Nudging Enough?

In moving to Long Island this past summer, traffic (and trying to avoid being stuck in it) became an integral part of my life. in Baltimore, I had been blessed with a commute that could be measured in feet, not miles, and walking to work was an option, that in hindsight, I should have taken advantage of more often. Now as I get up each morning, I offer a short prayer that the Long Island Expressway is accident free so that my ride to and from work is without incident.

Prior to this, I probably would have passed on watching Jonas Eliasson's Ted Talk on How to Solve Traffice Jams. I have very little interest or skills in urban planning and this topic seemed a little further afield than the types of Ted Talks that tend to peak my interest. I clicked play, however, because I had just been caught behind the residue of several accidents coupled with congestion that had made my commute close to unbearable that morning.

Eliasson's analysis of the traffic congestion in and around Helsinki revolved around the use of a congestion charge that was levied on cars that were using a series of bridges to enter Helsinki (sounds suspiciously like how to get into Manhattan). These bridges were the bottlenecks that then led to backups in other areas around Helsinki. Eliasson's analysis of the situation showed that the congestion charge pulled enough cars off the road to have a serious impact on traffic congestion because of being a nonlinear phenomenon. In other words, once the traffic was reduced past a certain threshold, it appeared to be dramatically less.

Eliasson's comments about the experiment with traffic Helsinki brought two realizations to mind. The first was that the traffic congestion charge was equivalent to the classic nudge. It wasn't a significant amount, but it was just enough to get enough people to change their behavior over a period of time that it impacted the traffic patterns around Helsinki. Subtle, but perceptible guidance to change another's behavior can be more effective than getting up on your hobby horse and yelling at everyone to change.

The second realization is that you do not have to get everyone to change in order to create change. Despite our desire to view the world as having linear relationships (e.g. as x increase so does y), not everything does. We actually can impact change by just engaging with a critical mass of teachers, students, or other stakeholders to change the perception of things on the ground.

Too often, we fall into the trap of insisting on change as a mandate and pushing people towards it. I've frequently discovered, particularly with my two preschool aged daughters, that this strategy just doesn't work. It creates resistance and resentment. As I contemplate the changes that I would like to be putting in place at my school, I'm reflecting on how best to "nudge" and how to target that nudging to have the most impact.

Friday Letter - December 21, 2012

I like a good argument. There’s something about engaging in a passionate conversation about a topic that gets the adrenaline flowing. Now, I’m not suggesting that we run around picking fights with each other. A healthy argument includes respect for one’s opponent and a conversation that stays focused on the issues rather than on the ad hominem attacks that we see among some talking heads on TV. This kind of debate is a great tool in and out of the classroom as it allows students to see an issue from multiple perspectives and forces them to back up an opinion with reasoning and facts.

This week in the AP Government class, there were timely debates regarding the role of interest groups in our political system. Specifically, the role of the NRA was part of the debate.  Several AP Government students made solid contributions on this subject.

On Tuesday, Robin Stanton's English 10 Honors class participated in two debates.  Students spent the previous two weeks working in teams: researching and synthesizing source material, planning strategy, and polishing their presentations.  On the morning of the debate, students arrived in professional attire.  They presented their arguments with a poise and authority that belied their years. Debate results were released later that day on PawPrint Now.

The members of the Debate Club are learning how to present persuasive arguments in support of or in opposition to current controversial topics that have been in the news frequently. It has also been discussed that you do not have to personally agree with the side of an issue that you are presenting. An effective debater should know both sides of an issue. Some of the topics that have been or will be the focus of our debates are listed below.

1. Which presidential candidate should be the next president of the United States?
2. Are social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or LinkedIn good for our society?
3. Do video games contribute to youth violence?
4. Do the movies produced in Hollywood have a bad influence on society?
5. Should athletes be allowed to use enhancement drugs?
6. Should medical marijuana be available in all states?

During each meeting of the club, two teams are selected to take different sides of an issue. Each team presents their arguments. Each team has an opportunity to a rebuttal of the opposing teams statements. Then each team gives a very quick summary of their  arguments. The team that gives the best presentation is declared the winner by the club adviser, Mr. Steger.

The high school student government has also been involved in a debate of substance, among themselves and with the faculty. In response to some planned changes to 10th and 11th grade minyanim, student leaders wrote a letter to administration expressing their concerns. Several meetings have been held to discuss both student and faculty concerns and a partnership is developing out of these passionate arguments about how to engage our students in tefillah. As they develop, I look forward to sharing with you our plans.


There is no argument that it is time for winter vacation. On behalf of the faculty and staff of the Upper School, I wish you an enjoyable and safe winter vacation.


Shabbat Shalom!

I Am Not Planning a Polar Expedition

I just watched a Ted Talk by Ben Saunders which concluded with his plans for an upcoming Antarctic expedition on foot. He detailed his experiences doing things that most of us probably wouldn't even dream about.

Watching this talk was inspiring. Now let's be clear about one thing. I am not planning a polar expedition. While I do prefer cold weather to warm weather, my idea of a challenge does not include dragging a sledge filled with supplies across Antarctica for four months. I can think of a large number of things that I would rather do with my spare time.

