JEDCHAT

They visit on my facebook newsfeed – playful, thoughtful, thriving – middle and high school friends with whom I have little contact beyond their status updates, but who were once an integral part of my daily life. While I have not reconnected with my teachers, I still often think of them and of my principal, Mr. S. Hirsch Jacobson (May His Memory Be a Blessing). They guided and nurtured me through my adolescent years, ultimately serving as role models for the career I would later embrace. In tribute to them, I choose to write this post not primarily in my capacity as a rabbi, a Ph.D. in Jewish education, or even as Lower School Principal of Schechter Westchester, but rather as a graduate of aSchechterDay School– shaped by an exemplary education for which I am profoundly grateful.

 I’ve been associated with Schechter schools for slightly more than three decades, having begun my journey at the then Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, nowGoldaOchAcademy, as an eleven year old sixth grader. Golda Och herself (May Her Memory Be a Blessing) was my high school Jewish history teacher and her impact, like that of so many other teachers in my life, was profound. She, together with Mr. Jacobson, offered me perspective that has enabled me to experience the ebbs and flows of recent American Jewish history at least in part through the lens of our schools. 

The age of Soviet, Jewish emigration in the late 1970’s, when I was in middle school, began my experience of connectedness to Jewish history in the making. My school opened its doors wide to embrace new émigrés fortunate enough to have been able to gain the then coveted permission to leave their native land. While I would later become a student leader within the Soviet Jewry Movement, at the time I felt blessed to get to know my Russian classmates who to me seemed like pioneers, part of something that mattered.

Then came the growth years of the early 1980’s when I was in high school and believed all things were possible. Our own school saw the move to a new, larger building needed to accommodate our burgeoning numbers. We experienced the introduction of computers into our school and felt the hope of expansive possibility. We were exuberant to be part of something that mattered. 

Soon recognition within the Jewish community of dwindling numbers of Jews and declining Jewish commitment brought the charge to produce talented Jewish educators able to infuse passion and knowledge into the next generation. As a young rabbinical student, my destiny became intertwined with that of the day school movement. I was actively recruited to complete a doctorate in Jewish Education and courted to embark on a career leading Schechter schools. Education was at the time one of the primary communal answers to growing concerns about apathy and assimilation in the Jewish community. Armed with my ordination and my Ph.D., I was sent out into the trenches of the day schools to participate in work that mattered. 

With the onset of the twenty-first century came the beginnings of disillusionment, but by no means despair. Day schools were falling from communal favor for a range of reasons and our work, once extolled, felt to me almost at times marginalized. Sometimes lonely, yet committed to our students and our mission, day school educators reached out to connect with the broader world of education in search of insight. Our schools became stronger educationally, reaching ever higher levels of accomplishment while remaining grounded in our enduring Jewish values and tradition. Although at times at least some of us felt underappreciated, we remained part of something that mattered.

Finally, came 2008 and an economic downturn that has impacted not only Jewish day schools, but most schools – parochial, independent and public. The affordability crisis so often pointed to in the news is not merely a day school challenge, but an education challenge. And what have we found? Amidst challenge stems creativity. Lean budgets have by no means limited educational innovation as we have felt the responsibility to continue to strengthen the quality of our schools while managing our costs. And, despite all the challenges, so many of our schools continue to thrive. More than ever, we know we are part of something that matters.

Cross-Posted on United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism Highlights blog

Rabbi Shira Leibowitz, Ph.D is Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester. You can follow her on twitter @shiraleibowitz or on her blog sharingourblessings.wordpress.com

Re-posted with permission from Peter Eckstein ( @redmenace56 )

 http://jcastnetwork.org/5thchild/asking-the-right-question.html

It’s that time of year when lists seem to abound: Best Music of 2011; Most Trending Topic of 2011; Person of the Year; Top Movies of 2011 and on and on and on. This prompted me to think about what were the past year’s most influential ideas in Jewish education. When I asked colleagues what they thought, all I got were blank stares and deafening silences. That’s when I realized that I was asking the wrong question. As I began to develop my own list, I came to understand that  probably the most important trend in the 2011 world of Jewish education is that the definition of Jewish education itself is in transition.

