Philadelphia Jewish Voice - Education

Why I Let My Students Cheat On Their Exam

Contributing Writer — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:34:24 GMT

— by Peter Nonacs

On test day for my Behavioral Ecology class at UCLA, I walked into the classroom bearing an impossibly difficult exam. Rather than being neatly arranged in alternate rows with pen or pencil in hand, my students sat in one tight group, with notes and books and laptops open and available. They were poised to share each other's thoughts and to copy the best answers. As I distributed the tests, the students began to talk and write. All of this would normally be called cheating. But it was completely OK by me.

Who in their right mind would condone and encourage cheating among UCLA juniors and seniors? Perhaps someone with the idea that concepts in animal behavior can be taught by making their students live those concepts.

More after the jump.
Animals and their behavior have been my passions since my Kentucky boyhood, and I strive to nurture this love for nature in my students. Who isn't amazed and entertained by videos of crafty animals, like Betty the tool-making crow, bending wires into hooks to retrieve baskets containing delicious mealworms? (And then hiding her rewards from a lummox of a mate who never works, but is all too good at purloining the hard-won rewards of others?)

Nevertheless, I'm a realist. Almost none of my students will go on to be "me" — a university professor who makes a living observing animals. The vast majority take my classes as a prelude to medical, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary school. Still, I want my students to walk away with something more than, "Animals are cool." I want them to leave my class thinking like behavioral ecologists.

Much of evolution and natural selection can be summarized in three short words: "Life is games." In any game, the object is to win-be that defined as leaving the most genes in the next generation, getting the best grade on a midterm, or successfully inculcating critical thinking into your students. An entire field of study, Game Theory, is devoted to mathematically describing the games that nature plays. Games can determine why ant colonies do what they do, how viruses evolve to exploit hosts, or how human societies organize and function.

So last quarter I had an intriguing thought while preparing my Game Theory lectures. Tests are really just measures of how the Education Game is proceeding. Professors test to measure their success at teaching, and students take tests in order to get a good grade. Might these goals be maximized simultaneously? What if I let the students write their own rules for the test-taking game? Allow them to do everything we would normally call cheating?

A week before the test, I told my class that the Game Theory exam would be insanely hard-far harder than any that had established my rep as a hard prof. But as recompense, for this one time only, students could cheat. They could bring and use anything or anyone they liked, including animal behavior experts. (Richard Dawkins in town? Bring him!) They could surf the Web. They could talk to each other or call friends who'd taken the course before. They could offer me bribes. (I wouldn't take them, but neither would I report it to the dean.) Only violations of state or federal criminal law such as kidnapping my dog, blackmail, or threats of violence were out of bounds.

Gasps filled the room. The students sputtered. They fretted. This must be a joke. I couldn't possibly mean it. What, they asked, is the catch?

"None," I replied. "You are UCLA students. The brightest of the bright. Let's see what you can accomplish when you have no restrictions and the only thing that matters is getting the best answer possible."

Once the shock wore off, they got sophisticated. In discussion section, they speculated, organized, and plotted. What would be the test's payoff matrix? Would cooperation be rewarded or counter-productive? Would a large group work better, or smaller subgroups with specified tasks? What about "scroungers" who didn't study but were planning to parasitize everyone else's hard work? How much reciprocity would be demanded in order to share benefits? Was the test going to play out like a dog-eat-dog Hunger Games? In short, the students spent the entire week living Game Theory. It transformed a class where many did not even speak to each other into a coherent whole focused on a single task-beating their crazy professor's nefarious scheme.

On the day of the hour-long test they faced a single question: "If evolution through natural selection is a game, what are the players, teams, rules, objectives, and outcomes?" One student immediately ran to the chalkboard, and she began to organize the outputs for each question section. The class divided tasks. They debated. They worked on hypotheses. Weak ones were rejected, promising ones were developed. Supportive evidence was added. A schedule was established for writing the consensus answers. (I remained in the room, hoping someone would ask me for my answers, because I had several enigmatic clues to divulge. But nobody thought that far afield!) As the test progressed, the majority (whom I shall call the "Mob") decided to share one set of answers. Individuals within the Mob took turns writing paragraphs, and they all signed an author sheet to share the common grade. Three out of the 27 students opted out (I'll call them the "Lone Wolves"). Although the Wolves listened and contributed to discussions, they preferred their individual variants over the Mob's joint answer.

In the end, the students learned what social insects like ants and termites have known for hundreds of millions of years. To win at some games, cooperation is better than competition. Unity that arises through a diversity of opinion is stronger than any solitary competitor.

But did the students themselves realize this? To see, I presented the class with one last evil wrinkle two days later, after the test was graded but not yet returned. They had a choice, I said. Option A: They could get the test back and have it count toward their final grade. Option B: I would-sight unseen-shred the entire test. Poof, the grade would disappear as if it had never happened. But Option B meant they would never see their results; they would never know if their answers were correct.

"Oh, my, can we think about this for a couple of days?" they begged. No, I answered. More heated discussion followed. It was soon apparent that everyone had felt good about the process and their overall answers. The students unanimously chose to keep the test. Once again, the unity that arose through a diversity of opinion was right. The shared grade for the Mob was 20 percent higher than the averages on my previous, more normal, midterms. Among the Lone Wolves, one scored higher than the Mob, one about the same, and one scored lower.

Is the take-home message, then, that cheating is good? Well ... no. Although by conventional test-taking rules, the students were cheating, they actually weren't in this case. Instead, they were changing their goal in the Education Game from "Get a higher grade than my classmates" to "Get to the best answer." This also required them to make new rules for test-taking. Obviously, when you make the rules there is no reason to cheat. Furthermore, being the rule-makers let students behave in a way that makes us a quintessentially unique species. We recognize when we are in a game, and more so than just playing along, we always try to bend the rules to our advantage.

Morally, of course, games can be tricky. Theory predicts that outcomes are often not to the betterment of the group or society. Nevertheless, this case had an interesting result. When the students got carte blanche to set the rules, altruism and cooperation won the day. How unlike a "normal" test where all students are solitary competitors, and teachers guard against any cheating! What my class showed was a very "human" trait: the ability to align what is "good for me" with what is "good for all" within the evolutionary games of our choosing.

In the end, the students achieved their goal: They earned an excellent grade. I also achieved my goal: I got them to spend a week thinking like behavioral ecologists. As a group they learned Game Theory better than any of my previous classes. In educational lingo, "flipping the classroom" means students are expected to prepare to come to class not for a lecture, but for a question-and-answer discussion. What I did was "flip the test." Students were given all the intellectual tools beforehand and then, for an hour, they had to use them to generate well-reasoned answers to difficult questions.

The best tests will not only find out what students know but also stimulate thinking in novel ways. This is much more than regurgitating memorized facts. The test itself becomes a learning experience-where the very act of taking it leads to a deeper understanding of the subject.

Peter Nonacs is a professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at UCLA. He studies the evolution of social behavior across species, ranging from viruses, to insects, to mammals and even occasionally humans.

This article was originally published at Zócalo Public Square.

Never Forget: Help Pennsylvanians Remember the Holocaust

Publisher — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:48:36 GMT

— by Ed Snyder

A bill was introduced by State Representative Brendan Boyle. The bill would amend the Public School Code of 1949 to require all public and nonpublic schools in Pennsylvania to include in their existing curriculum age-appropriate education for grades 6-12 on the Holocaust and other
modern genocides.

The bill in the Education Committee and is coming up for a vote on April 8. We are urging everyone to contact Mr. Paul Clymer (chair of the Education Committee) He can be contacted by calling tel. 717-783-3154. Please leave a message indicating you support the bill. Also have your friends and relatives do likewise.