But, Saunders is not encouraging everyone to run out and join a polar expedition. What he is encouraging is for us to get out and experience life. Getting out of the house, to borrow Saunder's phrase, means stepping outside of your comfort zone.

I wrote about this in an earlier post when I was challenging myself to stretch my linguistics skills. Taking risks needs to be a part of education and equally applies to students and faculty. As an administrator, I've challenged myself to learn about design thinking and will be taking part in the Day School Collaboration Network that the Jewish Education Project is supporting along with UpStart Bay Area.

Normally, schools make changes gradually. We run a program, evaluate, and make the changes for the following year. Design thinking, however, challenges us to consider rapid prototyping - making quick sample products that you test out and then go back to the drawing board as you test out the ideas.

This approach runs contrary to what I'm used to doing and moves me out of my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to seeing how design thinking gets me out of the house in the upcoming months. I'll be sharing my experiences through this blog.

An Unexpected Linguistic Adventure

In getting ready for my trip to London to attend World ORT's Wingate Seminar on instructional technology, I thought about a number of things to make sure that I was prepared for the trip. I checked the weather to ensure that I had packed the right kind of clothing. I put the finishing touches on my presentation to the group on how our school uses Google Apps for Education as an instructional and administrative tool. I spoke with friends and colleagues who had traveled to London about things I should try to do or see. At no point, did I think about brushing up on my Hebrew. After all, I was traveling to an English-speaking country.

When I arrived at the World ORT house, I received my linguistic surprise. While the sessions were conducted in English, the vast majority of casual conversations were conducted in Hebrew as the bulk of the participants were from schools in Israel. For the last several years, World ORT has been collaborating with the Israeli Ministry of Education on a program called Kadima Mada which enhances science education in schools in Israel's periphery. Along with representatives of schools in South America, the Former Soviet Union, and South Africa, the Israelis were taking part in the seminar to grow their skills in instructional technology and collaborate with colleagues from ORT supported programs throughout the world.

Sitting at lunch or during a coffee break, I could hear the sounds of Hebrew around me and if I closed my eyes, I was suddenly somewhere in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, not at a conference in the heart of London. It was in these moments that I chose to pick up the gauntlet of linguistic risk and begin to speak in Hebrew with my Israeli colleagues.

Linguistic risk involves taking your existing functional knowledge of a language and trying to stretch it. When you do not have a specific word, you try to work around it by using the vocabulary that you do have. Most importantly, though, it means being willing to make mistakes and to grow to from the feedback that you receive in the conversation.

I am not a native or fluent Hebrew speaker by anyone's definition. Like most language learners, my vocabulary is limited to specific situations, such as ordering in a restaurant or asking people about how they are doing. I lack the ability to talk about a variety of topics, including many aspects of my own profession. Yet, because I was willing to engage in linguistic risk when speaking with my Israeli colleagues, my skills in having this kind of conversation have grown and my confidence has increased exponentially.

All learning involves some form of risk. After all, you are attempting something new that you have never done before (otherwise it would not be learning). As teachers, it is our job to create an environment where students are willing to engage in risks. This means showing your support through appropriate encouragement and make sure that the risk falls within an acceptable range. The steps between learning concepts and skills need be just far enough apart that students stretch, but not so much that they fall on their faces.

I would not have taken my own linguistic risk if my Israeli colleagues had not encouraged me to speak and supported me as I stumbled my way through a conversation. After five days of continually taking this linguistic risk, I have grown as a Hebrew speaker. I am more comfortable struggling with the language and I have learned new words and phrases.

Imagine if we could constantly create this safe environment for our students to continually take risks in our classrooms, rather than just playing it safe. The opportunity for student growth could be amazing.

Friday Letter - December 14, 2012

For the last several weeks, it has been dark when I have left for school in the morning and dark again when I have arrived at home. With the winter solstice approaching, we will soon see increasing daylight hours, but until then, I find myself craving the light. Perhaps it is fitting then that the Festival of Lights arrives in the midst of this darkness imposed by the Earth’s axis and its rotation around the sun.

Fortunately, there has been plenty of (high)lights to go around this week. Saturday night brought with it the first night of Hanukkah and the closing performance of Shlemiel the First. This group of talented high school actors shown on the stage as they made the audience laugh until we cried with the antics of the residents of Chelm. The “wisdom” of the Chelmites defied logic and the performance amazed and delighted. Kol HaKavod to Joan Freedman Cohen and the cast and crew!

The days brightened some more with our Hanukkah Haggigah (holiday celebration). Middle school and high school students thoroughly enjoyed the rhymes, rhythms, and music of Bible Raps performer Matt Barr. Students (and Rabbi Bernstein and Rabbi Josh) joined in on stage for portions of the performance as they used this medium to explore the holiday and their connection to Judaism.

Glow sticks, strobe lights, and candle light pierced the darkness during the middle school dance. In addition to our own students, we were joined by students from Solomon Schechter Day School of Queens and East Midwood Hebrew Day School. This was a wonderful opportunity to bring students together from the schools within the Schechter Network. We closed the night with a communal candle lighting and the singing of Maoz Tzur.

