimaginable heights.
On this Shavuot I ask us each
to find our three: the three elements of Jewish life, practice,
service, or thought that keep us going. The three elements that we can
use in whole or in parts to answer the tough questions. The three
elements that, like best friends that you can call for free, are there
to support you when you need it the most.
Blessing us all to receive the Torah that we need this Shavuot.
Mordechai |
|
Associate Chaplain for the Jewish Community, Brown University
Rabbi, Brown/RISD Hillel
|
Educational Resources and Opportunities
|
|
1. Orach Chaim - Seder Hayom: Now complete from the very beginning to the start of Hilchot Netilat Yadayim (simanim 1-157), including all of Hilchot Tefillah and Orach Chaim - Hilchot Shabbat available online
5. The Center for Modern Torah Leadership
3rd annual conference, "Authenticity and Authority" in Boston on August
17-18, 2009. Food and housing will be provided, and transportation
stipends up to $200 are available for the first 25 participants. The
registration fee is $100. Please contact Anne Sendor regarding questions. To discuss content of the conference or the Center generally, please email Rabbi Klapper |
Focus on Jen Truboff - Cohort 6
|
|
I
am the Lead Judaic Studies /Hebrew Teacher for the Special Education
Division of the Westchester Fairfield Hebrew Academy (WFHA) in
Greenwich, CT. In addition to being a classroom teacher in a
self-contained special education classroom, I work directly with
teachers and specialists in both the special and general education
divisions of WFHA. I am a Judaic Studies and Hebrew Language resource
person and help to coordinate and shape the Judaics program of my
department.
Much of my technical training to prepare me to
work with this specific population has come from being a Hebrew College
Special Education Fellow and working towards a certificate in Jewish
Special Education. My day-to-day experiences draw upon my background
having taught in the general education classroom. I also frequently
find myself employing the pedagogical theories and classroom management
skills that I learned while at Pardes, particularly skills pertaining
to differentiated instruction. At WFHA, I have been able to strengthen
my skills by being a member of a collaborative team of dedicated and
supportive administrators and educators, which includes a reading
specialist, speech pathologist, behavioral analyst, occupational
therapist, and psychologist.
Throughout my experiences, I am
continually amazed and empowered by the wealth of effective and
research-based strategies and resources that have been developed in the
field of special education. Naturally, I cannot help but reflect on my
past general classroom experiences and think how I might have created
an inclusive classroom and managed behavioral issues differently. Some
resources developed by special educators have already entered into the
general education methodology and are benefiting students of different
learning styles. Many of these ideas can be adapted to work within a
Jewish studies classroom. Unfortunately, there are few resources, based
on our knowledge of how the brain learns best, to guide us directly in
how to teach Hebrew, Torah, Mishnah, Talmud etc. to non-native Hebrew speakers.
This
past April, at a conference entitled GISHA (Good Ideas Supporting
Hebrew Access), Hebrew College launched the first ever International
Center for Jewish Special Education: Mercaz Meyuchad. Almost
two hundred people attended from across North America and abroad,
indicating a need for providing support, mentoring, and the
implementation of new ideas and instructional strategies pertaining to
Jewish special needs.
It says in Sanhdrin 91b "One who denies a child knowledge of Torah steals
the child's inheritance". As day school educators we have a tremendous
responsibility to ensure that every child has access to his or her
religious heritage. It is my hope that as this field continues to
develop, teachers will find the practical support necessary to
effectively meet the needs of their individual students and ultimately
create inclusive classrooms where all can learn Torah.
|
Jen lives in Riverdale with her husband Zach Truboff (Rimon 04-05, Fellows 05-06, Kollel 06-07) and their son Nachum.
|
PEP Update
|
|
The
concluding ceremony honoring the 12 members of the eighth graduating
class of the Pardes Educators Program will be held on Monday, June 8,
2009. You are invited to send a mazal tov and words of advice relevant to beginning teachers to Gail.
These will be presented to the graduates in a booklet featuring Lisa
Bodziner's first year teaching blog. The invitation with a list of
Cohort 8 graduates can be found on the PEP Alumni website.
Those who have already signed contracts for the coming year
will be teaching at the following schools: SAR Academy, Hannah Senesh
Community Day School, Chicagoland Jewish High School, Denver Academy of
Torah, Torah Academy of Boca Raton, The Heschel School, and The Sheldon
and Dr. Miriam Adelson School.
We are excited to announce that
the Pardes Educators Program has accepted a full group of 15 students
for Cohort 10 entering in September 2009 (our largest cohort since
Cohort 1). At this time, we are seeking qualified Mechinah candidates
for September, 2009, who are not yet at the level to begin the regular
two-year Educators Program. Please recommend us to your friends or
colleagues and encourage them to visit Pardes website to learn more about the Pardes Educators Program. Mechinah applications will be accepted until June 15.
|
|
Education Corner: Ladder Game
|
|
|
Ladder Game: A Tool for Assessing Learned Vocabulary
This is a simple but effective way to help students (primarily upper elementary  through middle school) review Biblical, Rabbinic or modern Hebrew vocabulary.
