Essays from the last year in the PLA
Jewish education is a topic very important to me. It is something I have grown up with, dedicated my time to and plan on making my career.
In high school, I participated in extracurricular programs that not only broadened my personal Jewish education, but also helped me learn how to teach others. One of these programs was the Teen Assistant Program (TAP) at ACAJE in Philadelphia. This year long program was designed to teach high school students how to work with special needs children in a religious school setting. Most public schools have extra classrooms for students who need a little extra help, but this is not the case in a religious school. Because of this situation, it is so important to have people trained with special needs education to help out in the classroom, to give those students the help they need while the teacher can focus on the rest of the class. The education I got from this program helped me as I was an aide for a classroom that had a few students with behavior problems. I was able to work more closely with these students, allowing them to learn without distracting the rest of the class. TAP also taught me classroom management skills that have been very useful as I manage my own classroom at Brit Shalom. Also in high school, I participated in the Isaac Meyer Wise Program through Gratz College. This program gave me a teaching certificate in reform Judaism, the background to teach about reform Judaism and lesson planning knowledge. In addition to classes, students were required to student teach--we got hands on experience writing and implementing lessons in the classroom. I developed a Passover program that year that I have used in my class every year since then. Having a certificate from IM Wise was what enabled me to secure a job at the synagogue during my freshman year. Typically, the synagogue, which employs student teachers does not hire freshmen because they are not experienced or adjusted to college life. However, I was hired during spring semester because of my classroom management training from TAP and my reform teaching certificate from IM Wise. Teaching at Congregation Brit Shalom has been a fantastic experience. I started out teaching Hebrew to third graders. I loved making lessons plans and watching my students learn more each week. I learned what worked and what didn't work--what I thought was an easy questions was rather challenging for some students--I learned to adapt and modify my expectations to challenge the students without pushing them away from learning. During my second year, I taught Jewish studies in addition to Hebrew to the same group of students. Because I already had worked with these students, I was able to tailor my lessons to them. I knew what worked for these students, what kinds of activities they liked and what was not a favorite. This made the curriculum more relevant to them because they were interested in participating in my lessons--they were learning without really realizing it. This year, I still have my two classes, but decided to add the challenge of planning a family education program. I worked with the Education Director all year to put together the material, logistics and purpose of a family Tu B'Shevat Seder. Parents came to spend two hours learning about the food and environment of Israel with a scavenger hunt, planting parsley and reading Jewish texts and developing poems and skits to help lead our Seder. The program was a lot of fun and a great way to introduce family education to the synagogue. Next year, I plan on adding a year-long theme with family education packets as well as an improved family education program (or two!) In addition to my extracurricular work in Jewish education, I have decided to write my honors thesis in this area as well. After graduation, I hope to go to graduate school to obtain a masters degree in Jewish education with the ultimate goal of becoming an Education Director at a synagogue. This thesis will be an exciting endeavor into the world of Jewish curricula. You can view this thesis online here. So, after a long and tiring process of applying, I have been accepted to be a Master's student at Hebrew Union College in New York! This three year program will give me the skills and experience necessary to become a religious school director in a Hebrew School setting. What I am most looking forward to is the year in Israel. Part of the program is spending the first year with rabbinical, cantorial, and education students from HUC campuses together in Jerusalem. I am so incredibly excited for this new journey! |
Reflections on trips taken with the PLA
This section summarizes my work with Penn State Hillel.
Selected Writing Samples from my career at Penn State
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