After October 7, questions about how we teach about Israel and how we prepare students for college and beyond have been posed nation-wide across Jewish educational settings and particularly in the congregational education space. According to our Greater MetroWest Community Study in 2020, nearly one-fifth of the children of families that identify as Jewish receive a K-12 Jewish education (or a portion of that) at congregational schools.
At a Federation event in May of this year, writer and activist Noa Tishby spoke about the failing of our Jewish education system to adequately teach this generation of learners about Israel so that they feel confident in their knowledge, can understand the complexities, and can develop a realistic relationship with the Jewish homeland.
Meanwhile, many directors of congregational learning at synagogues in our community have identified a hole in Israel education and lack of quality content for grades 3-7. One director noted, “We ask our kids to go from ahavat Yisrael (a love of Israel) in the early grades to wars and conflicts in high school and college, with no on-ramp in between.” They suggested that we need to provide a foundation for these kids so that when they learn about the complexities, they are supported rather than left to struggle.
To address this need, our Federation has pulled together a Task Force for Israel Education in Congregational Learning comprised of education directors from eight congregations. Starting this month, the group has committed to 10 months dedicated to researching and developing curricula which they will pilot in their own congregations this school year.
This month, during an intensive workshop, they will meet with curriculum developers from across the country and Israel, to take a deep dive into researching and creating the developmentally appropriate content for elementary and middle school students. They’ll continue working with the curriculum developers to pilot new learning in their congregations for these ages, including training and supporting classroom teachers and evaluating the content as it’s launched. While these eight congregations will pilot the curricula, we will ultimately share with all 30+ Greater MetroWest congregations with part-time learning settings so they may implement it the following school year.
To learn more, contact Emily Fox, Director of Jewish Educational Initiatives, at [email protected].
This program is supported by generous funding from the Cooperman Family Fund for a Jewish Future.