Meditating on Freedom

Early on Wednesday morning, I was working with a group of high school students on a meditation exercise in our alternative minyan. As we meditated together, I realized that the intentional and unintentional activities of the week had somehow aligned as the perfect preparation to spiritually enter Pesah. The meditation exercise that I had picked to use during the Amidah focused on reflecting on feelings of happiness, peace, and freedom. It was during this last portion of the exercise that, for me, the week began to click together and I realized that I was becoming ready to enter z’man matan cherutainu, the time of receiving our freedom.

On Monday, our 8th graders led an interfaith seder for the students of St. Aidan School, our neighbors around the corner. They eloquently explained the reasons behind each section of the seder and served as ambassadors of both our school and the Jewish people. Together, we celebrated the beauty of the seder and learned about its educational mission as the story of the exodus from Egypt is told. For two groups of students from different faiths to sit down and learn from one another brings to mind the incredible gift of our religious freedom.

Tuesday morning began with the delivery of the cots from New York Blood Services for our second blood drive of the school year. Blood, however, has a mixed relationship with Pesah. It can bring to mind the infamous blood libels of our past as Jews were accused of using the blood of Christian children to make matzot. It can also represent the first of the Ten Plagues that dip our fingers into at our seder. At school, however, it represented giving others the gift of life through 48 units of blood that students, staff, parents, and other members of the Schechter community contributed. This giving of ourselves provides others with the freedom to live their lives in health.

Even the fire alarm during high school lunch provided a sense of liberation. Yes, it was cold and wet outside. Yes, it was scary not knowing what was going on. But as an administrator, I found a sense of freedom from my own fears of what would happen if we did have an emergency in the building. Our preparations and practice with our own emergency procedures worked.

With the feeling that spring is actually arriving, our sixth grade students set out to engage in acts of maot chittim, pre-Pesah activities of chesed (community service). While our students did not gather wheat to provide others with the ability to celebrate Pesah, they did stock kosher for Pesah supplies at a food pantry. With the ever present fear of hunger among some in our community, our students worked to liberate them from this through their actions.

I was greeted early one morning by a student stating that she was so tired, but vacation is only a few days away. Clearly, our students are looking forward to the freedom from classwork that Pesah break will bring. Many of us among the faculty have joked about our own self-imposed slavery as we prepare for Pesah and are yearning to be set free.

My hope is that all of us will have a moment to truly reflect on what freedom means to us as we sit down at our own seder tables with friends and family to tell the story of our people’s exodus from Egypt. May you truly be able to feel a sense of freedom as we celebrate z’man matan cherutainu.

L’Shanah Ha’Ba’ah B’Yerushalayim (Next Year in Jerusalem)!

Quick and Dirty Blended Learning Experiments

Making the switch to a blended learning format for a course is intimidating. Frequently, it is referred to as a fundamental switch in the way that we conduct education. Having looked at Kahn Academy and a variety of online courses, I can see exactly why we feel overwhelmed at making this paradigm change.

But, do you really have to turn everything upside down or 180 degrees around to begin experimenting with blended learning?

The answer is a resounding no.

As a classroom teacher and school administrator, I have been experimenting with different elements of blended learning for several years. Do I view myself as a teacher of a blended learning course? No, not yet, but I'm getting there with each experiment.

I started fairly simply by setting up a group of students on WikiSpaces with a few discussion prompts that I wanted to cover, but knew that I was not going to get to in class.

Next, since we were a Google Apps for Education school, I tried out Google Sites and similarly used the discussion forums and comments within the sites.

The response to both activities was fascinating. "Hey, Dr. Yares," one student said to me. "The homework was like being on Facebook, but we were doing homework, but it was like Facebook." Not a bad response for an experiment. I had just extended the classroom conversation and created a home assignment that was meaningful and relevant for my students.

From this initial exposure, the experiments with blended learning have continued. I have worked with students who have used Google Docs to collaboratively edit play scripts at school and at home. Students have used Google Sites to create frequently asked question websites for topics in a life cycle unit. I even experimented with Pinterest as an educational tool (more on that experience can be read about here and here.)

Most recently, I have flipped a faculty meeting using Moodle and added online tools such as linoit.com and edcanvas.com to a student-staff committee to help deepen our interactions. The response in each case has started slowly at first, but grown as my teachers' comfort level increased.

The key is to keep it simple. Pick a single tool and use it to enhance a unit or a lesson. Do not try and film an entire year's worth of lessons in the hope of creating the next Kahn Academy. Experiment with these tools as you redevelop older lessons as a way of refreshing them even further. With this more modest approach, your confidence will increase and your willingness to take greater risks will come along.

Most importantly, though, you are creating opportunities for the students to interact with your subject matter in an increasingly relevant and meaningful way that will deepen their relationship with the content.

Have you started the blended learning experiment? What quick and dirty tricks are you trying?