There is a Talmudic argument between the houses of Hillel and Shammai over how candles should be lit during Hanukkah. Shammai’s disciples promoted starting with all eight candles lit and reducing the number of candles each day while Hillel’s students thought that we should should increase the candles until all eight were burning the last night. While everyone knows which school of thought we follow on this issue, it is clear to me that, at least this Hanukkah, we have seen the light increase as we have moved through the holiday.

Shabbat Shalom v’Chag Urim Same’ach!

Friday Letter - December 7, 2012

When asked about the origin and meaning behind the holiday of Hanukkah, most people will reflect on either the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greeks or the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days. Setting aside that the story of the miracle may have been a fabrication of the Rabbis to downplay the military victory, both of these origin stories only briefly touch on the reason for the name of the holiday.

Hanukkah means dedication. In the case of the holiday, it was more of a re-dedication, as the Maccabees purified the Temple in Jerusalem to make it fit for worship following its desecration by the forces of Antiochus. The military victory occurred to allow the Maccabees to liberate the Temple and the story of the oil stems from the lighting of Temple’s menorah as part of the re-dedication efforts.

It’s fitting then that our school calendar at this time of year brings with it several opportunities for our students to also engage in re-dedication to their academic studies. Report cards have been issued in the high school and were mailed today in the middle school. Parent conferences kicked off this week with the first round of high school conferences and will continue over the next two weeks for both divisions.

Report cards and conferences offer an opportunity for parents and students to have conversations about student learning. Students can take stock of their efforts and see where they need to make adjustments or change strategies. They can feel reinforced that their hard work is paying off or realize that they need to reach out for the many supports available at school.

So, this Hanukkah, rather than starting planning for your New Year’s resolutions and what new things you want to do, think about what you want to re-dedicate yourself to.

Shabbat Shalom v’Chag Urim Same’ach!

Fire, Fire!

Fire drills are one of those necessary evils of school administration. In the jurisdictions that I've worked, they have been legally required and it can be a struggle to squeeze the appropriate number in each school year.

It's not that I'm opposed to having the drills or the opportunity for a little fresh air that goes along with them. They are important. In a school, you have to have a measure of fluency with your emergency preparedness plans. With so many moving parts (read this as students, parents, and faculty), the potential for the unscheduled to occur is more probable than we want to think. It's the scheduling of the drills that drives me nuts.

I've been responsible for coordinating fire drills over the last five years in the two schools that I've been an administrator. Here's a short list of the factors that I've had to contend with when wanting to put a fire drill on the schedule.

• Transitions between periods
• Lunch time
• Dismissal
• Arrival
• Nap time
• Tests
• The day of the week or period of the last drill
• Admissions testing
• Donor meetings
• When in the period the drills scheduled for
• PE classes
• Special programs

Plus, of course, the weather. Is it any wonder why scheduling fire drills can drive me crazy?

Yet, somehow, I do get them scheduled. And having once worked in a school where there was a fire, they are important. Looking ahead to getting the rest of this year's fire drills scheduled, I'm thinking about how to do they smarter.

One thought continually comes to mind after a drill. We constantly evacuate the building using all available exits. But, if we can get through all of the hallways to all of their stairwells, where is the fire? This may be a bit sadistic, but I'm thinking for my next fire drill to have a staff member where a big red and yellow sign that says, "Hi, I'm the fire." and block off that exit. I wonder what the reaction will be.

Are there more ways to make fire drills more effective training tools? And how do we overcome the reluctance of some staff to accept this necessary interruption to the school day? How do you convey to students the seriousness of the drill? How do you improve performance from drill to drill?

Friday Letter - November 30, 2012

One of my first introductions to life at the Upper School was a phenomenon known as being “Paw Printed.” Thinking back, I’m not sure if I had even stepped foot on the campus as the incoming Upper School Principal when I received an e-mail from a student-reporter asking to interview me for the high school newspaper, Paw Print. We e-mailed back and forth a few times and made arrangements to speak at my next visit. She asked me a variety of questions about my reasons for coming to the Schechter School of Long Island, my background, and my thoughts on education. In other words, I was “Paw Printed.”

Since then, I’ve been “Paw Printed” several more times, and I am sure that there will be more.
In the past week, I’ve been approached by student-reporters from each of the school’s news publications, Paw Print, Paw Print Now, and News from the Middle, the middle school paper.  Our student reporters are diligent, inquisitive, and respectful when they are out “on the beat.” And, as I learned from my first experience with Paw Print, persistent.

Student journalism is an incredible learning experience for our students. With the support of Paw Print and Paw Print Now advisor, high school English teacher Shawn Thorgersen, and News from the Middle advisor, middle school English teacher, Kayla Motroni, students have been organizing coverage of school events and thinking about issues of concern to students with the goal of creating a quality publication that engages its readers. Students, particularly our reporters for the Paw Print Now daily news blog, are learning about deadlines and figuring out what is actually newsworthy. And, of course, they are learning about writing as a journalist.

So, the next time that you are in the building for a program, don’t be surprised to be approached by a student with some probing questions about life at Schechter. After all, you could be the next person to be “Paw Printed.”

Shabbat Shalom!

