Voices in Jewish Education

From Preschool On

We must strive for rich, fulfilling study opportunities for all, beginning with preschoolers.

work with these families as well
as the children.
This is precisely the reason that
congregations and agencies have
the opportunity to partner with
the Agency for Jewish Education
of Metropolitan Detroit's Jewish
Experiences For Families (JEFF)
and share the cost of a family edu-
cator in their congregation. The
family educator will primarily be
focused on these families with
young children.

Q: What will it take to make Jewish
learning exciting, meaningful and
ongoing for all ages?

HARLENE APPELMAN

Special to the Jewish News

7

he question that leaders of
Federation's Alliance for
Jewish Education have
wrestled with for the last
18 months is how to make Jewish
learning exciting, meaningful and
ongoing for all ages. Our first area of agreement is
that there is no "silver bullet." Enhancing Jewish edu-
cation and making it meaningful stands on multiple
opportunities.
First, take the first step seriously. Federation's
Alliance, part of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, believes that preschool edu-
cation is crucial for several reasons: Children learn
a tremendous amount in their early years. It is
essential to lay an exciting and meaningful founda-
tion for these children.
This also is the time for second-language acquisi-
tion, and Federation's Alliance has endorsed the con-
cept of Hebrew immersion opportunities for
preschoolers. It is currently exploring ways to offer
this most effectively.
This also is the time when parents are looking
for ways to connect with the Jewish community and with their
children. In a recent study conducted in Boston, findings showed
that parents, as early as second grade in their children's Jewish edu-
cation, had decided whether their children would continue their
Jewish education beyond bar/bat mitzvah. We must do everything
we can to help parents decide that, "Yes, our kids will continue
and we will be Jewish learners, too." We must be proactive and

Teach a child
in the ways
of Torah
and he
will not
depart from it.

9/15
2000

38

Rooted In Torah

As the rabbis tell us, "Teach a child in the ways of
Torah and he will not depart from it."
For the second step, Rachael Kessler's book The

Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection,
Compassion and Character at School says it all.
Jewish thought, Jewish history, the Jewish way of
life are fascinating, exciting and compelling, Kessler
says. Jewish education experiences, in order to be
meaningful, must be more than simply intellectual
exercises. Students must be able to find the connec-
tion, compassion and character-building tools that
Judaism has to offer. It makes no difference whether
our students are young or old, they all learn best
when their souls have been touched.
One way to do this is to enrich and support great
teaching. Currently, some of our community's teachers have joined
with the William Davidson School for Graduate Jewish Education at
the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York for its
Jewish Early Education Enrichment Program. Approximately 190
preschool teachers have signed up to study twice a month. The classes
are designed to meet the needs of adult learners and answer the ques-