The year began with Jewish education conferences (North American Jewish Dayschool Conference as well as in the Reform NATE and Conservative JEA) focusing on the topic of  integrating technology into educational settings.  People were no longer asking, “Should edtech be incorporated into schools?” They were now asking, “How do we bring 21^st technology into our classrooms?” During the premier conference on education technology: ISTE 2011, a large organized group of  Jewish educators came together to reflect on the impact of edtech in Jewish education and community building.  In the past year we collectively embraced the possibilities offered  that can be found in the digital world.

Along with this transformation, networking as a tool for Jewish professional engagement became more widespread.  Live tweeting conferences and events (such as  #nateseattle, #jea2011, #jewishfutures, #judaism2030 and more) became de rigueur, empowering  those absent from program venues to be able to participate from afar.  #jed21  was augmented by #jedchat, a conversation of mostly dayschool educators,  discussing new modes of teaching and engaging students. Added to this networking mix, Google unveiled Google+ and the powerful video conferencing “Hangout” tool. A cadre of Jewish “professionals” (another term that is being redefined), dubbing itself “JewProNet”, has begun to regularly “hangout”, exploring  the art of networking as a tool to redefine the nature of Jewish education and professional life.   Along with the hangouts, the group interacts via a facebook group and twitter at #jewpronet. This conversation is taking place throughout the cloud, reflecting the reality of Jewish life:  Learning and teaching can take place on a myriad of platforms.

The process by which we adopt new digital tools informs how we reframe Jewish education within the context of 21^st century skills and literacies.  The concepts of collaboration, network awareness, and ownership of knowledge creation is being incorporated into Jewish milieus. Two trending topics in the Jewish twitterverse, for instance, have been “blended learning” and the “flipped classroom”.  These methods, borrowed from the world of secular education, exemplify the new convention that learning can take place in more than one place, not just in the classroom; and can be enhanced by a veritable mashup  of tools, encompassing all forms of technology.  The idea of prosumerism – of turning the traditional dynamic between teacher, student and community on its head – is forcing us to question what Jewish education really is.  This is why my original question was irrelevant. We no longer are talking about just teaching and learning.  We are talking about something much bigger and more significant.

This past year we came to terms with a new reality: Traditional educational structures and roles no longer are relevant to the many. We are witnessing and participating in the creation of new paradigms for Jewish engagement.  I’m beginning to think that in 2011 we stepped through a door. We are beginning to understand the necessity of transforming existing networks of the Jewishly disenfranchised  into deliberately conceived communities that create Jewish futures that they can call their own.  The role of the Jewish educator is evolving into that of guide, of connector, of network weaver.  Jewish education is not just about providing knowledge; it’s the process by which the learner  explores and enhances his or her own relationship with an ever expanding tradition.

Last night at around 6:30PST and 9:30EST something unique and exciting happened. I had the opportunity to lead a PD session with a cohort of Religious School educators from area congregational schools in San Francisco. You may be asking yourself “did he really fly all the way to the West Coast just to turn around and fly back in time to deliver finals to his classes in South Florida 9 hours later?” Not exactly. But with a little pre-thought and pre-planning, tools like Skype and iwork enabled me to deliver a 2 hour presentation on project based learning in a Religious School setting. And the entire endeavor resulted directly from my Personal Learning Network.

On a recent #jedchat conversation on Twitter @debbyj18 (Her real name is Debby Jacoby, a recent co-classmate graduate from our YU-IUSP Ed. Tech. program, whose role in the Bureau of Jewish Education in San Fran. is Director of the Center for Educational Leadership and NESS) posted she was looking for an educator to lead a presentation for religious school educators. In San Fransico. California. I’ve been really gung-ho this year on expanding my PLN while at the same time giving back to my PLN. With a simple Skype connection and a few other ‘tools’ it was technically possible to run a trans-continental PD session. When I told Debby I couldn’t make it in person but would be happy to Skype in she didn’t even flinch; she was very excited for the endeavor. That was a little over 5 weeks ago ago.

Between then and last night I worked on a keynote slide show with embedded live links to videos and  websites uploaded to the web with access links sent to Debby (just in case our connection was severed during the session.) I also e-mailed a PDF of the slides which would be used as copies for the educators and sent a few links of materials for the educators to view prior to the PD session. That was the ‘easy’ part. One of my biggest challenges would be connecting to educators who were attending a PD session at night and after school. Couple that with the fact that I needed to develop a connection with them via a Skype screen. And finally- remember the 3 hour time differential! My presentation wouldn’t start until 9:30pm EST- after a full days work! How would it all play out?

