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In: Teaching Chumash, Theory

Today was one of those days that teachers dream about. A chance to see all my efforts over the year come full circle. Here is how it happened. We only had three pesukim left to learn in Parshas Vayeitzei. I had the class read the pasukim aloud without teaching them at all. Of course, as we were reading about Yaakov meeting up with the melachim, the class exploded with questions. Was Yaakov in Eretz Yisrael? How could the melachim of Eretz Yisrael come to greet him as Rashi says? Which malachim did he send to Har Seir? Surely not the melachim of Eretz Yisrael. InRead More →

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In: Theory

Teaching elementary school is sweet. The students are uncomplicated. Their hearts are open and they are excited by new ideas. They have questions and want to learn the answers. Unfortunately, many times, the answer to those questions, the true answers, the fullest answers, are simply beyond their grasp. The answers require maturity, awareness of the human condition and abstract reasoning. By the time they get to high school, many students don’t bother with the questions anymore even though they  are ready for the answers. Many are apathetic. Others want to follow a leader and are intimidated by  aura of authority that a teacher has. SomeRead More →

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In: Theory

I used to teach in High School. It was very rewarding, but at times I felt like pulling out my hair. I couldn’t get some kids to remember assignments, translate basic pesukim or recall the story accurately no matter how many times we reviewed. I couldn’t figure out where the problem was and how to correct it. Last night I saw this video – http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=9 A Private Universe produced by the Annenberg Foundation that made me think about that experience and how what we teach when really impacts kids’ lives. The video is 20 minutes long and traces how both Harvard graduates and high school students hadRead More →