By Dr. Evie Rotstein
[This is the eleventh in a weekly series of posts from a coalition of institutions across the continent devoted to nurturing the emerging transformation of congregational and part-time Jewish education. The series is curated by the Leadership Commons at the William Davidson Graduate School of Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary.]
Education in the socio-affective realm is not a new idea. The past two decades, however, have seen quite an increase in well-articulated theories and supporting research with rigorous outcomes, demonstrating that educators in schools can have an impact on student growth in the intra- and inter-personal realms. Further, this growth is linked to a variety of positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Neuroscience is adding concrete evidence to what educators have long understood about the inextricable link between educating the “heart” and the “head.” In these approaches, educators help students develop social and emotional skills (e.g., self-awareness, problem solving) and also attend to the affective and communal dynamics in which education occurs (e.g., promoting positive interactions among and between learners and educators). Various terms are used for education in this area, representing overlapping approaches and theoretical bases. These include character education, social-emotional learning, mindfulness, spiritual education, meaning making, and whole person learning.
While Jewish educational settings have made use of these resources, Jewish educators are also working to bring Jewish ideas, ideals, language, and texts into the discussion. Jewish educators are interested not only in what students know, but also how their lives are informed by Jewish texts, traditions, and values. Terms such as mussar and spiritual education join those listed previously.
The conceptual integration is clear – blueprints for moral and ethical behavior are embedded within Jewish values and mitzvot, particularly those ben adam l’chaveiro (interpersonal mitzvot). Though they differ in various ways, there are a multitude of examples of ways to address both the inter- and intra-personal realms within Jewish education. Some of these are linked to long-standing curricula, as in the work done to bring Jewish value language to Open Circle, a secular social and emotional learning program. Similarly, Facing History and Ourselves uses difficult moments in Jewish and world history to address growth of interpersonal responsibility and empathy. Others are more emergent, such as the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Tikkun Middot program, which brings a lens of mussar to the work of social and emotional growth. Tiffany Shlain’s film “The Making of a Mensch” has also been used for educational purposes as part of an international initiative called Character Day, where schools and organizations around the world host screenings and discuss ideas around character development in a simultaneous online video conversation.
Along with the development of programs for social and emotional growth, many congregational learning teams are refocusing their efforts more broadly to include the socio-affective domain. Jewish educators are asking how they may help their students develop social relationships that are embedded with Jewish values. They are seeking to create Jewish learning that nurtures the soul, honors spiritual curiosity, and is relevant to their lives. Jewish educators working in the part-time space are experimenting with a number of models that foster choice and emphasize the value of group work. The topic has been the subject of multiple keynotes at conferences for Jewish educators, and has been seen as the underpinning of efforts to “make school more like camp.” Schools are experimenting with project-based learning, with offering varied learning tracks to speak to an array of student interests, and with the infusion of mussar-based activities into the curriculum. Many congregations are also providing mussar-based professional development for their faculty. Furthermore, organizations outside of, yet linked to, congregational schools are expanding their reach. For example, one of the most successful national initiatives attending to the socio-emotional realm is being offered by Moving Traditions in their “Rosh Chodesh: It’s a Girl Thing” for girls and their “Shevet Achim Brotherhood“program for boys.
There are of course distinctions among these programs and approaches, but there is also a great deal of convergence. In the Jewish educational context, these commonalities include:
• An emphasis on values based in Jewish concepts such as tikkun olam or middot and/or supported by Jewish texts (e.g., phrases from Pirkei Avot).
• Efforts to build the intra- and inter-personal skills that form the foundation for the actualization of these values. These include:
- Self-awareness, self-monitoring, and identification of emotional state; the ability to observe one’s own actions
- Managing one’s emotions and behaviors in difficult situations; maintaining “presence” in one’s interactions
- Peaceful problem-solving and conflict resolution
- Fostering positive relationships and a sense of community among and between educators and learners
- Opportunities to enact prosocial behaviors by contributing to the community within and beyond the education setting, such as through acts of social action on a community level and the incorporation of these behaviors and values into a sense of self as connected to Judaism and the Jewish people
As we continue to harness the power of such initiatives, it is clear that congregational and other part-time Jewish educators are experimenting with new approaches to address the whole person and seeking to offer a deeper and more meaningful context to Jewish life and learning.
Dr. Evie Rotstein is the director of the New York School of Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She also does consulting for curriculum and education strategic planning. Prior to this position she was a congregational school educator and developed programs for faculty learning, teen mentoring, and parent education.
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Well done!
As President of the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Alliance for Massachusetts (www.SEL4MA.org), I’ve been advocating in the religious community for years, failing to gain traction among religious leaders of all sects.
I commend you on this article as if SEL is to succeed in schools (many schools are turning toward the “whole child” approach), the whole community must be involved, not just schools.
Religious communities need the leadership to teach the process of learning and exhibiting empathy and compassion to children. To learn that, we need to understand our emotions and those around us.
I hope that clergy will rise to the occasion as right now in our country, we need an emphasis on inclusion to counteract the step backwards in reaching what we’ve always assumed were the values of America.
Shalom Dr Evie,
Kol hakavod for understanding the need and implementing Jewish educational efforts that relate ever relevant Jewish teaching to students lives as they live and experience them in 21rst century North America. Supplementary Jewish education must be about more than Hebrew decoding, Jewish Holidays, and tikkun ‘olam projects.
This is precisely the prescription necessary for North American non-Orthodox (NANO) Judaism to reassert its value to most NANO Jews who have voted with their feet that the status quo is broken, clueless, out of touch, and irrelevant, save for life cycle events and perhaps an occasional worship service, e.g., High Holidays. So where are the NANO Rabbis who will bring the ideas you cite to their respective bimot? Their adult congregations would benefit from their (your ideas as expressed above) relevance as much as their children. Adults need the same support, guidance and learning to be able to navigate life and answer the question, “how now shall we live.”
Your ideas along with a revamped experientially oriented presentation (integrating music, media, and the arts) would be a most welcome change from “would you please turn to page 36 and read responsively,” a rote sung Hebrew liturgy whose theology is antithetical to that of most in the congregation, followed by a current events summary by the Rabbi.
While no one in here owes me anything, my hope is that someone in here will engage and show me how/where I’ve erred in my assessment. However, if past performance is any indication, I shouldn’t hold my breath.
Biv’racha,
Jordan
Evie,
Thank you for highlighting one of the unique contributions that Jewish education can make to a child, a family and a community. This field can and should contribute to raising resilient children.
Our secret ingredients are 1. the curriculum you have identified (e.g. mussar) and 2. the ritual opportunities to build a community.
To grow a spirit that thrive in our demanding and shifting world does require the village/the minyan,
I hope your piece encourages more educational settings to attend to the socio-affective realm that you write about. Will more settings elevate this goal?
Will they adjust content/curriculum and professional development? That seems the low hanging fruit-very doable.
I think the harder and most essential piece is ensuring that all of that learning happens within community (same age and multi-generational). Spiritual/emotional resilience requires peers, role models and safe places to test and fail–the essence of a caring community. Worthy content without the living embodiment of that content, I don’t think will grow the seed so lovingly planted.