The night of the presentation my adrenalin was pumping full force and energized me. We tested the Skype connection (pictured above) and the screen sharing feature and everything was working smoothly. There was a little static at my end at first but it dissipated after a few minutes.

I tried to make the presentation as interactive as possible with the educators, ‘switching gears’ every 7 minutes or so. Off the bat Debby did a great job making the introductions and setting the mood/tone for the evening. PD sessions are notoriously challenging for educators and I opened my presentation as I do with all my PD presentation- explaining to the educators that they matter and that I value them and their time (I realy do). It was only slightly weird delivering a presentation through a computer screen and I tried to act as naturally as possible. For me it was nice to see how professional everyone was acting in the room- like they had been skyping with other presenters for years.

Starting with my opening piece, a KWL chart exercise, to the actual slide show (kudos to bie.orgwhose materials were used for my presentation) and different activities in between like creating anopen ended driving question, (see picture below to see how the ideas were discussed, developed and then proposed on the board- Thank you Debby for writing them on the board!) the educators seemed engaged and were actively participating in their learning. Educators directed challenging questions to me and addressed me like I was there in person.

Looking back the time really flew to the point where we had to hasten the end of the session to allow for educators to reflect and articulate their takeaways from the presentation. Their responses were positive. Debby and I touched base after the sessions and we both felt like the experiment had been a success (full disclosure- we’re actually skyping tomorrow to further think through and reflect on the experience and tweak as seen fit moving forward.)

Not 12 hours later did I receive an e-mail that one of the educators who attended was already thinking about how to apply what she learned for her upcoming classes! I am still thinking through the entire experience but it seems with today’s technologies coupled with a PLN and a little pro-activeness, well, 21st Century learning is truly limitless.

Cross-posted from Rabbiwex.blogspot.com

“What is the one most important thing that will be different in our school in 2020?” This profound question was asked at our headmasters’ tea welcoming parents new to our school.  Referring to a substantial ten year strategic plan, lovingly called Vision 20/20 because its realization is anticipated in 2020, this wise parent put eighteen months of strategic planning and another year of beginning strategic implementation into perspective. My mind raced; arriving at an understanding I had been grasping at, but had been unable articulate without the prompt of a meaningful query. Our strategic planning and implementation, impacting so many aspects of school life so substantially can, in my opinion, be described in its essence in one sentence.

In 2020, our focus will have shifted from teaching to learning.

To some the answer may sound trivial; to others nonsensical; and to still others mere semantics signifying nothing. To me, the answer shapes a process of cultural change and school reform that has paradoxically been grueling and invigorating, oppressive and freeing, painful and joyous, and perhaps most meaningfully, transforming and eternal. Walking the narrow bridge balancing that which is in the process of being transformed and that which is eternal, I could not with integrity explain my answer to this parent’s question without first posing an additional question. What is the one most significant thing that will remain the same in our school in 2020?

In 2020, we will continue to be guided by the core values of our ancient, enduring Jewish tradition. Regardless of how much we change, our essence will remain the same.

Tradition and change has long been a tenet at the heart of Conservative Judaism, the Movement in which I was trained as a rabbi and with which my school is affiliated. But, I don’t believe I am being defensive of my theological heritage when I state that in today’s educational landscape, healthy schools – Jewish schools regardless of denomination, parochial schools of various religions, independent, public and charter schools – will need to balance all that must change with all that must remain the same. As we experience the tremendous responsibility to prepare students for a future we cannot imagine, in which many perhaps even a majority of our students will one day embark upon careers that do not yet exist, we must remember that values; enduring, eternal values, will continue to ground us, serving as a moral compass to help us navigate our rapidly changing world.

There is no recipe for change just as there is no recipe for how to keep our core values central to all we do. Remaining the same does not mean mindless adherence to practices that no longer make sense, but rather embracing enduring values that are lived in the reality of our daily experiences. Changing does not mean throwing out all of the old, but rather carefully examining ourselves and our practices. We will have to reconsider curricula, the types of learning experiences we provide, student support models, assessment practices, educational technology and other resources, approaches to school leadership, and more. To be successful, we will have to shine the spotlight on the learner rather than the teacher, making each child the star of his or her own educational experience.  No matter how compelling or riveting a lesson may appear, no matter how interesting or engaging a curriculum may seem, we will have to be honest about how deeply students have understood, made our learning their own, and found a place in which their own curiosity, wonderings, talents and passions can emerge.

