Over the course of the past several
decades, reams of reports and piles of papers have been written about what's
wrong with complementary Jewish education in North America.
The hours are inconvenient….parents are
uninvolved….the subject material doesn't relate to the students' lives….participation often requires mandatory Temple/Synagogue membership which pushes up the
price….discipline is lax….staff members are not always well-trained…..
There is, however, much that is right in
Hebrew School education. This is particularly evident when looking at some of
the educational models that have been developed over the last 10 years or so in
which Religious school professionals have recognized the problems in the system
and have taken steps to rectify the issues.
The new online Hebrew School offers one
such model. Suddenly, as students study Judaism online, they find that they are
actively-engaged in an interactive and engaging online complementary school
where they have the opportunity to learn meaningful subjects through
stimulating experiential activities.
Online religious school offers students
the opportunity to learn about their heritage from the comfort of their own
home. Parents can easily be involved, to the extent that they wish, by simply
joining the lesson. The lessons can be scheduled at a time that's convenient to
the child and family, and the instructors, can be located anywhere in the
world, ensuring that professional and proficient educators facilitate the
classes.
JETS has been running the online JconnecT Hebrew school for 3 years. Each year the
school grows as more and more families recognize the benefits of online Jewish
learning and decide to offer these advantages to their children.
Judging by the evaluation comments of this
year's students, the 2013-2014 school year was the most successful year yet.
Students from North Carolina, Omaha Nebraska, and other far-flung regions
"met" virtually every Sunday morning with Michal Lashansky, a
professional educator based in Israel.
Throughout the course of the year, the
students learned about Jewish traditions, holidays, ethics, language, culture
and more via participatory project based learning activities which included
discussions and debates, online presentations, collaborative projects, posters,
online bulletin boards and audio and video casts. Some of the highlights of the
year included
·
ordering a falafel (in Hebrew)
·
hearing people in a local mall describe
how they celebrate Chanukah
·
reviewing celebrities who embody Jewish
values
·
presenting about Judaism and healthy
living
·
identifying Jewish heroes
·
discussing Israeli leaders
·
examining the question of what makes Israel
a Jewish state
When asked whether they
would recommend JConnecT to a friend, the entire class answered in the
affirmative.
JconnecT will begin again for 5th – 8th graders
in September 2014. Registration opens
June 2014.
" I learned so much about this then i ever could before and i
really like this school because i learned more then i learned before." JConnecT
student, course evaluation, 2013-2014
" I love shopping!!!!! and I thought
that it was cool to learn about all the different things Israel has made in
such a short time." JConnecT student, course evaluation, 2013-2014
"Interesting and not too difficult …. I learned a lot
of new things from this class.". JConnecT
student, course evaluation, 2013-2014
No comments:
Post a Comment