It's Everywhere or at Least It Should Be

Over the last few days, I've found myself trying to decide if the to do list app that I was using was the right fit for me. I knew that I needed one. I've been using task lists in various forms since high school and moved to electronic ones with a Sharp Wizard and then my Palm Pilot. With the often frenetic pace of work and home (welcome to life with two preschoolers), a task list helps keep me focused on what needs to be done and reminds me of the important things that need to happen. The behaviorist in me also recognizes that checking off each item in the list as the day progresses is doing a good job of reinforcing my behavior. In other words, my task list is my own personal behavior modification program.

I spent some time thinking about the different features that I was looking for, e.g. dividing tasks into lists, reoccurring tasks. Then, it struck me. The most important feature that I was looking for had nothing to do with what the app, website, or program could do, but where I could access it. What I really wanted was ubiquity.

Technological ubiquity is the idea that you should be able to access your data and the tools that you use from a variety of platforms, e.g. computer, phone. Just being able to work with data in one of these places is often not adequate enough as we may not be willing to run back to our desks to enter information and, for example, there is a limit to how much information we want to enter into a mobile phone.

In my case, technological ubiquity means being able to see and edit my tasks on my Android phone, iPad, and desktop which meant needing a service that had Android and iOS apps as well as a website that I could access from my computer. Needing access through three different platforms probably made things complicated, but I wasn't about to run out to change my phone based upon a search for a task application.

For me, technological ubiquity has become a key factor in assessing a potential technology tool and one of the first questions that I will be asking is where can I use this. After this question of access is answered, then I can start looking at whether the feature set works for me.

Friday Letter - November 21, 2012

Each year that I have taken groups to Israel, we encourage the students to experience the trip through all of their chumshim (senses): sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. As we walk the land, we want them to experience the trip at this basic level and then begin to process the more complex thoughts and emotions churned up by a trip to Israel.

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about using my senses as I’ve walked the halls of the Upper School. Close your eyes for just a moment and concentrate with me as I walk you through my sensory experience at school.

Touch - The feel of a diligently built bridge being taken apart in Sci-Tech to figure out why it failed. It is just as important to understand why something did not work as it is to get it working as these students learn the principles of engineering.

Taste - We shared cookies, donuts, and juice with our neighbors at St. Aidan’s at our second annual Thanksgiving celebration. We gathered the middle schools of both institutions together for an opportunity to reflect and appreciate all that we are thankful for this holiday. Students heard Father Kevin and Rabbi Josh talk about the things that they have taken for granted and now realize how important they are. Mrs. Joan Friedman Cohen organized a group of 6th and 7th graders on drums and recorders to teach the students a song and the St. Aidan’s choir performed.

Sight - The image of a coalition of Muslim and Jewish schools, synagogues and mosques
gathering together  at Hempstead Town Hall to present Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray with blankets, warm coats and non-perishable food items that they have collected to donate to Hurricane Sandy victims. These items will be distributed by the Town of Hempstead to families in hard-hit communities throughout the Town, whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy, and many of whom are still unable to return to their homes.       

Hearing - Take an audio tour of many of the classes and other experiences that the Upper School students have had through Sounds of Schechter.

Of course, I have not left off the important sense of smell. Naturally, this week brings with it the smell of turkey roasting in the oven and all of the delicious smells of Thanksgiving. In these post-Sandy days, we have heightened our sense of gratitude towards our blessings. Take a look at what the 10th grade minyan thought about gratitude through the bracha מודים אנחנו לך in the עמידה. Here is a visual representation of their responses.

I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving.

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Letter - November 16, 2012

One of the joys of my being a school administrator is to get to observe incredible teaching and learning experiences that take place throughout the school day. Most often these experiences occur in the classroom, and this week was no exception. As I wandered from classroom to classroom, I saw students thinking hard about complex subjects and teachers passionately pushing students to challenge themselves just a little bit more.

In 8th grade Spanish, students were melding their knowledge of colors and clothes to describe themselves, their classmates, and the occasional celebrity. 10th grade geometry students carefully thought through the process of developing a proof based upon the postulates they had just learned. Peer editing and coaching from teachers guided the writing process in several classes as students sought to hone their writing skills. Bridges were being built, tested, and redesigned as Sci-Tech students brought design principles and their understanding of physics and materials together to build bridges out of paper and toothpicks.

Of course, not all of this learning took place inside the classrooms. In a meeting this week, our High School Student Government tackled the problem of cafeteria cleanliness by developing strategies to help ensure that our cafeteria and hallways remain clean after lunches are over. Elsewhere, Paw Print reporters and editors worked to prepare the next issue of our high school paper for publication. Middle Schoolers saw their signed “Roaring to Respect” posters placed throughout the building as a reminder that, in every setting of our school, we need to demonstrate respect for self, others, property, and learning.

This week, the students of the Upper School weren't the only ones learning in our building. It began with a community group gathering to study with staff from the Jewish Theological Seminary on Tuesday. This JTS Kollot group will be convening on our campus once a month, and we are delighted to host them.

Another group from outside the Upper School wandered into the building on Wednesday, and suddenly the halls seemed a bit more crowded than usual. The reason? The entire fifth grade had come to the Upper School for the kick-off of their transition to 6th grade. A well-organized scavenger hunt had teams of 5th and 7th graders roaming the building looking for clues and solving problems presented to them by Upper School staff members. For our next class of 6th graders, it was a first real look at the Williston Park campus as their next school. Our thanks to Sandi Swerdloff, the teachers, and the 7th grade for helping make this event possible.