What will be different in 2020? What will be the same? Please join in this important dialogue and share your thoughts and reflections.

Rabbi Shira Leibowtz, Ph.D is Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester. You can follow her on twitter @shiraleibowitz or on her blog sharingourblessings.wordpress.com

Cross-posted at sharingourblessings.wordpress.com

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picture: thevarguy.com

Last night I had the opportunity to participate in two great chats. #jedchat which I co- moderated with @dovemerson and @RabbiWex and #educoach which is moderated by some real twitter rock stars and personal friends @KathyPerret, @Shiraleibowitz @PrincipalJ ( all of these Five educational leaders deserve a early #FF). Trust me when I tell you that afterwards I both energized and at the same time tired.

The interesting part is that both chats had a very similar theme and that is supporting teachers and creating a culture of teacher collaboration. As an administrator I have often said that what we want to see from our students needs to be modeled by our teachers and sometimes for our teachers. Meaning that if we want our students to collaborate and feel supported and safe then we as educators and educational leaders to model that, and therefore teachers need to collaborate and also feel safe and supported.

In the spirit of transparency and being open and honest at times this is hard. For one thing teachers tend to be very protective of their own “turf”/ classroom and from an admin point of view there are times that we need to take a tough or strong stance with teachers and they don’t always feel supportive.

Given that disclaimer how can we create a culture of collaboration and support?

Here are some of my takeaways and ideas from last night’s chats and I encourage others to add their own.

• We need to get in the habit of saying “We” and not I and “Our” and not “My”- sounds simple but this switch shows that we are going through things together and that we are all in the same boat and we are here to help and support each other

• Transparency- This need to begin at the top and school leaders need to model and show a willingness to be open and honest and share.

• A culture of taking risks- Teachers need to feel safe and that they are encouraged and allowed to take risks in a safe environment ( which leads to )

• Teacher Evaluations need to be about growth and support and not gotcha

• Sharing success

I want to be clear I am far from perfect and this post is also if not more a reminder for me. If I had one major goal/ resolution it would be to become a better educational leader/ boss/ all around better person.

originally posted on Principal’s Post Blog

Starting this blog has caused reflection. Different reflection than I had already been doing. I would say that it’s almost a year since the beginning of the journey I wrote about in my last post. And since then I have been reflecting in ways I never had before. Now I’ve noticed other kinds of reflection with the beginning of my “blog journey”. I re-read my entries before starting the next, and I’m taking a journey through them. And, thinking about what the next post should be about and how it fits into the journey.

A journey that I sometimes find myself so aware of, and at other times almost entirely forget, is the one I think I’m always on. It’s a mix of a personal and a professional journey. And, it’s one I am not sure how to document. And, it’s one I hope some followers will comment on. I’d love feedback.

It’s my journey about believing in being a Jewish educator.

I am a teacher. I teach at a Jewish day school. But, I teach math. And reading. And science. And social studies. And handwriting. And English grammar. And writing. How in the world does that make me a Jewish educator?

Oh – did I tell you I don’t speak Hebrew? I can read it. And I know many prayers and songs by rote. And I do Israeli dancing. And I read Torah (another journey I will write about here in this blog). So, I can join in the living and participating moments of Jewish life. But, I always believe I’m ignorant when it comes to the knowledge I think a Jewish educator would have. I believe I’m ignorant when it comes to the knowledge I think I should have as an observant Jew. It’s the part of my life I’m most critical of I think.

I’ve been lucky enough to have many mentors. Mentors in friends of mine. Colleagues of mine. Principals. Camp Directors. Rabbis. Teachers. So many of them don’t even know that they have helped shaped this journey of mine. Helped me realize – but only sometimes – that I am a Jewish educator. And, not merely because I teach in a Jewish day school.

I try, as often as I can, to forget about the specifics of what I teach – in this journey. I try very hard to think of what a Jewish educator truly is. I don’t really think it’s about the content that is taught. And, as a matter of fact, I believe in this case (as in many others) it’s about what is learned.