First Online Library For Jewish Schools In The United States

Contributing Writer — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Behrman House, the leading publisher of textbooks and digital learning materials for Jewish religious schools in North America, has entered a collaborative agreement with Israel's Center for Educational Technology (CET). The partnership will bring a first-of-its-kind online library to Jewish schools in the United States, giving students and educators access to both companies' vast repository of educational offerings. David Behrman, Behrman House president and publisher, said:

This is a giant step forward in our mission to reshape Hebrew education for a younger generation. The array of learning materials CET brings to us from Israel is endless, and its Kotar online platform provides that content in an immediate, easy to access format.

More after the jump.
In April 2010, CET launched its Kotar digital platform, to enable Jewish schools, institutions and communities abroad to access English and Hebrew resources fast, simply and in a user-friendly manner. The Kotar platform allows students to comment and share their ideas with teachers, other students and at home with their families. Today it receives hundreds of thousands hits per month, with tens of thousands of Israeli pupils using its textbooks on a daily basis. In addition to licensing the Kotar platform for North American religious schools, Behrman House will also develop curricular materials using the resources of CET's Lexicon of Jewish Culture and Judaism, a vast repository of text materials, videos, and other educational materials, which CET will translate and Behrman House will adapt for the North American market.

CET CEO Gila Ben-Har commented:

As part of CET's expansion strategy into markets outside Israel, we welcome the partnership with Behrman House and are proud to bring the innovation of digital books to Jewish schools, educators, and students throughout North America.

An Ethiopian Jew's Journey

leebarzel — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 03:46:42 GMT

— by Hannah Lee

I met Barak Avraham, known as Malaku in his native Amharic, during his 2-week tour of the United States on behalf of AMIT, which supports a network of 108 schools and programs in 29 cities in Israel. Avraham's personal story is a marvelous case study of how AMIT schools turn around individual lives and whole towns. His trek began at age 9 when he walked, with his mother and four siblings, for three weeks from their village of Abu Zava to the city of Gondar in Ethiopia. Sleeping outdoors at night, they were at the peril of anti-Semites, who recognized them as Jews and strangers. (His non-Jewish father, already divorced, stayed at home.)

More after the jump.
Back in their village, his maternal family dreamed of going to Jerusalem, a place like Paradise where people wear white garments and they do not have to work. After waiting eight months, they were accepted for flight aboard the covert Operation Solomon, which airlifted over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews in a 36-hour mission in May, 1991. Before boarding, Avraham's mother buried their remaining Ethiopian money, birr, because she thought they would not need money in the Promised Land.

Avraham's memories of his childhood in Ethiopa included Pesach, when they eagerly anticipated the gift of matzot delivered by shluchim (emissaries), homemade soccer balls fashioned from old socks and electrical wire, and a world without television or cars, just as life was lived 200 years before. The transition from a traditional society to a modern one was especially hard for the elders, such as his grandparents who arrived later. His family spent a year in an absorption center, merkaz klita, learning to adjust to Israeli ways, including eating with forks and knives. Ethiopian foods, such as teff and injera, are eaten with the right hand.

Growing up in a rough neighborhood and with a single mother, Avraham lost his way when he was in his "foolish teen years," tipesh esrei, when he was expelled from one school after another. No one wanted him any longer. This was a painful period for his mother, who cried in shame and sadness. "I decided that I was going to change. That if my mother was going to cry because of me, it would be with pride, not from sorrow." On the advice of a friend attending school at the AMIT Kfar Blatt Youth Village in Petach Tikva, he wrote a letter of appeal to the director, Amiran Cohen. A visionary educator, Cohen had him sign a pledge of changes he would make in his life.

Cohen, who became a special friend, and the support network of surrogate parents, teachers, and social workers helped Avraham focus his intelligence. He had always been told that he had "much potential." Upon passing the bagrut, matriculation exams, he was accepted into an elite intelligence unit in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served with distinction as an outstanding soldier. His mother cried with pride and joy at this completion ceremony.

The IDF taught him discipline and it broadened Avraham's horizons. He listened as his army mates of different backgrounds from all over the country shared their dreams for the future. He knew then he had to get an education, which was assisted by an IMPACT scholarship from the Friends of the IDF. He was the valedictorian and the top Ethiopian student graduating with a degree in government diplomacy from The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya. Later, when he earned a master's in public service, also from the IDC, he gave a speech before an audience of 4,000 and his mother cried again from joy.

Now 30, Avraham is an entrepreneur and founder of an Internet start-up company and manager of a teen community house in Petach Tikva. He is also coordinator of a new program at the AMIT Rambam Elementary School in Netanya. Rambam was a failing school. The Ministry of Education appealed to AMIT to rescue this school, and AMIT now plans to designate it a magnet school, an innovative model that brings together in one school the top-achieving students with the most needy ones. Avraham's program includes football (soccer to Americans), mentoring, and parent support. Coming from the same poor neighborhood and background, Avraham gives the children confidence that they, too, can succeed.

Avraham's newest dream is to join the Knesset in the next election. A Social Democrat, he parts ways with the older Ethiopians who tend to vote Likud, although "it's capitalist," and they're poor but they vote for the country's security needs. His mother, for one, cannot bear to hear anything bad against Israel. (The Yesh Atid party, which won 19 seats in January, has two Ethiopians in its cabinet.) Barak Avraham's future was paved by the caring leaders and staff of the AMIT schools.

Social Consequences of Food Allergy

Contributing Writer — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:33:19 GMT

— by Catharine Alvarez

A recent study published in Pediatrics reported that over 30% of children with food allergies say they have been bullied about their allergies. Previous studies have also found that having a food allergy puts a child at risk for bullying. I'd like to share my experience with raising two children with food allergies and examine why bullying is such a problem for this group.

Les Misérables food allergy parody "One Grain More" the story of a "Food Allergy Party" by Michael Bihovsky with Dena Blumenthal, Megan Ermilio, Lily Bayrock, Michael DeFlorio, Bernie Langer, Matthew Dorsch and Liz Sanders.

More after the jump.
Food sharing is one of the most basic social constants in human culture. We use food as our social glue. When a group shares food, we are saying we are a family, a team, a tribe. Many cultural traditions and religious rituals involve the sharing of food. We use it both as an offering and as a way of increasing our status within the group. We use it as a way of connecting with one another. So what are the consequences when an individual cannot participate in these most basic of social interactions? Asking this question can help us understand the social stigma of food allergies.

I have two children with anaphylactic food allergies who experienced this stigma during the time they were in public school. When I was new to the world of food allergies, I didn't understand why many people seemed so resistant to accommodating the needs of my children. Why did they feel so angry about restrictions placed on bringing treats to class for holidays and birthdays? To me, it seemed obvious that a child's safety should be placed above custom, and yet there were a few parents and teachers who intentionally circumvented the rules, and others who obeyed, but grudgingly. I learned that they viewed the safety rules as arbitrary barriers preventing them and their children from participating in the food sharing traditions they felt were vital for their own and their children's social connections and standing.

Now let's look at the same situation from the perspective of a child with food allergies. Whenever cupcakes were brought to class, my son was not able to eat one. Yes, we did provide him with some other treat, but the deeper message was that he could not share what the others were eating, and was not part of the group. Every event based on food sharing was a reminder of his separateness. It was also a reminder that the adults in charge did not think he was important enough to be included.

An example of the kind of food sharing interaction we all take for granted:
A parent comes to the class bringing cupcakes. Each student is offered a cupcake and enjoys the sweet treat. The students' trust and liking for this parent is increased. The birthday student is a celebrity for a day, and when the other kids have their birthdays, they ask their parents to bring cupcakes.

