Source: Gleanings, Volume 4, Issue 2
Gleanings is the ejournal of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Jewish early childhood education is not only an entry point into Jewish learning for young children. Often, it also becomes a reentry point for parents: many adults disenchanted by Jewish life in their own youth (or simply lacking exposure to it) take a renewed interest in pursuing Jewish life as a family as their children are invited in through their school programs. This potential opportunity for the Jewish community is why we at the Leadership Commons are so invested in Jewish early childhood education. In this Gleanings, we explore how Jewish early childhood can ignite the fire of Jewish learning for children and their families.
In our selection of articles, we first explore the appeal and potential of Jewish early childhood education, for young children and for their families. We ask: How do we engage families and develop a meaningful journey for them? How can the field market itself better? We follow these questions with an inspiring selection of articles demonstrating success and innovation across the country, from Chicago to San Francisco to Pittsburgh to Denver. What are these communities doing so well, and what can we learn from their success? We are pleased that such preeminent thought leaders and practitioners of Jewish early childhood education as Shellie Dickstein, Carolyn Linder, and Anna Hartman, to name a few, are engaging in this dialogue with us.
Read this issue of gleanings here.