Am I showing my students – by example – that I love being Jewish? Do I respect them, so in turn encourage them to be respectful people? Do I build community – kehillah – in my classroom? Do I share my love of helping others with my students? Do talk about giving tzedakah (charity)? Do I share my life experiences with my students – that will inevitably include my Jewish life experiences? Do I wear my kippah at school with pride (another journey to document here)? Do we talk about ethical issues? Do we talk about problems and how to solve them?

I AM a Jewish educator. I don’t always believe that I am, so I sometimes need to remind myself that I am. Sometimes I need others to remind me. Maybe some of you reading this will post comments that will help me see what I cannot always see. But, really deep down inside, I think I know I am a Jewish educator. I just need to believe in myself a little bit more.

I continue to journey on this journey.

picture: www.sodahead.com

In my journey over the past year and half on Twitter I have been asked why do you tweet and isn’t Twitter just for Social Media and entertainment and not for education.  The other question I get is what can I a Jewish educator add to a global conversation on education and who would care what I have to say.

I had those very same questions a year and half ago I would encourage you to read some of my early posts were I speak about my personal journey on my Principal’s Post blog.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I have grown from being twitter and how I am doing things today that I would never have dreamed of, however that is not the greatest thing that has happened nor is that the biggest lesson.

The biggest lesson that I learned is that WE ALL MATTER!

People out there are interested in my thoughts and opinion and my opinion matters.

Therefore for some it may be Twitter and  tweeting or participating in a Twitter chat like #jedchat.  For others it may be blogging or sharing their thoughts that way.

Whatever way works for you I would encourage you to get involved and share your thoughts.

We are looking for contributors to this blog if you are interested please direct message me on Twitter at @akevy613 or email me at rabbigreenblatt@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you and learning together with you

Akevy

This was a post I wrote for another blog the day after our first Jedchat

To those of us who consider ourselves to be somewhat of a “Twitter” expert there is nothing as stimulating as a chat. I remember my first #edchat being completely overwhelmed and just lurking. It took me a while to get involved but I also marveled at the moderators and the people running chats.  You could basically find a chat for almost anything on twitter and if you don’t believe me check our @cyberman1 website that has a list of the chats.

So as  I became more of a “twitter expert” I started participating in #edchat and sometime #leadershipchat  and some others when I have the time. However in all of them there was always something missing and there was always this voice in side of me that would say “but you are in a private Jewish day school and while some of the issues may be universal there are unique issues that you have”.

I have blogged about a number of them;how can we balance technology and religion or finding the balance between 21st century skills and being a people of the Book just to name a few. And every so often I would get a comment or some feedback but it wasn’t the collaboration that was necessary.

With some encouragement from @tomwhitby  @Dovemerson, @RabbiWex and myself came up with the idea of having a twitter chat that would address some of the issues and needs facing Judaic Studies teachers today.

Great idea but to  be honest most of my followers and those that I follow on twitter are not involved in Jewish education and I wasn’t sure who would participate and really what to expect.

Well we picked a date set up a wiki (http://jedchat.wikispaces.com/) and started tweeting about it. The reaction we got was great people seemed really excited but still that unknown about how many people would actually participate in the chat.

Last night at 9 pm Et was that magical hour of our inaugural chat.  the first word that came to my mind at 10:05 ET  was “WOW” . It was truly amazing. I believe we had over 50 people participating and it was amazing.  Participating in a chat is great but moderating it and help create something that feeling was truly amazing.

If you couldn’t make it yesterday please join us next Wed night at 9 pm ET for our next chat. All are welcome.

The sky’s the limit all we need to do is dream and reach for it

Now as I reflect back on the last two months since we kicked off JEDCHAT I cant beleive how far we have come in just a very short time. B’H the interest and excitement is great and people are talking about and are excited about JEDCHAT

However I do understand that Twitter and a Twitter chat is not for everyone. Therefore taking the idea from my friend George Couros and Connected  Principals, I have created a blog for people ot share thoughts and ideas about Jewish education and that we can all learn from each other

We are also looking at other ways for people not on Twitter to be involved and contribute to JEDCHAT

More details about how you can contribute and other JEDCHAT activities will be announced shortly.

Keep up the tweets and the conversation.

Thank you all for making this such a wonderful learning experience.

KOL TUV

Akevy