What happens when there is a student with a food allergy in the class:
A parent brings cupcakes to class. My son is offered a cupcake, but he must say, "No thank you, I have food allergies." He is allergic to egg, and these cupcakes almost certainly contain egg. This is the first moment where the food sharing ritual breaks down. The food allergic person is forced to refuse the offer of food. In many cultures, refusing an offer of food is considered rude. Even though he gives the reason (food allergies) this is often not accepted. People become defensive, and don't believe that the allergy is real or serious. They offer objections: Their friend's child is allergic to egg but can tolerate baked goods, so this cupcake is okay. A little bit won't hurt. They are pretty sure the item doesn't contain eggs, and so on. To them, his rejection of the food feels like a rejection of the person offering it.

Children with food allergies are put in the difficult social position of having to stand up to adults who are determined to give them unsafe food. My son tries to mollify them by saying, "It's okay, I have my own treat." Or he will take it and "save it for later," but trying to avoid the stigma of the food allergy by saying that he is not hungry is not very effective because this is also seen as a rejection of the person offering the food. Eating his own treat does not serve the same symbolic social function as sharing what everyone else is eating. In fact, it carries the opposite meaning: he is separate, and not part of the group. Having to refuse the offered food sends the message, "I don't trust you, and I don't want to be part of your group."

Even if the food allergic student's parents try to compensate by bringing safe food to share with the whole group, the inability to reciprocate by accepting food from others creates stigma. When the parent of a food allergic child overcompensates by bringing multiple offers of food to the group, that is often met with resentment from the other parents who feel they are not given equal opportunities to share. This is a no-win situation, and the resentment of the group is expressed as ostracism of the allergic child and his family.

Many times, excluding the allergic child is rationalized:

He needs to get used to being left out because food allergies are a fact of his life.
Kids shouldn't feel entitled to special treatment; the world isn't going to change for them.
She's used to being left out; it doesn't bother her.
This child's parents are overprotective; this level of caution is unnecessary.
Other people with food allergies can eat this, so this should be good enough for her, too.

The reality is that kids with food allergies get plenty of practice at being excluded. Far from feeling entitled to special treatment, they internalize the message that their food allergies are a burden to others. Children with food allergies do not take inclusion for granted. This is especially true for children with multiple food allergies, or who are highly sensitive to the allergens. They are at the greatest risk for stigmatization because the necessary precautions seem unusual to people. In addition, there are many people with food allergies who are not aware of best practices for food allergy management, and their casual approach to the risks involved is seen as more socially acceptable.

Modeling exclusion

My daughter's teacher once decided to bring candy to the class for Easter. Since it was a last minute decision, the teacher didn't take the time to ask me which candy was safe for my daughter who is allergic to peanuts. She gave the candy to all the children, including my daughter who tried to refuse it. When my daughter wouldn't eat the candy, she was told she could eat a leftover part of her sandwich from her lunchbox while her classmates enjoyed the candy. My daughter was six years old.

When adults exclude the child with food allergies, they are modeling exclusion for everyone. They are sending a message to all the kids that it is okay to exclude the allergic child, and a message to the allergic child that they are not worth including. Many kids with food allergies are bullied at school because of this social stigma. Allergic children deserve to feel safe and that their well-being is important to the adults in charge. They deserve to have their basic needs for safety and inclusion met.

Take a moment to look at this diagram. If it looks familiar, that is probably because it is based on Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Notice that the need to belong is part of the base of the pyramid. We are all social beings, and belonging is a basic, human need. The power of that need is probably greatest in adolescence, and that is reflected in the fact that teens are at a greater risk of dying from their food allergies than younger children. Years of social stigma take their toll, and teens may place a higher priority on inclusion than safety. And in the school context, when kids' basic needs are not being met, their ability to learn is compromised.

If we can bring awareness to these very human reactions, we can choose to respond differently. We can choose to include kids with food allergies. This is going to require effort because accommodating food allergies means conscientiously checking ingredient labels and carefully cleaning cooking utensils and surfaces. It means talking to the child's parents to find out what is safe. It means accepting that those parents may not feel comfortable trusting their child's life to home baked cupcakes, and choosing to center a party around non-food activities instead. It means remembering that families with food allergies live with those inconveniences every day. Most kids take being included for granted. Imagine what it means to a child with food allergies.

What can you do?

As a parent of a child with food allergies you can:

Advocate for inclusion at school, and help raise awareness
Mitigate some of the exclusion by volunteering to share safe food
Support your child's self-advocacy efforts

As a teacher you can:

Choose to use non-food items for class projects, manipulatives, and incentives
Promote celebrations that focus on activities rather than food
Support the self-advocacy of children with food allergies

As a parent of a child without food allergies you can:
Choose to send non-food treats for holidays and birthdays
Make an effort to include the allergic child in social events outside of school
Model compassion for kids with food allergies to your own children

Catharine Alvarez, PhD studied applied mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently home schooling her two children while independently studying psychology and game theory.

She writes about education, food allergies, advocacy, and mathematics, and moderates online interest groups for food allergies and math education.

Film Chat: From Swastika to Jim Crow

leebarzel — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 23:33:46 GMT

— by Hannah Lee

On Monday, the National Museum of American Jewish History again waived its admission fee and opened its doors on a day when it is usually closed to the public, and hosted a full day of programs in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The museum's new exhibit is "Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow," about the experiences of Jewish refugee scholars who were driven from Europe by the Nazis who found teaching positions at black institutions in the American South of Jim Crow laws. And, in keeping with the spirit of the day, the museum organized a screening of the documentary film that inspired the exhibit, as well as a discussion with one of the filmmakers, Steven Fischler, of Pacific Street Films. Up to 900 people visited that day.

More after the jump.
Soon after Adolf Hitler took leadership in Germany in January, 1933, the Nazi Party issued laws to ban Jewish scholarship and pedagogy. These restrictive laws had huge support in the ivied walls of academia. According to Dr. Ismar Schorsch, the former Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, students were amongst the most rabid of Nazi sympathizers. By 1940, some 2,000 German and Austrian academics had been dismissed. These members of the intelligentsia, called "mandarins" for their revered status in society, were cast out in a world where few spoke fluent English and fewer probably had manual skills.

Limited assistance came from the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars, founded in New York in 1933, which offered one-year grants to colleges to partially subsidize salaries of the refugees. While the Committee did rescue over 300 scholars from Nazi-run Europe, they were the ones with established reputations such as philosopher Martin Buber, physicist James Franck, and writer Thomas Mann.

The younger and lesser known academics arrived with tourist visas, desperately seeking work on their own. Walter Fales worked as a butler and cook until he landed a position in 1946 as Associate Professor of philosophy at Lincoln University, a traditionally black college in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Some 50-100 of these refugee scholars found haven in these black colleges, where the facilities were ramshackle but where the students had a keen thirst for knowledge. These professors became beloved on their campuses, despite their formal European customs such as insisting that their students wear jacket and tie.

Former students testified on the film to the pivotal role these Jewish mentors had on their lives. John Biggers arrived at Hampton Institute (now University) in Virginia with a work-study scholarship for plumbing, but Professor Viktor Lowenfeld opened his eyes to the world of artistic creativity. Biggers became an artist, professor, and founder of the Art Department at Texas Southern University in Houston.

Civil rights activist and author Joyce Ladner recalled that she couldn't afford the application fees for graduate school, so her professor at Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS, Ernst Borinski, a former judge and law professor in Germany, paid them with his own money. When she reported the successful defense of her doctoral dissertation four years later, he sent a telegram with his congratulations and $100 for her to celebrate the milestone with her friends. The telegram is in the exhibit.