With their parents in tow, the fifth graders once again visited in the evening for the Middle School Open House. While the fifth graders learned even more about the school from Student Activities Director Mike Hirsch, Athletic Director Kerry Dalton, Guidance Counselor Bonnie Cahn, and Rabbi Josh Rabin, the parents settled in for three different presentations from the Middle School faculty which covered many aspects of our curriculum. Thank you to Ms. Polen, Mr. Clarke, Ms. Stanton, Ms. Dubow, and Ms. Hiltzik for guiding the fifth grade parents through the many touchstones of the Middle School curriculum.

The truly amazing portion of the evening came as several of our 8th graders joined a panel of school staff and 8th grade parent, Robin Bensignor, for a question and answer panel. Without blinking an eye, our students fielded questions from the audience about middle school life and their own experiences. We are very proud of how well they presented themselves and the school.

It has clearly been a delight to be back in school for a full week of learning, teaching, and growing.

Shabbat Shalom!

Thank You, Sandy

With the start of this week, I have officially entered my post-Sandy life. A little more than a week ago, I was beginning think that the end of days was approaching or at least a recreation of the 10 plagues. After all, between the hurricane, the snow storm, the blackout, and then the gas shortage, life was feeling sort of bleak.

Or was it?

Yes, as a school principal, I was filled with anxiety over the lost instructional time and worrying about my students, their families, and the faculty. Could we open school? Should we open school?

Yes, we had been hit with a major disruption to learning and, in many ways, this week has felt like the first week of school all over again.

Yes, my kids' lives got turned upside down once more. As a father and a husband, I was worried about the potential damage to our home and concerned about when my daughters would experience normal life again.

When I look back, though, I have a different sort of feeling that seems to override the anxiety of the moment. It is a feeling of contentment and satisfaction with my lot in life. I've just had the opportunity to spend significant quality time with my daughters while we waited for the lights to turn back on. We read stories, played games, and generally enjoyed each other's company. We drew closer with new friends who truly demonstrated what it meant to engage in hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests) when they took us into their home during the hurricane. I learned about the power that our community has as I worked to facilitate a charging and respite center at our synagogue. I enjoyed sharing communal responsibility for meals, cleaning, and even child rearing with four families who had blended together during the storm and its aftermath as well as with the others who joined us for a meal or two. I gained a new found appreciation for the power that electricity has in my life and how for granted we take so many of the luxuries in our lives that's had previously thought of as necessities.

So, I'm going to say something that in the midst of the last two weeks that I thought I would never say, thank you Sandy. Thank you for pulling me closer to friends and family, thank you for showing me the beauty of  hachnasat orchim and the importance of community, and thank you for teaching me that things that I have taken for granted are really luxuries.

Friday Letter - November 9, 2012

To say that the last two weeks have been unusual would be an understatement. Widespread power outages, damage from two major storms, and gas shortages are not typical topics of conversation in our Schechter community. With all of these unexpected challenges in front of us, it is amazing how our students are rising to the occasion. Through the efforts of the Kesher Club, the school lobby is filling with donations for those families most severely impacted by the storms and the Student Government coin challenge is well underway with the goal of supporting the SSLI Hurricane Sandy fund.

While it is amazing to watch the resilience of our students as they get back into the swing of things and work to move along in their studies, it is important to know that adolescent resilience is not a bottomless well from which to draw from. On the surface, your child may appear to be holding it together, but underneath this, there may be a feeling of fragility as students crave the regularity of their own routines, the privacy of their own homes, and the sense of being in their own space.

Resilience is defined as the ability for something to return to its original form after being stressed or placed in adverse circumstances. We can build resilience by having a positive attitude and emotions and the ability to express our emotions, even if they are negative. Feeling competent and talented at something also strengthens one’s resilience. Resilience can further be buoyed by being connected to the social networks around you and taking advantage of the supports offered. Our Chesed Committee is here to help whether it is a Shabbat meal or finding you warm shelter and we encourage you to take advantage of the services being offered.

As the school year progresses, we will be looking to support our students’ resilience and foster their ability to not just get back to where they were, but to move forward in their academic, social, cognitive, emotional growth. For more on building your child’s resilience, the National Association of School Psychologists offers this handout.

Of course, another way to deal with the stress of these moments and to boost our resilience is a little humor. Take a listen to our 9th grade music class as they sing The Frankenstorm Blues (music and lyrics by Joan Friedman Cohen and the Class of 2016).

We know that conditions at home for many for studying and doing homework are nowhere near optimal. As the end of the quarter approaches, your children’s teachers are trying to be as sensitive as possible to these circumstances. If your child is struggling or feeling overwhelmed, please contact the individual teacher or Senora Cahn for help in navigating the workload.

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Letter - October 26, 2012

A few weeks ago I wrote about the relief that many were feeling with the return to routine and five day school weeks that arrived with the end of the fall hagim. This transition has also arrived as we hit the more intensive period of the trimester for the middle school students and the quarter for the high school students. This intensive period comes about as courses have reached a point where teachers are ready to begin assessing student learning. Naturally, this means that more tests and quizzes are beginning to appear on students’ plates as well as the introduction of long-term projects here and there.

