Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide USCJ Department of Education Maxine Handelman Handelman@uscj.org 7
Ethical Behavior “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20) Judaism is meaningful only if it affects the way we live our lives. Our tradition teaches that study is meaningful only if it leads to action. Judaism must have a strong voice when we make daily decisions. The Conservative movement has a long and honorable history of concern about social justice for both Jews and non-Jews. The image of an ideal Conservative Jew is someone who uses learned Jewish values to guide behavior. Our movement’s teachings should affect the way we live our lives, for if Judaism does not shape our daily decisions and lifestyle, then it is meaningless. Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel is a passionate example of this ideal. Dr. Heschel, a brilliant theologian and vitally important member of the Jewish Theological Seminary from 1946 to the early 70s, was an outspoken political activist, becoming the major Jewish spokesman on the liberal side of a wide range of social and political issues. He joined the march from Selma to Montgomery, walking part of the way arm in arm with Martin Luther King, Jr. This emphasis on social justice and ethical behavior is reflected in the daily life of the early childhood classroom. Mitzvot (commandments) and middot (Jewish virtues) are necessary steps on the path to being a mensch (a good person). Our task is to acknowledge and label Jewish values, behaviors, and mitzvot in the daily life of the classroom. By infusing the job chart with Jewish values, modeling mitzvot, creating opportunities to be shutafo shel ha-Kadosh Baruch Hu b’ma-asay bereshit (partners with God in the creation of a more perfect world) and labeling Jewish behaviors as they occur in the natural life of the classroom, we create a meaningful Judaism. The teachings of Judaism and the Conservative movement affect the way we live our lives. Our schools are filled with families who come from the entire spectrum of the Jewish world and beyond. Every child’s home experience will be different; very few of the children will have home practices that closely match the school community’s practice. An aspect of ethical behavior and social justice is the validation of every child’s experience. The school and the classroom form a community, guided by the traditions of the synagogue and garnished with rituals specific to each classroom. We all act in certain ways in order to be a part of this community. At school we are a Jewish community and therefore there are certain things that are observed, celebrated, and discussed at length in school. Still, many families practice and celebrate differently, and those practices and behaviors are appropriate in the specific family setting. We acknowledge and validate each child’s individual experience while maintaining the school-specific culture in the classrooms. Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide USCJ Department of Education Maxine Handelman Handelman@uscj.org 8
Page 1 and 2: Vision for Conservative Early Child
Page 3 and 4: Vision for Conservative Early Child
Page 5 and 6: Introduction Early childhood educat
Page 7: clergy and other synagogue professi
Page 11 and 12: How to Use This Section Jewish valu
Page 13 and 14: “I would like to have a drink of
Page 15 and 16: they shared the wheat equally each
Page 17 and 18: For class discussion: 1. How could
Page 19 and 20: Then one day, Jacob was walking nea
Page 21 and 22: Dima ben Netina and the Ruby: A Sto
Page 23 and 24: Made with Love: A Story of Ma’ach
Page 25 and 26: Aaron and the fighting friends: A S
Page 27 and 28: That night, when the sun disappeare
Page 29 and 30: The next morning King Solomon woke
Page 31 and 32: So Abba and Ima went back to their
Page 33 and 34: All the other parts of the body lau
Page 35 and 36: For class discussion: 1. Why couldn
Page 37 and 38: Impatient Abraham: A Story of Teshu
Page 39 and 40: Stone Soup: A Story of Tikkun Olam
Page 41 and 42: Rabbi Zusya and the Birds Who Would
Page 43 and 44: The Holy Miser - a story of Tzedaka
Page 45 and 46: “Almost perfect?” questioned th
Page 47 and 48: Jules, Jacqueline, The Hardest Word
Page 49 and 50: Values by story - grid 1 continued
Page 51 and 52: God and Spirituality Among the most
Page 53 and 54: Preparing Yourself for Wrestling wi
Page 55 and 56: their questions. Do not avoid the c
Page 57 and 58: • Celebrate and acknowledge life-
Page 59 and 60:
5. We are thankful for God’s gift
Page 61 and 62:
• Morning Brachot The rabbis tell
Page 63 and 64:
• Shabbat Tefillot Fridays are an
Page 65 and 66:
Barchu Barchu et Adonai ha-m’vora
Page 67 and 68:
Informal Ways to Invite God into th
Page 69 and 70:
Bibliography and References Coles,
Page 71 and 72:
Jewish Learning Raise up a child in
Page 73 and 74:
Children’s Learning The goals for
Page 75 and 76:
Low-impact strategies: • Post pho
Page 77 and 78:
Expanding Knowledge The literature
Page 79 and 80:
Low-impact strategies: • Suggest
Page 81 and 82:
what we teach in class with real li
Page 83 and 84:
Low-impact strategies: • Offer ti
Page 85 and 86:
Low-impact strategies: • Provide
Page 87 and 88:
Continuity The most valuable early
Page 89 and 90:
Ritual Observance and Halachah Ritu
Page 91 and 92:
Kipot A kipah, also known in Yiddis
Page 93 and 94:
There are many ways to explain the
Page 95 and 96:
Kashrut - Dietary Laws The dietary
Page 97 and 98:
Netilat Yada’yim -Ritual Hand Was
Page 99 and 100:
Food Blessings In the words of the
Page 101 and 102:
Cakes , Crackers And Cookies - Bore
Page 103 and 104:
Birkat ha’Mazon- the Blessing aft
Page 105 and 106:
Bringing Shabbat into the Early Chi
Page 107 and 108:
Challah On Shabbat, we put two loav
Page 109 and 110:
Havdalah Havdalah is the second sid
Page 111 and 112:
3. Spices We lift the spice box and
Page 113 and 114:
Rosh Chodesh - The New Month Young
Page 115 and 116:
Bibliography and Resources Dosick,
Page 117 and 118:
Appendix A - More Kashrut Details B
Page 119 and 120:
Appendix B - Sample Letter from the
Page 121 and 122:
Staff Handbook one example Our scho
Page 123 and 124:
Working With Clergy (and Other Key
Page 125 and 126:
Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner of the Jack
Page 127 and 128:
Creating a Jewish Environment The e
Page 129 and 130:
• Hebrew labels transform a print
Page 131:
Conclusion In the summer of 2007, e
show all

Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?