How were these Jewish refugees received in the American South, where Jim Crow laws (the name taken from a minstrel routine) isolated blacks physically and culturally? Were they considered white or not? Donald Cunnigan was a former student and now a professor of sociology at the University of Rhode Island, and he recalled the unusual status of these highly educated Jews in the South. While they were not accepted by the whites, they were regarded by the off-campus blacks as either non-white or even black — one told him that Jews were mentioned in the Bible and any people who'd suffered as they did in ancient Egypt must have been black! Karen Brodkin, professor of anthropology at UCLA, addressed this topic in her 1998 book, How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says About Race in America. In the nineteenth century, there were hundreds of races; most, including Jews, being considered neither black nor white.

The film does not address the Jewish life of these refugees, but the exhibit has a quote from John Herz, professor of international politics at Howard University in Washington, D.C., who recalled that the Düsseldorf rabbi came to visit his mother about religious instruction for her children. His mother replied, "That decision I leave entirely to my children; music is my religion." However, Georg Iggers, professor of history at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, AR grew up in a religious family in Hamburg and he recalled that Jews could be culturally German and yet be observant of Jewish tradition.

An audience member asked the filmmaker Fischler if the rise of the black nationalist movement ("Black Power") set back black-Jewish relations. The film referred to people who decried the role of whites on a black college, such as Professor Borinski who'd created a curriculum on race history. No, said Fischler, because the refugee professors were close to retirement age in the 60s and no one lost their positions for it, unlike earlier movements of xenophobia.

The catalyst for the film came from a letter by Professor Herz to The New York Times about the anti-semitic comments of speakers at Howard University and other black colleges in the late 90s. He referred to the 1993 book by Gabrielle Edgcomb, From Swastika to Jim Crow: Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges, which inspired the filmmakers to make their documentary.

I noted how all the interview subjects were so articulate and highly accomplished and I asked if the filmmakers had conscious choice in their selection. They didn't eliminate any potential candidates, said Fischler, and maybe only the students with the strongest memories and the closest relationships stepped forth. Only three of the refugee professors were still alive for the film. Furthermore, many of the black students of the time did become prominent in their fields, noted Fischler.

In the 12 years since the release of the film, an audience member asked, what would they add to a sequel, if one were to make one? This traveling exhibit is their sequel, responded Fischler, making the material more accessible to a greater public.

"Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges," originally from the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, is on display at the National Museum of American Jewish History until June 2.

Visualize Cutting Education To Pay For Tax Cuts For The 1%

Publisher — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

This is what it looks like when we defund schools in order to give a tax cut to the richest 1%. To invest in our future everyone should pay their fair share.

Mitt Romney Debates Mitt Romney On Israel, Taxes, Education, Healthcare and Abortion

Publisher — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:51:08 GMT

Foreign Policy Speech ...

Finally, I will recommit America to the goal of a democratic, prosperous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel. On this vital issue, the President has failed, and what should be a negotiation process has devolved into a series of heated disputes at the United Nations. In this old conflict, as in every challenge we face in the Middle East, only a new President will bring the chance to begin anew.

Private Fundraiser ...

"I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say there's just no way ... the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish ... [S]o what you do is, you say, you move things along the best way you can. You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem...and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it."

Israel quotes courtesy of Josh Marshall and Mother Jones. Videos courtesy of DailyKos and Talking Point Memo.

New OFA Web Video: The Real Mitt Romney

Just weeks before the election, Romney isn't being honest with the American people about his severely conservative positions, and a new video from OFA allows voters to see this dishonesty laid bare. Romney will say anything to win, even if it's not true. Over the past few years, the real Mitt Romney has consistently committed to overturning Roe vs. Wade and denying women the right to choose. He's been promising a tax cut including "the top 1 percent," that is mathematically impossible to pay for without higher middle-class taxes, higher deficits or both. And he has committed to a plan that would put at risk health coverage for millions of Americans living with preexisting conditions. He can try to hide these far-right positions, but voters simply won't be fooled when he cynically and dishonestly tells voters the exact opposite of what he's run on.

Mitt Romney Debates Mitt Romney On Israel, Taxes, Education, Healthcare and Abortion

Publisher — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:51:08 GMT

Foreign Policy Speech ...

Finally, I will recommit America to the goal of a democratic, prosperous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel. On this vital issue, the President has failed, and what should be a negotiation process has devolved into a series of heated disputes at the United Nations. In this old conflict, as in every challenge we face in the Middle East, only a new President will bring the chance to begin anew.

Private Fundraiser ...

"I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say there's just no way ... the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish ... [S]o what you do is, you say, you move things along the best way you can. You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem...and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it."

Israel quotes courtesy of Josh Marshall and Mother Jones. Videos courtesy of DailyKos and Talking Point Memo.

New OFA Web Video: The Real Mitt Romney

Texas Republican Party Platform Opposes Critical Thinking

Publisher — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The Republican Party of Texas' recently adopted 2012 platform contains a plank that opposes the teaching of "critical thinking skills" in schools.

We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

The "American Dream" video on the right from George Carlin might explain why...

The 2012-2013 Pennsylvania Budget: Areas to Improve

Publisher — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:02:10 GMT

— by Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach

Since the state's fiscal year ends at midnight on June 30th of each year, May and June are always a busy time when everyone in Harrisburg is scrambling to put together next year's budget. We've had tough budgets for the past four years because during a recession, demand for government services goes up while revenues coming into the state coffers go down. Unlike the federal government, we are constitutionally required to balance our budget each year, so every dollar we spend must come from a revenue source.

There are really only two ways to eliminate a budget deficit: you can either cut expenditures or raise revenues. Actually, the smartest approach is to use a balanced approach that does both prudently. Unfortunately, for the past several years — due to the political realities of Harrisburg and the fact that Governor Corbett has pledged to Grover Norquist, a lobbyist who lives in Washington, DC, that he won't increase revenues in any way — the budget has been balanced exclusively through cuts.

It is important to remember that there are many areas of the state budget that can't be cut, either due to federal or state law or contractual obligations. In some cases, if we tried to cut money from a given program, we could be sued and required by a court to spend the money with interest. In other cases, our laws force additional spending. For example, Pennsylvania's criminal code creates about 2,000 new net prisoners per year (the second highest number in the nation). This requires us to build a new prison, which costs about $300 million to build and $50 million per year to operate, every single year.

All of the cuts we can make must come from a relatively small sliver of the budget that is discretionary. This includes money for first responders, education, libraries, human services, health care for our citizens, transportation improvements and our safety net for the very poor. We have continued to go back to these same areas of funding when making deeper and deeper cuts each year.

As a result, we have now reached the point at which we are in real danger of abandoning basic government services and the citizens who rely on them. You may have read about how some of our poorer schools literally would have had to close their doors if the federal courts had not intervened and ordered us to provide additional funds. Tens of thousands of people have lost their access to healthcare, childcare facilities have had to close, and libraries are either closing or drastically cutting back their hours and programs. Schools are eliminating art and music programs, guidance counselors and tutoring; and we are opening 30,000 new natural gas rigs across the state while drastically reducing the funding for environmental inspectors charged with making sure the drilling is done safely. In short, the picture is very bleak.

Following the jump below, I am going to try to give you a fuller picture of the cuts we are facing and provide you with the alternatives for which I am fighting. In my view, we could easily raise sufficient revenue to avoid most of the worst cuts without burdening a single Pennsylvania family. We could accomplish this by, among other things, enacting a reasonable tax on the Marcellus Shale extraction that is giving energy companies billions of dollars and closing the "Delaware Loophole," which allows 70% of Pennsylvania companies to avoid paying their fare share to help our state prosper.

