By Jackson Holtz, Special to JTNews
Growing up, nobody
liked religious school. But thanks to an innovative approach
at Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle, students entering the
sixth through eighth grades now choose from more than a dozen
classes with topics ranging from Jewish cooking to Jewish
yoga. The result: some kids say they’re actually enjoying the
experience.
"Let’s face it, the
worst thing about being Jewish is religious school and Hebrew
school," said Jay Weiner, Pacific Northwest executive director
for the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism. "It’s a
commitment of time when you’d rather be doing something else."
Recognizing that
students come to their Thursday afternoon classes after a long
day school and after-school activities, Director of Education
Roland Roth introduced "Yom Choice," – Day of Choice – midway
through last year, and oversaw its most successful
implementation two weeks ago on the Thursday afternoon just
prior to Rosh Hashanah. Sixty-seven students took part.
With Yom Choice,
the first day of classes is dedicated to a round-robin event,
where the students attend short presentations by each of the
teachers to explain their various – and in many cases exotic –
subject matters. At the end of the day, students completed a
form electing his or her top three choices for both the first
and second hours of classtime. In the process, according to
Roth, the students are empowered and their perception of
Jewish education moves from negative to positive.
"If they’re having
a horrible negative experience, then we’re not getting across
to them," Roth said.
Roth drew on his
prior teaching experience and his conversations with parents
to develop Yom Choice, and then encouraged the move away from
traditional classes. Since children at Beth Shalom attend
their traditional Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation classes on
Tuesday afternoons, Roth wanted Thursday afternoons to create
a social and educational environment for students to "do
Jewish together."
Now students eat
dinner communally at school and the classes are designed to
encourage social interaction between the children. Beth Shalom
also opened its doors to children from non-member families to
participate in the religious school program.
"You can learn how
to cook, play guitar, knit It’s a fun school," said Mimi
Kessler, an Israeli who teaches "Knitting for Peace in the
Middle East." The class, where children will discuss Middle
East politics between knits and purls, will teach the kids to
knit, have fun and perform a mitzvah. Kessler plans to
send student-made scarves to soldiers in the Israeli army or
to Palestinian children.
"We can make a
contribution to peace in Israel," she says.
Eighth-grader Raffi
Wineburg thinks the choice of classes makes going to school on
Thursday afternoons a lot better. He’s hoping to take Jewish
guitar and the yoga class.
"Jewish Yoga
ShalOM" is taught by Rachel Yonah, who energetically
introduced the class by leading students through a movement
exercise. Instead of Sanskrit names for each pose, she used
Hebrew words to guide the students.
"This is tree
pose," she says, balancing on one leg with both hands in the
air. "Who knows how to say tree in Hebrew?"
Dany Barash had to
redesign his curriculum last year after no one signed up for
his Israeli history class. So Barash created a new class
called "Israel’s Very Secret Service," where he weaves in
history while talking about how the army Special Forces
operate – history he learned first hand while serving in the
Israeli Defense Force. He says the exoticism helps capture the
student’s imagination. The class is in its second term and is
a top choice among students.
Other classes
include "The Wonderful Land of Israel on the Internet," "Adam
to Zodiac: A Dictionary of Jewish Symbols," "Great Jews You’ve
Never Heard Of," "Jewish Cooking" and "Beginning and
Intermediate Jewish Guitar."
Not all the classes
are fun, however. Holocaust survivor Bronka Serebrin teaches a
class where she retells her harrowing story. Due to the
subject matter, the class requires parental permission for
sixth graders, although Serebrin wonders at the concern about
11-year old children hearing her story. "I was their age when
I lived it," she said.
In contrast to
Serebrin’s graying hair and many years of talking to children,
at 29 Roth is young, full of enthusiasm and exudes
self-confidence. Roth says he’s learning on the job, but also
has professional training with more than a decade of teaching
experience. He taught Hebrew school while in high school near
San Jose, Calif., holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child
Development, taught in the New York City public school system
and recently received a Master’s in Jewish Education and
Administration from Jewish Theological Seminary. But he is
most comfortable when talking about the question at hand:
igniting a passion in children for Jewish learning.
"If we give these
kids something they want to do, they jump at the chance," Roth
said.
USCJ’s Weiner
agrees. "The idea behind what Roland is doing is that if we
can create some enthusiasm, then that spirit will carry over
into other areas in their Jewish life," he said.
Roth says the
program is working so far. The students talk with their
friends about what classes they’ll take, teachers are planning
classes for next semester and parents say their kids are
looking forward to coming to school.
"It’s a wonderful
thing because they get to have input into what they will
learn," said Moises Saul, whose children Zach and Shani both
attend the school. "They are making friends and learning while
in a Jewish environment."
"It’s a better idea
to choose your own class then to just be told," said Jessie
Madwed, an 11-year-old just starting the sixth grade. His
friend Elijah Butow, also starting sixth grade, agreed. "This
is going to be fun," Butow said.