Every student prepares for tests differently. Some need a quiet environment while others can study in environments with more noise or even music playing in the background. The key to successful studying is having a strategy for approaching the material.

The other critical strategy is time management. For our 9th graders, our Peer Connectors recently presented on just this topic to help our freshmen juggle the demands of a dual curriculum, extra-curricular activities, and other obligations. In the middle school, we have begun a Study Skills course in the 6th grade which will include test taking skills and time management as part of the topics covered.

For those students who might need a quick crash course in time management, we encourage them to stop by Senora Cahn’s office or to stick their heads in the Resource Room for some quick advice and guidance.

Shabbat Shalom!

When Good Isn't Enough

Good is a lousy answer. I don't mean to say that I am a perpetually dissatisfied person. There are times and places where good is a reasonable answer. We want things to be good. We want to feel satisfied and content. Thinking back to my visit with the Amish last week, a sense of contentment is a driving force of their lifestyle choices.

However, thinking back to my days as a school psychologist, I simply was not willing to accept good as an answer from the students that I worked with. It simply did not tell me enough.

When I approach a student to ask how things are, good tells me absolutely nothing. It's the answer that you give when you just don't want to bother going into details. But, as a school psychologist and now as an administrator, I don't ask that question lightly. I want to know more than just this blase', surface level response that we often get from students.

Expecting more than a one word answer, however, has the potential to open a Pandora's box. Are you ready for a more detailed answer and how are you going to respond? If you hear things that you didn't want to hear or didn't expect to hear, will your response be to jump down the student's throat or sit back and listen to what they have to say?

One of the hardest lessons that I learned when I was training in counseling was to be silent and just listen. Staying non-reactive is hard, but if good isn't enough for you, it is the only path that you can take that will keep your students, or your children, letting you know what lies beyond the good.

Getting out of Silos

I saw a lot of silos last week. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was on a 6th grade trip through Pennsylvania Dutch Country, but I wasn't just noticing the silos on the outside of our bus.

We have plenty of silos inside of our schools, too. In a departmentalized middle school and high school, we think about each subject in isolation, starting from the entry point in 6th or 9th grade until graduation. It is as if each subject area is moving in its own parallel universe without any knowledge of the existence of the other. Locked inside the silo, we have no way of knowing how we can connect with the other subject areas.

How then do we break down these barriers? There are, of course, natural partners, e.g. science and math or social studies and English, but are those the only partnerships? Particularly in a Jewish day school, could we conceive of a project that combined an area of Jewish studies with art and English? Or a project that blended learning in Hebrew, science, and art?

Last year, while serving as head of middle school at the Krieger Schechter Day School in Baltimore, we conceived of one such project. Through an exploration of the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the faculty connected Rabbinics, language arts, and science as students explored the moral implications of the book, as well as the underlying science that made the creation of the HeLa cells possible.

This is just one example. Where has your school broken down barriers between subjects?

Friday Letter - Oct. 19, 2012

I’ve just returned from three days touring Philadelphia and Lancaster County with the 6th grade. When I checked in with the chaperon's from each trip, I heard three things. The first was, of course, that the faculty staffing the trips was a little tired. Spending three full days touring and supervising an entire grade is an exhausting experience and I am grateful to the following teachers for giving up time with their families to provide our students with such an incredible educational experience:

Mrs. Motroni
Coach Kurz
Mr. Schlank
Mrs. Pitschi
Mrs. Gadon
Ms. Dubow
Mr. Hirsch
Mrs. Polen

The second was that the students were having an incredible time in Washington and Boston and I saw the same thing in Philadelphia. The third is something that we saw evidence of throughout the trip. Our teachers regularly heard from our hosts and other tourists that our students were so respectful and well-behaved. At each stop on the three trips, students asked questions that were an outgrowth of their curiosity and desire to understand the world around them.

It is these last two items that make these middle school field trips, as well as our other experiential learning programs, like our Shabbatonim, Israel trip, and our Tzibur club programming, so powerful. I watched something similar occur on Monday in the high school when students experienced the Four Faces of Israel. With each persona that Helen took on, our students responded with respect and well-thought out questions, even if they did not agree with what they were hearing.

We have a rich curriculum taught by skilled teachers, but these opportunities to deepen our learning and understanding enrich us, whether it is a workshop from American Jewish World Service or next week’s programming with Beit Tshuvah.  Learning outside of the classroom helps facilitate pulling a grade together and making the connections between students stronger. These experiences create opportunities to put the tools for derekh eretz into practice. Finally, they create lasting memories among our students that they will recall and treasure for years to come.

I know I will.

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Letter - Oct. 12, 2012

As a Jewish educator, I have a love/hate relationship with the chagim. There is something special about the opportunities that the fall chagim offer us: to reflect on who we are through the High Holidays and then immerse ourselves in the sheer joy of Sukkot and, in particular, of Simchat Torah. Yet, at the same time, I crave the regularity of my routines.