These and other ideas will enable us to continue providing basic services to our citizens and will ensure that Pennsylvania is a state with the educational, economic and environmental quality of life that will attract businesses and families for decades to come. I hope you find this information helpful.

A list of programs funding to be restored and funding mechanisms follow the jump.
As I noted above, I would like to stimulate an open and honest dialogue about the current budget's shortcomings. There are a number of cuts that I believe will be extremely harmful to our state. I will first enumerate some of the
worst of the many troubling cuts in the budget proposed by Governor Corbett.

If I want to restore the funds for these important programs, I obviously have an obligation to identify where the necessary revenues would come from. So I will provide some suggestions along those lines as well.

Top 5 most destructive cuts in the budget proposal.

Higher Education
Governor Corbett has proposed cutting higher education by 30 percent this year, on top of the 19 percent cut passed last year. These draconian proposals represent not cuts, but an abandonment of our commitment to make college affordable for all Pennsylvanians. These cuts would result in dramatic tuition increases in state related universities and put college out of reach for many of our citizens.
Basic Education
Last year, over my "no" vote, the legislature and governor enacted a budget that cut over $850 million from basic education. These cuts came disproportionately from poor school districts, but hurt all public schools. The governor
has proposed hundreds of millions in dollars of additional cuts, including eliminating the No Child Left Behind Compliance grants and the Charter School Reimbursement grants.
Department of Environmental Protection
At a time when we are opening over 30,000 new fracking wells in Pennsylvania, the DEP budget is being cut, which will result in many fewer inspectors and enforcement agents ensuring that this new and controversial fracking technology is being used safely and responsibly.
Human Services
The governor proposes to cut human service funding by 20 percent ($168 million). These services cover needs including Mental Health, Behavioral Health, Drug & Alcohol, Intellectual Disabilities, Child Welfare, Homeless Assistance and what remains of the Human Services Development Fund. These cuts will obviously have a devastating impact on many of the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians.
Child Care Services
If this budget passes, we will have cut childcare services and assistance by almost $140 million over the past two years. Without these services, parents may be unable to get back on their feet, receive training, or go back to work if they have to turn down a job or opportunity because they can't afford or find childcare. Also, this lack of funding could mean the elimination of "Keystone Stars", a nationally-recognized program that provides resources and professional development to the educators who prepare children for school success.

In addition, the governor has rejected the recommendations of his own hand-picked commission to raise money to fund much needed road and bridge repairs.

How to pay for the restoration of these funds:

Levying a Marcellus Shale Impact Fee
Imposing an impact fee on drillers would go a long way toward helping recoup the loss of natural resources taken from our state, as well as toward helping us balance the budget. Going further, imposing a tax on those drillers would do even more to help us. Consider that a 6% tax on producing wells would generate about $312 million in 2012-13 and $396 million in 2013-14. This rate is consistent with what virtually every other state in the nation charges for the extraction of natural resources from its soil.
Closing the Delaware Loophole
The Delaware Loophole, a way under the law for corporations to evade paying taxes, is an issue that has needed fixed for years. For some reason, this has yet to happen. If we closed the Delaware Loophole, our state would be able to bring in $550 million in just one fiscal year.
Ending the Vendor Discount
Under the Vendor Discount, Pennsylvania pays private businesses millions of dollars each year just to handle sales tax receipts and remit them to the state. This program was conceived many years ago before the advent of computers, and since there's no longer a valid need for it, it's time to end it. Currently, Pennsylvania is one of only 13 states with an unlimited sales tax vendor discount. If we stopped providing this unnecessary discount, our state would save nearly $75 million per year.
Taxing Smokeless Tobacco
Currently, Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that does not tax smokeless tobacco. This would be an easy solution that would garner $50 million per year, simply by imposing a tax of $1.35 per unit — the same tax that is levied on cigarettes.

Philadelphia Teachers Grill Mitt Romney on Class Sizes

Publisher — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:53:20 GMT

When Mitt Romney went to a charter school in Philadelphia today, it's safe to say he didn't get the reception he hoped for.

Counter to all logic and evidence Romney claimed in his book No Apology that larger class sizes will improve education.

In The United States, then, the effort to reduce classroom size may actually hurt education more than it helps. [page 216]

However, the Philadelphia teachers in attendance today offered him a reality check, questioning how exactly he could believe that to be the truth. Media coverage of his event centered on this exchange: MSNBC, WBOB Philadelphia, ABC, The Hill, AP, LA Times, Politico, CNN, CBS

Transcript follows the jump.
TRANSCRIPT OF EXCHANGE:

MR. MORRIS: I would like to bring up two concerns, in terms of the way you opened your introduction. These are things that I think about as a teacher in the classroom all the time, like one is class size, and the other is testing. I think, kind of like when I was driving to school today, I heard your position on class size and testing, and apparently it's a platform, and education is a topic right now. You know, I can't think of any teacher in the whole time I've been teaching, over ten years, thirteen years, who would say that they would love - more students would benefit them.

ROMNEY: Right, right, of course.

MR. MORRIS: I can't think of a parent that would say, "I would like my teacher to be in a room with a lot of kids and only one teacher." So, I'm kind of wondering where this research comes from, it's like, and another thing, researchers, you're looking at the test scores. You're saying big class sizes doesn't affect the test scores.

[...]

It concerns me, the testing, and it concerns me, you know, the class size. I can't think of any teacher - Mr. Bennett, would you want more kids in your classroom?

BENNETT: No, it's large enough. It's actually too large.

ROMNEY: How many students do you have?

BENNETT: It varies between classes, but anywhere from 23 to 28, somewhere in there. You can give more of a personalized - more personalized attention to each student if you have a smaller class size. I would have to agree with Mr. Morris, and I teach technology over here.

Jewish Day School Grants and Scholarship Now Available For All Ages

Publisher — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The Kohelet Foundations's Jewish Day School Collaborative will award a limited number of tuition grants and scholarships Jewish day school students in nursery, elementary, middle and high school for September 2012.

These grants and scholarships ensure that more children realize the dream of an education rich in Jewish values and responsibility, where they achieve academically, while connecting to the world through a Jewish lens. Engaged, passionate and committed, they are tomorrow's leaders.

Each student will receive up to 33% of tuition at day schools throughout Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey, up to $5,000 for lower and middle school and up to $8,500 for high school.

These grants and scholarships are multi-year and are offered to new and existing day school students of all denominations. Qualifications and details vary based on grade level.

Don't wait another minute to give your child a Jewish day school education.

A limited number of grants and scholarships available at all day schools in Greater Philadelphia/South Jersey:

Abrams Hebrew Academy, K-12, Yardley, PA
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, 6-12, Bryn Mawr, PA
Kellman Brown Academy, K-8, Voorhees, NJ
Kohelet Yeshiva High School, 9-12, Merion Station, PA
Perelman Jewish Day School, K-5, Wynnewood, PA, and K-8, Melrose Park, PA
Politz Day School of Cherry Hill, K-8, Cherry Hill, NJ
Politz Hebrew Academy, NS-8, Philadelphia, PA
Torah Academy, NS-8, Wynnewood, PA
Torah Academy Girls High School, 9-12, Wynnewood, PA

Dear GOP: Why do you hate me? An Open Letter

DocJess — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:40:55 GMT

Crossposted from Democratic Convention Watch

Dear GOP:

What have I ever done to you to make you hate me so much?

I was born female and somehow you want to deny me, and all the other women and girls, things you consider sacrosanct for men. Oh wait, not all men, just those that are straight, white and Christian. But I digress. I look at the abominations of legislation you are trying to pass in state after state, and ask myself what would have become of me had you passed those things when I was a girl.

