PHOTOS BY DANI EL LIPPITT
Beyond The Classroom
For 24 years, Joanna Berger has been working to
integrate New Americans into the community.
JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER
ccording to Joanna Berg-
er, the only difference be-
tween her and her
students from the former
Soviet Union is that Ms. Berg-
er's grandparents chose to leave
Russia in the 1890s.
"Otherwise I would be in their
shoes," said Ms. Berger, who will
be retiring as chairman of the
A
Ms. Berger specializes in
English language department at
the Jewish Community Center teaching the most advanced, job-
next month. Now under the aus- eligible students. In addition to
pices of Ferndale Adult and helping them refine their oral
Community Education, 325 stu- and written skills, she focuses
dents- participate in the classes on preparing her students for
held at the JCC. Ms. Berger last the American job search.
In 1977, a qualified student
week was honored by Oakland
County Community and Adult sabotaged a job interview by
Education, an organization of asking the interviewees salary,
a question which is appropriate
teachers and administrators.
Ms. Berger has been teaching in the Soviet Union but offensive
English to new immigrants since to Americans. In response, with
1973, when the JCC began its fellow teachers Naomi Kelman
and Malka Subrin, Ms.
English as a second lan-
Berger co-authored a
guage program. She
Joanna Berger
guide for new immi-
started as one of 60 vol- helps
a student.
grants, one which
unteers recruited to
stresses the cultural do's
teach part time. In 1982,
she pursued a master's degree and don'ts of job-hunting.
Although copyrighted with
and was promoted to a full-time
the Library of Congress and
paid staff member.
"I got into this by accident," used widely in the JCC classes,
said Ms. Berger, who became in- the book was turned down by
volved when Irwin Shaw, then publishers who claimed that it
executive vice-president of the was written at too high a level.
JCC, announced that a large in- "The majority of immigrants
flux of people from the former across the country are much less
Soviet Union would be arriving. sophisticated and less knowl-
A medical illustrator by profes- edgeable about the world [than
sion, Ms. Berger was nervous at Jews from the former Soviet
first, but soon discovered she Union]," said Ms. Berger.
The intellectual sophistication
had an affinity for teaching.
So did her mother, Clara Col- of the former Soviet Jews has
lens, who, at the age of 78, start- created special challenges for
ed volunteering as a teacher in their teachers, said Ms. Berger.
the program. She continued "In the early days, there was
teaching with Ms. Berger until very little in the way of materi-
her death at the age of 94.
CLASSROOM page 22
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