A few weeks ago, I was at a Shabbat dinner sitting next to a young man who told me he was a Jewish educator. I’m always happy to hear from passionate Jewish educators so I told him that I’ve been in Jewish education for almost 30 years and then asked what he teaches. He said, “Tanach, but I’ve only been teaching for three years. So, can I ask you a question? Have you seen a lot of changes in students in the last 30 years?”
Well, that led to a long discussion that began with what I noticed was happening in most schools—students are not being challenged with critical thinking and analytical skills. They seem to expect their teachers to hand them their “education”. They are not encouraged to be curious and ask questions. Often, they are being taught to a test even in their Judaic studies classes. I told my new friend that I found this sad and have worked hard my whole career to change this paradigm.
One of the most important aspects of an Irvine Hebrew Day School education is that students are actively engaged in their learning. Wonder is a prime objective, and questions are not only promoted, they are honored.
How do we help students retain the same joy of learning and sense of awe that they started within preschool, TK and kindergarten? How do we curate curricula that inspire inquiry?
I know it’s Tishrei Chagim time right now, but I’m going to skip ahead in the calendar to Pesach for a moment. The Pesach seder not only highlights the four questions that lead to the telling of our story, but many of the things we do during the seder are specifically designed to promote questioning by the children (and the children in all of us). We use props, songs, stories, words of our sages, and of course, food to help us feel that we are actually experiencing our past, not just learning about it in some book only to be tested later. This is active, experiential inquiry-based education at its best, hallmarks of great education implemented at IHDS daily.
But let’s return to this time of the year and examine another educational holiday—Sukkot. On the surface it doesn’t make much sense—living in a hut for a week. However, it pushes us to think differently about the world and ask ourselves what it means to rely on GD, as well as so many other questions! In the sukkah, younger people should be encouraged to ask questions about what they are observing and experiencing like shaking a lulav. However, we should guide them in their thinking process before giving any answers.
For example: A colleague of mine was visiting a friend, whose ten-year-old daughter interrupted their conversation. “Mom, what’s 12 times 14?” She and her little brother were engaged in a project and needed the information. My teacher colleague immediately jumped in.
“Well, what’s 10 times 14?”
The girl’s face flashed annoyance, which was quickly replaced by a look of concentration. Clearly pleased with herself, the young girl said, “140!”
Just as the teacher asked the girl to calculate 2 times 14 so she could add it to the 140, her mom blurted out, “168.” Smartphone in hand, the mom said proudly, “I just used the calculator.” Her daughter said “thanks” and ran off. The teacher’s heart sank; an opportunity for experiencing the process of learning had just been missed.
That’s the special secret sauce for success that IHDS has created – molding experiential, active learning where questions are at the heart of the learning process. What could be more Jewish than that?
Batsheva Frankel is the Principal of Irvine Hebrew Day School.