Source: Jewish Educational Leadership. Spring, 2012
The Spring, 2012 issue of the Lookstein Center's Jewish Educational Leadership of Jewish Educational Leadership explores the question of empowerment. Why? How? What are the boundaries? What are the benefits and dangers? What does empowerment look like in a Jewish school? In Jewish studies?
From the editor's introduction:
"The Research section includes articles by Moshe Sokolow; Steve Bailey; Debbie Niderberg, Rona Novick, and Karen Kruger; Moshe Krakowski, Juli Kramer, and Naomi Lev; and Ken Firestone. Sokolow explores empowerment of students in learning Tanakh, Krakowski and colleagues examine Problem Based Learning in Jewish studies, Niderberg and colleagues describe the theory behind their Hidden Sparks program – designed to help students be aware of and overcome their own learning challenges, Bailey reflects on empowerment on a school-wide level, and Ken Firestone delves into hevruta learning as a model of empowerment.
Our Applications section opens with Tikvah Wiener’s description of how a club she opened in school is opening new horizons for student self-learning. Maccabee Avishur and colleagues describe their school’s initiative to include student independence as one of the standards to which teachers are held. Hana Bor describes empowerment programs in a congregational school. Allen Saks reflects on his personal transformation in the classroom by empowering students. Daniel Rothner describes how Areyvut’s programs have student empowerment built in. And most appropriately, we have a student’s perspective on his own experience in a school which empowered him.
In our Features section we are pleased to present a piece by noted author and educational thinker Alfie Kohn. His words are sure to spark interesting discussion. Levi Cooper’s From the Classics sheds light on practices in the traditional European yeshivot in which students were empowered in ways that would make many contemporary teachers uncomfortable. Finally, Ismar Schorsch honors our Perspective column with his thoughtful words."