With the end of the chagim, we are all settling into our routines. Classes are well underway and students and teachers are busy with teaching and learning. Each week in the Friday Letter, in addition to highlighting special programs, I will be shining the spotlight on various areas of our curriculum (this week art in the middle school and science in the high school). I look forward to sharing these moments with you throughout the school year.

As we began the chagim, we said shechiyanu, thanking God for bringing us to this moment. As we end the chagim, we also say shechiyanu, thanking God for the opportunity to settle into our routines.

Friday Letter - 10/5/2012

Sukkot is a holiday about thanksgiving. The American Thanksgiving is even modeled on it. From a historical perspective, the harvest is in and we are excited (hopefully) that the land has provided for us with sustenance for another season. We recite in the Amidah each day of the holiday that Sukkot is z’man simchateinu (our time of rejoicing).

Not everyone, however, has enough to eat and views the end of the growing season as a time of rejoicing. The fragility of our sukkot as we sit outside for our meals reminds us of this. Today, on our inaugural Hesed Day in the Upper School, we explored the role of hunger in the world with the help of American Jewish World Service. High School students further delved into the topic in small breakout groups while Middle School students explored a gallery of images of a typical meal in different parts of the world.

At its core, the message that students heard today that was that Ani V’atah N’shaneh Et Ha’Olam. Listen as a group of Schechter students brings this message to life through song. For more on the progra, please check out this post from Paw Print Now.

As I wandered through the halls during hol ha-moed Sukkot, these were the sounds of Schechter.

Shabbat Shalom V’Chag Same’ach!

Friday Letter - 9/28/12

When I look back on the past week, two sounds resonate in my head. The first, of course, was the final shofar blast at the end of Yom Kippur (more on that in a moment). The other was the sound of tefillah in the Middle School this past Friday.

Now, normally tefillah is filled with sounds. After all, we do a significant amount of our davening out loud. This particular Friday morning was different. New melodies were introduced and the level of our ruach was enhanced by our two guests who are up-and-coming musicians and educators from the Conservative Movement. Josh Warshawsky and Daniel Novick are products of the Conservative Movement in Chicago and Northern Virginia, both serving as international officers in United Synagogue Youth in 2008. Josh is a senior at the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, an alum of the Nativ program in Israel, and during the summers  is the Rosh Musikah at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Daniel is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary and was the co-creator of "Shaharit Live!," an unique tefillah experience for USY combining music and multimedia that has been utilized in Conservative Movement institutions around the country. Last Friday, was the first of the monthly visits that Josh and Daniel will be making to lead the Middle School in tefillah once a month and spend some time with students in our Upper School.

Daniel and Josh were a hit with the Middle School. Students were singing (some even dancing) as we davened our way through Shaharit. It was truly an inspirational experience and one that we hope will add to all of our future tefillot together. For taste of the sound created, click here.

The final shofar blast on Yom Kippur took on more meaning for me this year, perhaps because of the way my thoughts were primed for the holiday through the high school’s Yom Kippur workshops. After first period tefillah, the high school students broke into smaller groups to focus on one of many topics to help engage more fully in Yom Kippur. The topics ran the gambit from the practical, A Yom Kippur Survival Guide, to the more weighty, Would You Forgive a Nazi?. In each session, students explored, debated, and questioned the practices and themes of Yom Kippur. Kol HaKavod to Rabbi Josh and the faculty for organizing this experience.

Friday Letter - 9/21/12

In the 21st century, almost no one works alone. Even if you have a job that permits you to work from home, you are still connected to colleagues, regardless of how near or far they may be. While individuals may achieve great breakthroughs and have inspiring visions (think Steve Jobs), it takes a collaborative effort to turn these ideas into a reality that can change the world.

4This is why we are interested in building a culture of collaboration at the Upper School. The introduction of Moodle (see below for a short video on how to log into Moodle) is just one of the tools that we are using. Another is the introduction of Google Apps for Education.

Similar to a personal Gmail account, Google Apps for Education provides a student with a basic e-mail account. Students can use this account to communicate with teachers, as well as with fellow students when working on group projects. More than this, Google Apps includes access to collaborative documents, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as the ability to upload and store other kinds of documents (e.g. Word files, pictures). The formula for student email addresses is first initial, last name and high school graduation year followed by @ssdsnassau.org. For example, Joe Smith (a 9th grader) is jsmith16@ssdsnassau.org. The 6th and 7th grade accounts are limited to send and receive emails to/from an @ssdsnassau.org address only. E-mail accounts are accessible via www.gmail.com. Students should enter their full e-mail address as their username.

Another collaborative effort is also underway as we have partnered with Paul Effman Music to kick-off our Middle School band program. Students listened and watched examples of a variety of instruments that they will have the ability to learn and explore through the after-school band program. Interest was high as the students heard the theme from the Super Mario games played on the flute. They even broke out in song themselves as a teacher played Hava Negillah on the clarinet. We are looking forward to seeing the students take the stage themselves in the future.

Of course, the highlight of my weekend (besides celebrating Rosh HaShanah with my family) was attending the High School Shabbaton. We were blessed with glorious weather and a fabulous program organized through the collaborative efforts of Mike Hirsch, Rabbi Josh, Senora Cahn, and the Student Council. Please check out the blog post from Paw Print Now that shares the student perspective on the Shabbaton.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah!

