Voices
Education 21c
This video says it all... (and can I help it if I have a soft spot for things from my home country):
Brave New Tech World
How technology is transforming the educational world.
By David Bryfman
Special to The Jewish Week
This year I attended a Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration. There were hundreds of kids from Israel, San Francisco, New York and Turkey eating falafel and dancing to Hadag Nachash, Israel’s premier hip-hop band.
I happened to be in my living room, and this dance party was taking place on computer screens against the backdrop of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The dancing students were avatars created by Jewish students from across the world. The context was a course being taught in several Jewish day schools and supplemental programs about Jewish peoplehood — and it was all taking place within a virtual world. Read more...
Perspectives on Israel Ed
I just got back from NewCAJE... where I led a session on what it means to love Israel and how do we educate so that our students fall in love with Israel the way we have (the discussion topic came out of my interest in this issue of "love" and Israel, as I discuss in a previous post). So it is to my great delight, after having such a meaningful conversation with 10 of my colleagues this week, to see this topic being discussed in other forums as well - namely, the Hebrew Union College's blog on Continuting Jewish Learning. All of these voices calling for a new age in Israel education confirm for me what a mentor and colleague has been saying since I started working here: the time is ripe for change in the field of Israel Education.
Loving Israel: What Does it Mean Today?
by Dr. Lisa Grant
Israel has been an integral part of my life since childhood. For almost 39 years, I have had an immediate family presence there, first my parents for over 34 years and then my daughter for almost five. I’ve lived there as well, for longish stretches at three different times in my life, and I visit regularly to see family and friends, to work with colleagues, to conduct research and to teach. Having meaningful ongoing encounters with people, places and memories in Israel is an essential part of who I am as a human being and a Jew. There’s no doubt that I love Israel. It’s personal. It’s in my bones. Read more...
Want to add your voice to the conversation on loving Israel? Send me an email and be a guest blogger for us.
