THE ROLE OF HEBREW LANGUAGE IN THE JEWISH DAY SCHOOL

“It seems that until now all the effort of teaching Hebrew in the United States has been channelled toward one aim, strengthening and serving the Jewish identity of the learners. Unfortunately, for the most part, Hebrew has been taught as an authoritative language, that is, as a language that approaches from the outside…. It is a language with a certain power over us within certain contexts such as the synagogue or a number of life-cycle events, but it is at the same time a language which when displaced from these contextual situations loses its power…” (Bekerman, 1987, p. 6)     

THE COMMUNITY THEORY AND THE JEWISH SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Almost no literature in the academic field of Jewish education exists that studies congregational rabbis as teachers of adults. This article seeks to contribute to filling the gap in the extant literature base. Using portraiture, the study describes and analyzes the aims of rabbinic teaching of adults in a synagogue setting. The findings suggest that regularly facilitating learners' intellectual and religious development, democratically guiding their communities' evolution through an emphasis on learning, and collaboratively joining their congregants in shaping the construction of personal and communal Jewish narratives are central aims of congregational rabbinic teaching of adults.     

THE PUBLIC'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PROMOTE EXCELLENCE

Despite the many systems — political, social and cultural — in the world, achieving excellence is a common goal. It should not be confused with elitism or simply success, but involves experts, leaders, even heroes: people who set standards and serve as examples to others, in sport, the arts, business, technology. The pursuit of excellence provides motivation; it sets targets and goals, not only for nations but also for personal development. The crucial issue is that of how a society can ensure that all citizens have the chance to fulfil their potentials. What is needed is an environment in which excellence can flourish through provision of incentives, tools and equipment, teaching and support. In all of this, education plays a vital role. It must provide an appropriate climate of challenge, the necessary resources, opportunities for assessment and stocktaking and, finally, competition.     

THE CORRELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO THE WORK OF THE LOCAL CHURCH

This article reports the ways five leaders situated within academic institutions widened the imagination of the role of religious education. From their own contexts and evolving vocations, they led a conversation hosted by the Forum on Religious Education and Academic Institutions. As they shared challenges and opportunities they see, they also showed how their lives prototyped diverse roles for religious educators. In so doing, they create multiple pathways for others to imagine new ways of adapting the field. The author ends with her own conclusions about how robust conversations such as this—across multiple religious traditions and diverse contexts of practice—might contribute meaningfully to the vocational identities of individual religious educators and to new, adaptive networks that may express collective vocations evolving within the field.     

COMMUNITY BUILDING: A NEW ROLE FOR THE JEWISH DAY SCHOOL

Wearing a swastika armband, I entered the classroom carrying a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf. Placing it on the music stand I employed as a makeshift lectern, I peered around the room until the students became silent. Then I began to read sections of Hitler's venomous tome, the hateful words cutting through me like a knife. As I read, I noticed that a few students stiffened. I had students analyze Hitler's quotes, addressing them as either “Herr” or “Fraulein.” After this lesson, I explained why I used such tactics. I told them death and destruction during World War II was only part of studying the Holocaust. Learning where the Jew-hatred came from and its context within Nazism was also important. And that meant comprehending Mein Kampf. Closing the book, I removed the twisted cross and slowly tore it into small pieces.     

THE TANGIBLES OF JEWISH EDUCATION

As a Rule, when discussing Jewish existence, we use the term survival. Actually, continuity is more accurate. Certainly it is more dynamic. Continuity indicates the state or quality of being continuous. It denotes the fact that Jewish life is an uninterrupted succession of Jewish people and events. Continuity is an absolute condition. Survival, however, indicates an act of surviving or merely lasting longer than others. Survival is something that continues to exist after the cessation of something else. As such, survival is a relative phenomenon. Moreover, continuity implies creative growth; survival connotes bare existence, even decline.     

THE TEACHING OF JEWISH MUSIC

This article deals with a recurrent situation in congregational schools, in which parents lobby for a reduction in the number of days per week of instruction. Following two similar studies by Joseph Reimer, the article utilizes the theoretical construct of a “social drama” as a frame for the recounting and analysis of a recent occurrence of this conflict at Kehillat Lomdim. In contrast to the cases brought by Reimer, this congregation convened a task force to study the underlying educational issues related to Hebrew instruction; the task force arrived at a decision that was both educationally sound and satisfying to both sides of the debate.     

THE STRUCTURE AND IMPLICATIONS OF CHILDREN'S ATTITUDES TO SCHOOL

ABSTRACT:  The paper reports a study of children's attitudes to school based on a questionnaire survey of 845 pupils in their first year of secondary school in England, together with interviews with a sample of the children. A clearly structured set of attitudes emerged from a factor analysis which showed a distinction between instrumental and affective aspects of attitudes but also dimensions within these, including a sense of teacher commitment and school as a difficult environment. Virtually all children had a strong sense of the importance of doing well at school. However, a substantial minority were not sure that they would stay on after 16. There were few differences between boys and girls or between children from different socio-economic backgrounds but children planning to leave at 16 enjoyed school less and were less sure that it had anything to offer them. There was an almost universal commitment to the value of education but, for a minority, an ambivalence about the experience and relevance of schooling for them.     

A JEWISH SCHOOL MODEL FOR MORAL EDUCATION

Since Gaonic times a great deal of Jewish history had been made, and vast areas of Jewish living had been vitally affected by an intellectual device known as “Shaalot Utshuvot” (“Responsa”), an exchange of correspondence between two leaders of Jewish thought and learning. Something in the nature of such a responsum took place between our colleagues Drs. Judah Pilch and David Kuselewitz, on the occasion of the former's publishing an experimental edition of a proposed High School curriculum, in his former capacity as director of the Curriculum Research Institute.

We publish herewith David Kusele‐witz's reply to Judah Pilch's request for his evaluation of the curriculum proposal. Written in 1965, it is still very relevant to our troubles and our challenges, and offers much food for bold and innovative thought on several vital Jewish educational issues.     

适应市场经济发展，强化校办产业管理

校办产业是社会主义市场经济的重要组成部分。要适应市场经济发展，强化校办产业管理，促进校办产业发展，必须充分认识到：选好带头人是校办产业发展的首要条件；强化制度建设是校办产业发展的保证；完善监督体系，加强财务管理是校办产业发展的关键；依托高校优势，提高科技含量是校办产业发展的必然趋势。