edJEWcon CLE

How do we give our children an education for their future?

This was the central question that keynote speaker, Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, put before the 60 plus educators and lay leaders, representing Schechter, Fuchs Mizrachi, Agnon, the Lippman School, and Hathaway Brown, who gathered for edJEWcon - Cleveland this past Sunday. It was a unique opportunity to discuss shaping an education experience in the 21st Century for children who will (God willing) live into the 22nd Century.

To drive home just how much the world is changing (and not changing back), Silvia shared with us this short video from the Onion satirical website about the Blockbuster Movie Museum. After we were done chuckling, Silvia drove home that the only thing that is constant is change.

Silvia walked us through the the 5 C’s of 21st Century learning - collaboration, connectivity, creativity, communication and critical thinking. These are skills that our students need as they learn how to learn. So much information can be Googled. For example, How many pilgrims were on the Mayflower? What is the square root of 72? Who was the first prime minister of Israel? If we continue to focus on just knowledge acquisition, our students won’t have the skills that they need to deal with future.

This was not a conference about using technology, but rather about what needs to happen in our classrooms to ensure that our students are engaged, empowered and prepared for a changing world. She encouraged us to embrace a growth mindset (insert link to Shavuon post on growth mindset) and to recognize that creating and sharing products is part of the learning process. Our relationships with our students are a critical element of this as we work to help our students become self-motivated and self-directed.

The remainder of the conference helped educators build their toolkit of skills to help our students be prepared for the future. Teachers left excited and engaged with the possibilities of growing and extending their practice. I’m looking forward to sharing their experiments and experiences in the future as we build from our edJEWcon experience.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares

Head of School

Schechter Student Ambassadors

Sometimes, during lunch, some students get a little extra work to do. We gave a small group of middle school students a writing assignment. It wasn’t for extra credit from one of their classroom teachers, but rather a writing prompt from Mrs. Gonsenhauser. Sitting together gathered around the conference table, they wrote what they would tell a prospective parent about Schechter.

Here are (in their own words) some of their responses:

I would tell them about the buddy programs, the really fun programs you get to do in the Lower School; the TOPS program, the privileges you have in Middle School and how everyone knows each other and when you are new, you are surrounded by people who want to be friends with you.

The education is unique and different to a lot of other schools in the area. The curriculum is challenging and the teachers plan the lesson so that they can help each students’ individual needs. Overall, Schechter is an amazing school that any child would thrive in.

Schechter has a great Jewish learning opportunity. I’ve grown so much and it is nice because you know most people and teachers, no matter what grade you are in. Teachers are always kind and able to help you.

Amazing, isn’t it? These students get Schechter and know the value of their Schechter education. This writing assignment was part of the initial training for a new cohort of Student Ambassadors. These notes are from the beginning of their training before we’ve helped the students practice telling the many stories that they have about their Schechter experience.

We will be working with them over the next several weeks on a variety of public speaking skills that support their role as ambassadors and prepare them to guide tours around the school. We ask each ambassador at the conclusion of a tour to send a follow-up note to the family. I’m looking forward to sharing their next writing assignment in a future post.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares
Head of School