Luckily for me, I was born into a family that valued education for both sons and daughters. My dad paid for his college education with help from the GI bill. As adults, with children, both my parents earned graduate degrees: a Masters for my mom, and Masters and a PhD for my dad. From the day I started school, it wasn't a question of whether I'd go to college, but where. Same for my brother. And in our generation we too have a slew of degrees.

One of the reasons I was able to get an education, and make great use of said education was because I had access to birth control. If you, as a party, had your way, I wouldn't have educational opportunities: I'd be home raising kid after kid, home-schooling them (how, I don't know since I wouldn't know anything).

I admit, I have trouble sticking with a specific career path, but I've succeeded in a number of avocations. Things I learned in one area have led to accomplishments in another. I used my education to build large-scale transportation projects for the FAA, the FWHA, and in Europe, I built pollution models for the EPA, I've done defense work, and designed, developed and delivered training programs in the fields of medicine, logistics and manufacturing. Above all, I became a doctor and I've saved lives. On the side there has been a slew of volunteer work with functional illiterates, and I was even a Mensa officer. Accomplished, for a blonde girl. And yet, you want me barefoot and pregnant. Why would you condemn me to have either spent my life unaccomplished, or completely devoid of love and sex. I don't get it.

To add insult to injury, now your presidential candidate front runner, Rick Santorum, has decreed that ALL public funding for ALL education should cease. Really. Watch:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So I guess what you're saying is that not only should I have been denied birth control, but my mother should have had to give up HER career to stay home and school my brother and me. And what of my mother's mother, who is currently rolling in her grave after having been a suffragette and having worked with Margaret Sanger on the whole birth control thing back in the teens and twenties.

So let's move this a few decades into the future under the Republican doctrine. Here I would be, an uneducated mother having poorly schooled my children while my husband worked two jobs because in this economy that's pretty necessary. Likely, he would die young from overwork. I wouldn't have a bunch of friends (many of those friendships forged in elementary school and still vibrant today), I'd have no skills, I'd be 75 years old, with no Medicare, no Social Security, having never made a decent contribution to society and I'd be toothlessly pushing a shopping cart around downtown Philly looking for something to eat, an indoor bathroom, and a safe place to sleep at night.

And that IS the logical outcome of a Republican idea set that evokes more the 1850's then anything else. I can only conclude that you hate me, or you'd never want to put me, and all the other women, in that position. Your position shows a lack of foresight, and a lack of character. Character matters.

I stand with Andrew Shepherd. I stand with Barack Obama. I stand with every other American who wants to continue our rise from the economic mess you Republicans put us in, who believes in education, birth control, climate change caused by humans, science, evolution and all that this country stands for. You want to lead this country into darkness. I stand with the light.

What if there were no public schools?

DocJess — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:35:47 GMT

Crossposted from Democratic Convention Watch, because as Jews, we value education, and should be up in arms about this situation.

Last week, we informed you about a Pennsylvania school district where the teachers and support staff were working for no pay, as the Corbett administration had cut their funds, and was refusing to release funding available to the district in June.

While school legislation varies by state, since 1918 ALL US states have had compulsory education requirements. That means the state, normally through local school boards but with a mix of Federal, state and local funding, provides education and that it is mandatory for children to attend from age 5-7 (depending on the state) through age 16-18 (again, depending on the state.) Yes, there are certain exemptions, but the bottom line is that people pay taxes which go to support the school district, and education is provided.

Why?

Modern compulsory attendance laws were first enacted in Massachusetts in 1853 followed by New York in 1854. By 1918, all states had compulsory attendance laws. One reason for the acceptance by the states of these laws was the belief that the public school was the best means to improve the literacy rate of the poor and to help assimilate an immigrant population that grew at a high rate between the mid nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Another explanation is that as children were required to attend school for a number of years, factory owners found it more difficult to exploit the cheap and plentiful child labor. (Emphasis mine)

So what does it say about our values when a school district is allowed to implode? I cannot understand how this story is not getting huge national play...

More after the jump.

There is a lawsuit:

The school board and some parents in Delaware County's Chester Upland School District filed suit in federal court today against the state, the education department and legislative leaders, asking that the district be adequately funded through the end of the school year, at a cost of about $20.7 million.

The money should come from state allocations normally due the district which are now being diverted to pay charter schools, the lawsuit said, and from state education department reserve funds.
State officials have repeatedly said they will not send money to the district.

There was a brief vigil last night, but nothing really came of it, except plans for another meeting. The underlying debt problem here is that the state had control of the school district for a number of years, mismanaged everything, causing debt to run up and many children to flee to charter schools. Corbett is now saying that maybe the state will take over again (like that worked so well the last time, she said with dripping sarcasm), and that he is legally obligated to fund the charters prior to funding the public schools. That last point is one of the bones of contention in the current suit. Additionally:

The lawsuit also said that because payments to charter schools are based on Chester Upland's 2010-11 budget, which was $17 million more than this year, payments based on the 2010-2011 spending levels should be halted unless Chester Upland's state funding is restored to that year's levels.

That increased budget was due to the stimulus funding. Remember that when it comes time to argue about the role of government.

Chester-Upland is nowhere near the only school district with money problems. More of these situations will keep happening. I keep thinking about the phrase I emphasized in the first quote: is it possible that reactionary state governments, in addition to endeavoring to deny suffrage, are also using school funding as a weapon against the poor and immigrants? Think about it: without basic literacy, what job can one get? You can't even navigate a car if you cannot make sense of the street signs. If you're rich, schooling is never an issue, there are always private schools available. But basic education is not just a right in this country, it's a legislated entitlement, even if you're too poor to afford private education.

This election year is all about which is worse: big government or big business. That's the frame. Education is something that government is supposed to do. Worldwide:

Children are entitled to a free, quality basic education. Recognizing this entitlement, world leaders made the achievement of universal primary education by the year 2015 one of the Millennium Development Goals.

Think about the countries that don't provide education. Here are a few: Nepal, Chad, Sudan, Chad and the Congo. Plus lots more in sub-Sahara Africa and Southeast Asia. Do we really want to end up on that list?

Teachers to work with no pay

DocJess — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:20:09 GMT

Crossposted from Democratic Convention Watch

Here in Pennsylvania, we have a governor who believes education is not a necessity for poor kids, especially black ones. I have a huge spreadsheet from last year when Corbett announced the education cuts. It's too big to post, but if you want a copy, email me and I'll send one over. The faulty logic employed in Corbett's calculations was to pretend that 2009 stimulus money was still coming. It was a specious oversight, done on purpose.

So here are some numbers (from the spreadsheet released by Corbett's office) related to Chester-Upland, a poor district. 43% of the 3,600 children comprising the student body live in poverty. Total funding for the 2010-2011 school year - $43 million. Total cuts (Basic Ed, PA Accountability Grant, Charter School Reimbursement, Educational Assistance Program) - $18 million, or about 32%, totaling $2,542/student.

And here is the news from the acting superintendent:

We now face a very challenging financial crisis. We are currently unable to fund the district’s payroll expenses after January 4, 2012.

That's right, as of yesterday, there is no money to pay the employees.

There is a chunk of money (about $18 million) that Corbett could release now, prior to the planned disbursement in June. But no word from Tom's office. The teachers and support workers, however, have a different message: they will work as long as they can, even with no pay. To the students, (yesterday) from Gloria Zoranski, president of the Chester Upland School District’s employee associations:

We also have a message for the students of the district – we will be at work tomorrow, so come to school prepared to learn.

That's right - to all those who think teachers are money-grubbing, union-first-kids-last types - they'll work without pay to teach. And janitors? They don't need Newt's kid-janitor program: they'll be on the job, too.