Friday Letter for High School - 9/14/12

Not every Jewish day school shuts down its academic operations at the start of the school year to send its high school students, faculty and administration off on a retreat. Yet, each year, the Schechter School of Long Island does just that.

In a world, where academic pressure seems to always be building, why is it so important that we do this?

The High School Shabbaton provides an opportunity for us to truly emphasize one of the core pillars that makes being at a Jewish day school, in particular, our school, so important. Rather than focusing on English, Biology or Hebrew, we commit ourselves to enhancing, supporting, and growing our sense of kehillah, of community.

The walls of the classroom tumble down and are replaced by the rolling hills of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. We sit, eat, study, daven, and play together in an environment designed to draw us closer together. The bonds formed through color war, bonfires, and just hanging out strengthen our community and help sustain us through the year ahead.

I look forward to joining the students for my first Shabbaton with them and continuing to draw closer to the entire Schechter community.

Shanah Tova v’Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Letter for Middle School - 9/14/12

When I was working in the public school system, I often struggled with clearly articulating our school’s goal of creating students who were responsible, respectful, and ethical. We were engaged in character education and providing positive behavior supports for students, but there was a word that was always on the tip of my tongue, but that I knew that the students’ parents and my colleagues would not recognize it.

The word is mensch. Here, at the Schechter School of Long Island, I can say to you that we are in the business of building mensches and you know what I mean. A mensch exhibits derekh eretz on a daily basis, moving through the world with respect for all.

Derekh eretz, however, as its literal translation infers is not a destination, but a path. Last week, Bonnie Cahn, our school counselor, and I met with the 6th graders (we will be meeting soon with the 7th and 8th grades) to discuss how to follow this path. We laid out four guideposts for them that will help keep them on their path: Respect for Myself; Respect for Others; Respect for Property; and Respect for Learning.

Together, these four Respects (kavod in Hebrew) will help our students Roar to Respect. Our sixth graders, with the help of Ms. Pitschi, worked to define how to demonstrate each of these Respects in a variety of school settings, from the classroom to the bathroom to the school bus. Soon, after we have the input of the 7th and 8th graders, we will see signs throughout the Middle School promoting our desire to Roar to Respect.

As we move into this New Year in just a few short days, our hope is that our Middle School students will recommit themselves to walking the path of derekh eretz.

Shanah Tova v’Shabbat Shalom!

An Intentional Error

In my previous position, one of my roles was providing oversight and guidance for the school's website as it went through a re-design and then serving as the site's administrator once the new site was up. We spent weeks agonizing over the nature of the content and design, often spending significant time guessing how people would experience the site. Not once, though, did we think about the user's experience when the site did not work. In other words, what happens when the user hits one of those lovely web errors?

In his TED talk, Renny Gleeson explains the origin of the 404 error that we have all experienced at one time or another when looking for a specific webpage. I almost didn't watch this talk as my initial glance at the title just didn't inspire me. Something, though, said to watch it anyway and I did. Gleeson describes the family of errors that the 404 Page Not Found error is part. Then, he begins to describe how different startups began taking advantage of these previously lost moments by adding content to their error pages.

Here are some examples.

Gleeson's examples got me thinking about how I would want to change the error pages of my school's website. Should I embed a video or share something about how the school turns its mission into reality? Rather than create a frustrating experience, how can I use this error to connect and build a relationship with the user?

What makes me marvel at this is how intent is added to a seemingly commonplace error message. By placing something meaningful on the 404 page, we tell our users that even when something screws up we're thinking about them. Intentionality is a powerful thing. If we can bring it to bear on a school website, imagine the power it could have inside the school walls.

Friday Letter - 9/7/12

With the summer days waning away, the Upper School faculty came back to Williston Park last week to set up classrooms and begin our preparations for the 2012-13 school year. Beyond these usual preparations, we sat to explore how we approach teaching and learning. In small groups, teachers reflected on their own learning experiences and discussed the implications of the changing world, particularly with technology. We continued to work with the staff on the roll out of Moodle, a learning management system that will support classes in the Upper School.

It was exciting to see the students arrive in the building and watch them greet old friends and meet new ones. We started our day with a school-wide tefillah in the High School and in the Middle School, where Rabbi Josh treated us to a visualization of the tension between the fixed routine of our davening and our desire to engage spiritually through a scene from one of my favorite movies, Dead Poets Society. 

The 9^th graders and their peer connectors headed off to the Midway Jewish Center (graciously filling in as our rainy day location) for a fun and engaging 9th grade orientation. Outdoor educators from Nassau BOCES worked with the students to help them grow together as a class while engaging in problem solving activities.

The Middle School celebrated its first bat mitzvah of the year with much nachat (joy) and energy on Thursday. Later that day, E2K kicked off its first session of the year. Elsewhere, the 9th and 10th graders in the Sci-Tech program began their first classes in this exciting new endeavor.

Looking ahead, we have the High School Shabbaton around the corner (9th grade sign-up and 10-12th grade signup). I strongly encourage all high school students to join us for this event. Meet-the-Teachers Nights are also coming up (MS - September 12; HS - September 20) and I’m looking forward to meeting parents that evening.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing warm welcome and support as I begin this new position of Upper School Principal.