Section archive - Trends in Jewish Education

Gavin Beinart-Smollan tells how his two week stint as a counselor for the Szarvas Fellowships at Camp Szarvas in Hungary changed his perceptions of modern Judaism in Eastern Europe. His encounter with Jewish kids and youth leaders from across Eastern Europe involved in creating and living their Jewish identities changed the picture of Jewish existence in modern Eastern Europe presented to him in his previous organized trips to Poland.

Ana Fuchs of Jewish Kids Groups of Atlanta announces the launching of JKG Afterschool Community – a marriage of their experiential Hebrew school and a robust after school care program. This five-day-a-week Jewish afterschool program joins high-quality afterschool care with first class Jewish supplemental education infused with the ruach of summer camp.

RealSchool is a club run by Tikvah Wiener at The Frisch School that uses the Whole Person Learning approach. The club has students engage in experiential, self-directed and collaborative learning by having each member choose an interest he/she has and then develop that interest in a way that benefits the larger community.

How can Jewish education speak to every child and help them live meaningful, purposeful, and fulfilling lives? How can Jewish texts, traditions, and experiences contribute to individual growth and development? As part of its ongoing work to advance innovation and positive change in Jewish education, JESNA's Lippman Kanfer Institute is pleased to share its latest web publication on Whole Person (Holistic) Learning, an approach to Jewish education that focuses on these critical questions.