This is what the 2012 elections will be ALL about: do we educate kids or do we allow the teabaggers to continue on their destructive path? And as an aside, this is why it's such a big deal that Mitt "Mittens" Romney won't release his tax return: with the money he's got in the Caymans, avoiding American taxes, and the 15% rate he pays on the money Bain is still paying him, well, let's just say that the money he didn't pay would easily have kept Chester-Upland going another few months....fewer dollars for his undocumented gardeners, but more to teach Johnny to read.

POWER Convention

John O. Mason — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:04:59 GMT

I, along with other members of my synagogue, Congregation Leyv ha-Ir (Reconstructionist), was present at the founding convention of Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild (POWER), held at Tindley Temple United Methodist Church, Broad and Fitzwater streets, on Sunday, 25th, 2011.
This is a coalition of religious congregations coming together to take on the critical social and economic issues in Philadelphia.
Other Jewish congregations represented at the convention were Society Hill Synagogue (Center City), Mishkan Shalom (Roxborough), Rodeph Shalom (Center City), and Kol Tzedek (West Philadelphia). Congregations from various other faith traditions-Protestant, Catholic, Muslim-took part. POWER is part of the PICO National Network of congregations dedicated to faith-based community organizing.
"POWER is on!" proclaimed Father Tom Higgins, pastor of Holy Innocents Roman Catholic Church, at the start of the program. Higgins introduced the Reverend Lillian Smith, Senior Pastor of Tindley Temple, who said, "It is only fitting that the founding convention is being held here. Tindley Temple has had a long time love for the people of the community, providing meals for the hungry since the Depression, and still proving meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; proving a place for (homeless) people to sleep on the pews; providing space in members' homes when people had to come" to find a better job. These are the positive religious traditions, of care for one's fellow human being, that has motivated the organizing of POWER.
The Reverend Michael Cane, Pastor of Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, said "People from our church come from across the city and beyond, but every week in Olde City where we're located, neighbors line up for a bag of groceries, and for not so new but clean clothes. Every week, twenty-five to thirty men find shelter in our church, since 1984, when Mayor (Wilson) Goode asked religious institutions to open their doors. Twenty-seven years-that's too long.
"It's easy to worry there's too much to do," continued Cane. "When I read a paper, or when I ride my bike in our city's least advantaged neighborhoods, I wonder, 'Lord, how can we turn this around? How can we make our city Your city?'...But looking out on you all tonight, I'm not worried anymore...I'm no longer doubting. Look around POWER, and see the strength, and the dignity, the wisdom, and the beauty, the spirit and the hope making this place particularly sacred tonight."
Opening prayers were performed Father Joe Watson, pastor of St William's Roman Catholic Church; Abdul-Halim Hassan, of Masjidullah, Inc.; Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herman, of Congregation Kol-Tzedek; and the Reverend Ernie Flores, of 2nd Baptist Church of Germantown.
The Reverend Mark Tyler, of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, shared a faith reflection, based on the Book of Nehemiah; "The walls of Jerusalem have been broken down," he said, "and the city gates were burned up." For generations, said Tyler, the wall "had been broken for so long they thought that broken was normal, and they never knew that life could be better with walls that were not broken.
"Because the walls were broken down," said Tyler, "the school system was vacant. Because the walls were broken down, violent crime was at an all-time high. Because the walls were broken down, flash mobs roamed the streets. Because the walls were broken down, even if you could get out of the 'hood, violence and crime still found your doorstep no matter where you lived. Because the walls were broken down, employment was hard to find, because businesses don't invest in cities with broken down walls. Because the walls were broken down, drugs were sold in broad daylight...people just threw their trash in the street...nobody felt safe at night. Because the wall was broken down, seniors couldn't sit on their stoops and children couldn't walk to school without the fear of being shot. The wall was broken down, and people were living with the air of hopelessness all around them."
Tyler told the audience his vision of what the members of POWER could do for the city: "After coming together, their careful research and listening campaign revealed there was a brokenness in the city. They discovered that what kept most people up at night was the wall that was broken down...This developed a shared vision, regardless of zip code, that they needed a city with a better wall to protect themselves. Built on the principle that people of faith, working together, can change the world, POWER began to rebuild the broken-down wall because the people had a mind to work."
The Reverend Robin Hynicka, Pastor of Arch Street United Methodist Church,
spoke of Jesus of Nazareth's parable of the mustard seed: "His object lesson on the tiny mustard seed growing into a mighty tree applies to all of us here today. The one central truth the parable teaches is how the beloved community would develop from the smallest of beginnings into something that will be greater than anyone would imagine from the outset. From a quiet one-on-one conversation with a handful of clergy that began early in February 2009...the seed was planted. In less than one year, the sponsoring committee that now has over forty congregational leaders was formed."
Hynicka spoke of the POWER platform, with its five main areas of concern: public safety, health care, housing, education, and jobs. "These are the systems we will seek to change," he added, "over the next five years to better strengthen Philadelphia's neighborhoods and to better support families." Research teams, added Hynicka, looked into programs for people to access jobs, education, affordable housing, health care, and public safety.
Rabbi Eli Freedman, of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, stated that POWER's first issue campaign "will focus on strengthening jobs and educational opportunities in our city, Philadelphia." The three main goals, Freedman added, are "literacy, job training, pathways to access jobs, and making sure there's a living wage job for every resident of Philadelphia.
"Philadelphia," added Freedman, "has a rich and proud history as a working-class community... Decades ago, working-class families, rode low-skill, fair-pay manufacturing jobs into the middle class Many families were able to buy homes, educate their children, and build a foundation of economic security. And then the world changed, through globalization, white flight to the suburbs, and the decline of unions, glowing inequality of pay between workers and executives, those low skill, fair-pay manufacturing jobs seemed to vanish all of a sudden. And we're still reeling from the shock. Today there are few pathways to economic opportunity for low-skill workers in our city, and many have been shut out of the labor market." The unemployment rate in Philadelphia, said Freedman, is almost eleven percent; and is double in African-American and Hispanic communities.
Kathleen Elmasry, a resident of South Philadelphia and a member of Saint Rita's Roman Catholic Church, said, "Right now, you are looking at the face of the unemployed. I am educated, motivated, and I have thirty-four years experience as an orthopedic medical assistant. Despite a spotless employment history, with perfect attendance, I am unemployed. During an approved leave of absence to care for my mother while she was dying, my position was eliminated... The office manager annihilated the entire staff, and we were replaced by others at a lower pay grade. I have been unemployed for sixteen months, and I manage to apply for no less than twenty to twenty-five jobs per week. In over sixteen months, I have I have responded to at least twelve hundred jobs...I did not have one interview or returned phone call.
"What I've discovered," added Elmasry, "Is that potential employers are not willing to consider hiring anyone who is collecting unemployment. That has placed us, the unemployed, in a serious but ridiculous catch-22, the unemployed remain unemployed because no one will hire us, and the longer we remain unemployed, the more remote (for employment) our chances become simply because of the duration of our unemployment. When I was employed, I was earning forty-one thousand dollars a year, and paying in the city wage tax. This past sixteen months of unemployment, I have not paid anything to the city."

New Ideas for the New Year at KI

InternComSol — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:16:34 GMT

Kenneseth Israel Launches E-Learning Hebrew Program for Elementary School Students.

BLUE BELL --- Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (KI) Blue Bell is marking both the Jewish New Year and the new start of the school year by introducing an initiative that will take learning to the next level. KI's e-Learning Hebrew program is one of the area's first online programs for elementary age religious school students. Combining both in-class and online instruction, students will acquire a broader understanding and appreciation of Hebrew and their heritage. Enrollment for the program is now in progress.