Creating the Ladder Game
Create
a board with slots (rungs of a ladder) for 5 words. Take a cardboard -
approximate size 8 ½ x 11 or shirt cardboards from the dry cleaners (if
any still give those out). Cut out "rungs" (from a second piece of
cardboard) about 6 inches across and one inch high. Tape the rungs to
the cardboard on the two sides and bottom of the rung - leaving the top
open. Space the rungs equally one below the next on the cardboard
(about 2 inches between each). Number the rungs from 1-5. If you want
these to be really permanent, send them through a laminating machine
and then slit open the access to each rung at the top.
That
was the hard part. The major investment of time is upfront, in creating
the "ladders". (This is a great job for a supportive friend who likes
to cut and paste. It is also perfect for working on while watching
summer re-runs.)
Using the Game
Now give
students a xeroxed sheet with vocabulary flashcards, created by drawing
a line down the center of the sheet and four parallel horizontal lines
(for 5 words or phrases on each side). Have them cut out the flashcards
and spread them out on the desk. Now have them put the correct
flashcard in each rung, according to your clues/instructions. Give them
a sentence to fill in, or the English meaning of the word, or a
description in Hebrew - whatever works for your class. Repeat this for
5 different words/phrases. Then ask the students to read up and down
the ladder with you (if you want to go over pronunciation). You can ask
individuals to tell you what word is in rung #2, for example, and then
ask him/her to explain the word/phrase or use it in a sentence. It's
easy to quickly check what they've done by having them hold up their
ladders. Within a few minutes you can review all ten vocabulary words
and see what they know. It is a good assessment tool that is fun and
has something for each of the visual, auditory and kinesthetic
learners.
When you've finished, you can have them record the
words they need to work on. Have them clip together the flashcards and
put them into an envelope that you can come back to and use again at a
later point. The ladder board (with different words/phrases) can be
used over and over.
|
Save the Date! PEP Alumni Fall Retreat
|
|
"Back by popular demand" the PEP Alumni Fall Retreat...... |
When? Thursday, October 29 - Sunday, November 1, 2009 (11 Cheshvan-14 Cheshvan 5770)
Where? Barrack Hebrew Academy Guest House, Bryn Mawr, PA
Details to follow.
|
Summer Curriculum Workshop
|
|
We
are looking forward to a very productive summer curriculum workshop in
Jerusalem, July 14-28 (beginning on the 15th for our graduates). In
addition to 20 of our own alumni, 11 other novice teachers will be
joining the program. The participants are almost evenly divided between
upper elementary, middle and high schools and includes teachers from
Community, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox day schools.
|
|
Lights...Camera...Action!
|
|
We are very excited to be able to share two new movies that Pardes has produced in the last few months:
The first showcases Pardes' commitment to chesed, embodied in our annual day of chesed,
which we reported on in our last newsletter. This tradition was created
in memory of alumni Marla Bennett z"l (Cohort 2) and Ben Blutstein z"l
(Cohort 3). Click here to view it!
The second is a one-minute commercial for recruitment. Watch it here - and please foward it on, post it to your blogs and facebook profiles.
|
|
Alumni Updates
|
Mazal Tovs:
Yonatan Rosner (Cohort 5) and Jessica on the birth of a son, Ness Heim. Mazal Tov to big sister, Avriella.
Evan Wolkenstein (Cohort 1) on his engagement to Falynn Schmidt (Pardes '99-'00).
Sarah Margles (Cohort 3) on her engagement to Hartley Wynberg.
Professional News:
Tamar Rabinowitz (Cohort 1) was the scholar in residence at Beth El Synagogue, Bethesda, MD. Tamar presented a series of lectures on Tikun Olam.
Eliana Seltzer (Cohort 5) mentored student teacher David Riemenschneider
(Cohort 9) at The Jewish Community Day School, Providence R.I.
Eliana wrote an article about her experience which was published in The Jewish Voice and Herald.
Mordechai Cohen (Cohort 1) has been appointed Judaic Studies Principal at the Danilack Middle School of Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto.
Dr. Susan Wall and Dr. Judy Markose wrote an article about the Educators Program which was published in the Winter 2008 edition of RAVSKAK's HaYidion.
Thanks
to everyone for sending us updated contact information. Please keep us
posted about changes of address (home, email) moving jobs etc.
We are sorry if we missed something. Please help us by sending in your news!
|
| |
Month/Year
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pardes
Institute of Jewish Studies | POB 8575 | Jerusalem, Israel 91084 |
American Pardes Foundation | 5 West 37th Street, Suite 802, New York |
NY | 10018
|
|
|
|
