“Only one hundred more days until camp!” I would run around shouting on March 15, each year. “Only one hundred more days until camp!” It was so close I could taste it.
Camp, of course, was the best four weeks of my summer: horse back riding and swimming with my best friends every day, celebrating Shabbat, sneaking out, meeting cool Israelis, and no parents in sight.
Ana Fuchs is a pioneer in the field of alternative Jewish supplemental experiences and has been instrumental in building Jewish Kids Groups, one of the only independent Hebrew schools in the country.
Ana was named one of today's "most dynamic young Jewish leaders" and awarded the prestigious ROI fellowship by the Schusterman Foundation (2012); selected as a PresenTense Global Fellow (2011) for her cutting-edge work in the field of Israel education; and named one of JESNA's 2011 Jewish Education Innovators.
Ana has formal and informal Jewish teaching and administrative experience in supplemental Jewish education, including teaching in religious schools, leading Israel trips, bar-mitzvah tutoring, developing Israel curriculum, participating in educational seminars, and running informal Jewish kids programming. Research indicates that more and more families are opting out of giving their children a Jewish education; Ana aims to reverse this trend with her radically different Hebrew school. Jewish Kids Groups focuses on positioning each child for success and building memorable experiences while meeting each family where they are, Jewishly.
Ana has a M.S. in Instructional Design and Technology from Georgia State University and B.A. in Jewish Studies and Middle Eastern Studies from Emory University.
Ana happily eats, sleeps and breathes Jewish Kids Groups, but she also likes to travel to far-away lands, make pickles, read good books and play with Ella the kalba (dog).
At the Passover Seder this past weekend, we asked ourselves, “Why is this night different from other nights?” But now, as we sit here writing about the MZ Teen iConnect with Israel Conference a couple weeks ago, we find ourselves asking, “Why was this conference different from all other conferences?”
Spending a weekend with teens who are excited to learn about engaging with Israel is an exhilarating, and for me at least, almost a spiritual experience. I’ve just returned from The iCenter’s MZ Teen iConnect with Israel conference. Eighty teens from all over North America explored how they could make Israel more a part of their lives, brainstorming strategies to involve their peers, families and communities more deeply in the Israel idea.
Peter Eckstein first became a Jewish educator in 1982 when he lived on Kibbutz Ketura, working with children of all ages and serving as the kibbutz Education Coordinator. He lived in Israel from 1981 to 1993, and served in the IDF as a combat medic. In 1993, he returned to the U.S. and became the Director of Education and Programming at Temple Israel (Reform) in West Palm Beach. He currently is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth David (Conservative) in Palm Beach Gardens.
What makes a successful video? Brevity. Content. And 600 eager teenagers to help be part of the process.
The idea behind 60 Things in 60 Seconds was to create a humorous marketing piece that educates the viewer about BBYO Passport Israel trips while meeting theattention span of teenagers (and parents). But the secret ingredient is not so secret: it’s engaging the teens themselves to be part of the creative and production process.
Carine serves as the Marketing Director for Authentic Israel, the provider partner of BBYO Passport. Since staging her first flash mob with teens in Tel Aviv in 2008, Carine has continued to explore the creative use of video and teen Israel engagement through Project InCite, during her employment at the URJ, and in her capacity at BBYO Passport. Born and raised in the Boston area, Carine is a graduate of Bates College where she conducted her honors thesis on civil religion in Israel while on a Hoffman Fellowship.
Yadoa teda ki ger yihyeh zarecha b’eretz lo-lahem.
Know that your descendents will be strangers in a land not their own.
~ Genesis 15:13
The condition of being a stranger, a ger, is woven into Jewish identity. From Abraham through the present day, to be Jewish is to stand inside and outside ourselves at the same time. It is to be at home and to be a foreigner, or at least to have the awareness that we were once foreigners, at every moment.
Rabbi Josh Feigelson serves as Educational Director for Ask Big Questions, a national initiative of Hillel to promote civil dialogue on campuses throughout North America. He is a doctoral student in the Department of Religious Studies at Northwestern University, focusing on the intersection of American Jews and American higher education. From 2005-2011 Josh served as Campus Rabbi at Northwestern Hillel, and currently serves as a spiritual leader of the Evanston Orthodox Minyan. He is an alumnus of Yale University and was ordained by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Josh blogs about Jewish life and education at www.rabbijosh.com
In a recent piece in eJewish Philanthropy, James Hyman observes: “Until a far greater number of American Jews understand and have experiences that reinforce a broader conception of Jewish identity, Israel programming will not fit into the self understanding of American Jews and the institutions of American Jewish life.”
Israel education has been Anne's personal and professional passion for three decades. As a pioneer in cross-cultural education and teen travel to Eastern Europe and Israel, Anne is the Founder and former Executive Director of Shorashim, a nationally-recognized Israel education organization. She is regarded as the seminal figure in making the mifgash a central component of Israel educational programs, and is the recipient of numerous grants and awards for her pioneering work in this field. Anne received her M.A from the Steinhardt School of Education at NYU, and is a graduate of the Senior Educator Program at the Melton Centre of Hebrew University. She served as Director of Education at Congregation Hakafa in Glencoe, Illinois and taught Hebrew at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, where she developed new methodologies of Hebrew language and culture instruction. Anne also has experience in the world of Jewish youth group and camp settings. Anne resides in Riverwoods, Illinois with her husband Barry and their three children.
Toward the end of May, I spent about four days at a conference of sorts as a member of the 2011 iCenter Fellows. What is the iCenter?
The iCenter serves as a national address and advocate for high-quality and meaningful Israel education. The iCenter is dedicated to developing and enhancing the field of pre-collegiate Israel education in North America, in both formal and informal settings.
Social Media Maven Chaviva Galatz was born in Missouri, bred in Nebraska, and currently hails from Teaneck, NJ, by way of Washington D.C., Chicago, and Connecticut. With a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chaviva worked as a copy editor for The Washington Post, after which she moved to Chicago to work for a Nobel-prize-winning economist at the University of Chicago. Now, she is a Jim Joseph Fellow in NYU’s Dual M.A. program for Education/Jewish Studies and Hebrew/Judaic Studies. Her passion is Social Media in the classroom and Hebrew Language Education, and she recently was accepted to the 2011 ROI Summit and was named one of The New York Jewish Week's "36 Under 36."
Today’s education system is tough. Schools are working with fewer resources and to be successful have to get ahead of the curve—anticipate, innovate and create. How is innovation accomplished?
Dr. Laura Riggs earned her BA in Economics from Duke University and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University in Chicago. During her career, she has helped corporations build and implement customized executive education programs, and she has provided a variety of psychological services in academic medical settings. Dr. Riggs has published in psychological journals and is currently involved in training psychology graduate students. She enjoys spending time in the creative environment at Catalyst Ranch whenever the opportunity arises.
