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of good teaching materials is
due to lack of time, not ideas.
Good nurturers and lots of en-
couragement are key.
"Writing is not easy. It's not
like writing a note to someone:
'This is OK This is how you do
it.' You can't assume anything.
You need to include every de-
tail," Ms. Appelman said.
So why do it?
"What really drives me
should drive every Jewish pro-
fessional. I really love Jews. It
sounds hokey, but every soul is
important to me on some level.
You enjoy Judaism, it makes
sense, it works, so you want
everyone to be a part of the club.
But you've got to show them
how," Ms. Appelman said.
Like Ms. Appelman, Rita
Abramson also knew the pres-
sures of constant prodding.
Ms. Abramson sang classic
songs like "10 Little Indians,"
inserting Hebrew words, to her
students at Temple Israel for
years.
The kids loved it. They knew
the melodies, could follow along,
and learned a beginning
Hebrew vocabulary.
Ms. Abramson knew she
hadn't tapped into some esoteric
secret for teaching language.
She was merely following her
own children's lead.
The tots were plunked before
the television to watch the then-
new "Sesame Street." Soon they
counted as easily in Spanish as
in English.
"I thought, 'This is how kids
should be learning Hebrew,"
Ms. Abramson said.
So she brought the bright col-
ors, fast motion and easy songs
of Big Bird and Bert and Ernie,
along with children's classics
like "I'm a Little Teapot," to the
classroom and taught simple
language, numbers, colors and
body parts in Hebrew.
Following years of "Rita,
when are you going to put it
down?" she recently completed
Keshet Haivrit —A Rainbow of
Jewish Songs For Children,
which includes an audio tape,
songbook and mini-dictionary.
Ms. Abramson contacted for-
mer student and musician Scott
Stern for the recording. Mr.
Stern plays backup on the key-
board. The tape was made at
his Sound Bytes company in
Southfield.
Kesizet Haivrit contains pub-
lic domain and original songs.
"Sesame Street" jingles could
not be used for copyright rea-
sons. Many tunes are a combi-
nation of Hebrew and English.
"There are two schools of
thought in teaching Hebrew.
Mix and don't mix. We're here
in a country that speaks Eng-
lish, teaching Hebrew in the
congregational schools. If you
try to teach all in Hebrew, you
lose them. To sing "Five Little
Dticks" in Hebrew and English,
the students have a context,"
Ms. Abramson said.
By making learning fun and
easy, Ms. Abramson believes
students using this method will
maintain an edge when delving
into bar and bat mitzvah prepa-
ration.
Feedback has been positive,
especially from Israeli teachers
looking for a way to connect
with their American students.
Ms. Abramson views the book
and tape as a framework, en-
couraging teachers and parents
to add stories and games as
they see fit.
This summer, Ms. Abramson
will sell her product at the
CAJE (Coalition for the
Advancement of Jewish Edu-
cation) Conference. She's mar-
keting the set locally to stores
ranging from Spitzer's (Judaica)
to Manuel (gifts) and hopes
"I'm trying to
connect with the
bored child I
once was in
Hebrew school."
---
Ira Wise
to expand nationally.
"There's a question of what's
out there beyond "Sesame
Street," "Barney" and Disney.
Not much. I want parents to be
playing this in their minivans
with their children," Ms.
Abramson said. "If a parent
hears their child singing songs,
especially Hebrew songs,
they're going to buy the tape.
It's educational, and it occupies
them.
"Besides, you don't need a
good voice to sing this stuff." I=1