Section archive - Informal Education

The Markowitz family had a wonderful time recently on two occasions at the Tower of David Museum in the Old City of Jerusalem. For both the Purim and Passover holidays this spring, the museum ran programs exclusively for families with children with physical, emotional and developmental disabilities. There were art projects, games, puppet shows, imaginative play and other sorts of activities one would expect at holiday programs for families. The difference was that in this case, the museum was closed to the general public and everything was adjusted to meet the needs of both the children with special needs, and those of their neurotypical siblings.

Missing from the growing literature on Jewish camps is Lukinsky’s (1968) pioneering study of the curriculum to teach responsibility that he designed for the 1966 Ramah American Seminar. Reviewing this work I discovered that Lukinsky—under Schwab’s (1971) influence—creates a rare balance between his own perspectives as an educational practitioner turned researcher with those of Erik Erikson, the famed developmental psychologist. I suggest that we read his work as an example to all who call upon theories of psychological development on how to use those theories to illuminate our thinking while not allowing them to dominate our educational discourse.

March of the Living (MOTL) is a 2-week international educational tour for high school seniors to learn about the Holocaust by visiting concentration/deaths camps and other Jewish historical sites in Poland, culminating in a week-long excursion in Israel. Although the trip is primarily educational, there is recent research evidence to suggest that attendees may suffer from a variety of mental health sequelae. To determine symptoms of anxiety and depression, 196 Los Angeles delegation participants voluntarily completed the State -Trait Anxiety Inventory, composed of a trait anxiety scale (i.e., STAI-T) and a state anxiety scale (i.e., STAI-S), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

The latest blooming in Israel’s Negev Desert is particularly relevant in February, which is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. At Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran—a rehabilitation village in southern Israel that serves people with severe disabilities—residents benefit from green therapy, which uses gardening and nature to help give the special needs community a higher quality of life. Green therapy participants are brought to a greenhouse on the Aleh Negev campus, where they are greeted with flowers, shrubs, and herbs that they work to plant and care for. It is also a therapeutic haven where all of the senses are stimulated.