According to Rabbi Kevin Kleinman,

"We are very excited about the launch of this program, which will supplement KI's one-day-a-week classroom program. By meeting with their instructors and peers in a classroom once each week, and then connecting with their teachers from home for Hebrew e-learning, students can include their families in the learning process as they explore and interpret prayers and study Hebrew."

More after the jump.

Virtual Learning - Not Your Parent's Hebrew School

KI's new Hebrew e-learning curriculum combines traditional classroom instruction with an exciting new platform that allows elementary school-aged students to gain a greater appreciation for Tefillah (Jewish prayers) by using technology to interpret and explore their meanings and significance.

The core components of the e-Learning Hebrew Program include:

Required weekly Skype sessions with the student and his/her Hebrew teacher
Online projects that encourage students to demonstrate their mastery of concepts using video, glogs (digital posters) and multi-media presentations.
The virtual Tefillah created by students and their families will be saved to enhance communal worship and the child's B'nai Mitzvah project.
Access to innovative technologies to enhance conversational Hebrew skills in fun and creative ways.

Rabbi Kleinman emphasizes,

"We are treading on new ground, but we believe the program will contribute greatly to the learning experience as well as draw students and their families together as they embark on this adventure in learning."

About KI Blue Bell

Keneseth Israel was founded in 1847 to meet the needs of the growing Jewish population in the Philadelphia area. Over the next 158 years the congregation grew and its members spread out over Montgomery County. Due to the migration of members to the Blue Bell area, KI opened a second campus in Blue Bell in 2005. The congregation currently leases space from St. John Lutheran Church at 1802 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell. KI-Blue Bell offers monthly family-friendly Shabbat services, an engaging religious school accredited by the Reform Movement's National Association of Temple Educators, and enriching educational and social programs.

For information on enrolling in KI Religious School or participating in any of the many upcoming family events at KI Blue Bell, call 215-887-8700 or visit our website.

Hebrew School Drop Out No More, National effort to improve Jewish education

Teak Media — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:55:48 GMT

If you asked Jewish people about the single most influential experience that turned them off from their heritage, the majority would say "Hebrew school."

Instead of being an engaging, enlightening, or even an educational experience, Hebrew school is known more as a rite of passage; it is something to be endured and overcome. Our parents didn't like it, but they sent us anyway. We didn't like it, but we are sending our children anyway. What is now known as "part-time" or "complementary" Jewish education has such a poor public image, "Hebrew School Drop Out," is the name of a clothing line and a stand-up comedy show.

It's almost expected that children will not like Hebrew school and until now, very little has been done to change that.

Founders of the Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE), Carol Auerbach, Ricky Shechtel and Diane Troderman know what's wrong with Hebrew school, and they are working to fix it. They created PELIE in 2007, a nonprofit whose mission is to improve complementary Jewish education in North America, change the perception the public has about the field, and attract new investors. They gathered the support of major Jewish philanthropists like Stacy Schusterman of Samson Oil and today PELIE contributes between $500,000 and $750,000 a year to research, assess, highlight, adapt and fund part-time Jewish education models that work. PELIE also works to bring technology into Jewish education programs, and it makes available to communities an education assessment tool that is adapted from one used in the secular world.

"About eight years ago, Carol Auerbach headed a Jewish Funders Network breakfast roundtable for those interested in funding Hebrew school. All the other special interest tables were full, but not hers. Carol sat all alone. I sat with her because I, too, was interested in funding what has been called 'the black hole of Jewish philanthropy,'" says Shechtel. "That lonely breakfast was the impetus for us to create PELIE, and now, we no longer sit alone. There is a buzz, an excitement and a level of attention out there surrounding complementary education, and PELIE has helped to create and harness that buzz."

Funding for Jewish education is a "Catch 22." There are few funders for part-time Jewish education because it feels so unsuccessful. And, it remains an unsuccessful way to educate Jewish youth because the lack of funding does not allow for the innovations, professional development and technological advances necessary to improve the system. In fact, PELIE executives say the issue is not to fix the current system, but to investigate, fund and highlight congregational and non-congregational models that are working around the country.

"We have to be concerned about the future of the Jewish identity. Our best chance of continuing the Jewish legacy is to encourage children to be proud of their heritage," says Auerbach, founder of the Isaac and Carol Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education. Of the Jewish children who are engaged in Jewish education, 80 percent, or about 200,000, go to Hebrew school. "As long as anyone of us can remember, the system has been weak and was not engaging or inspiring kids. Complaints about Hebrew school were large and heavy from parents and children, but no one was doing anything."

Overhauling Hebrew school is no small task, but they went undeterred, created PELIE, found like-minded investors, and got experts to tour the country to find models of complementary education that were creative, effective, engaging and even fun. Programs that have been exciting young learners teach conversational Hebrew, for example, as opposed to teaching children to read and write the Hebrew language for prayer purposes only. They use technology, experiential learning and parental involvement.

One of PELIE's goals is to "change the nature of the conversation about Hebrew school," says Troderman, of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and a PELIE board member.

Rather than working to turn the big ship - the institution of Hebrew school - around, Jane Slotin, PELIE executive director says the situation is more akin to investigating all the little boats that keep popping up in the harbor to see what they are doing and how they are doing it. "Let's talk about what does work, not what doesn't work," Slotin says. "There is a lot of exciting transitioning right now. A system basically known to be top-down is shifting to bottom-up as families, communities, and even kids create meaningful, impactful experiences for Jewish engagement. Jewish learning is a life long journey, and ignoring this arena where most of our kids get their Jewish education will cost us in the long run. As Derek Bok of Harvard said, 'If you think education is expensive; try ignorance.' Kids are our future, and they deserve the attention and funding it takes to connect them to their Jewish legacy."
About PELIE: Founded in 2007, The Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE) works to improve complementary (part time) Jewish education in multiple settings throughout the nation. PELIE accomplishes this through advocating, consulting, and researching the field; by highlighting and adapting models that work; and by funding with local partners to bring change to their communities. PELIE also works to bring technology into Jewish education along with a variety of other "tools" - assessment, organizational, and experiential - to impact the ever-changing field of complementary Jewish education.

PELIE Now Accepting Applications for Technology Fellows

Publisher — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:15:31 GMT

-- Andrea D'Iorio

International Society for Technology in Education Conference

Application deadline: April 28, 2011
Conference: June 26-29, 2011

The Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE) is now accepting applications for a fellowship to attend the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2011 conference, which will take place from June 26 to 29, in Philadelphia. ISTE's annual conference and exposition is the world's premier educational technology event, where 20,000 education and technology professionals from 60 countries unite for four days of professional learning and collaboration.

Individuals involved in part-time Jewish education for children are encouraged to apply. Applicants can come from all aspects of complementary Jewish education whether they are rabbis, educators, lay leaders or volunteers in synagogue schools, community programs, JCC initiatives, or youth groups. Fourteen fellowships are available.

More after the jump.
"By providing these awards, it is PELIE's hope that fellows will have the opportunity to learn how the use of technology can impact their work, develop communities of practice with like-minded Jewish educators and contribute to building the field of technology and Jewish education," says Adena Raub, PELIE's information manager.

Fellows must apply in teams of two, in order to send more than one champion for educational technology back to each community. Once they return to their home communities, team members can support one another in working toward shifting the culture of their Jewish educational community.

Selected fellows will have the opportunity to participate in keynote presentations, "bring your own laptop" sessions, poster sessions, the global gallery, demonstrations, affinity group meetings and more. The seven teams will attend a group dinner at ISTE, as well as the Jewish educators' affinity session. Plus, as registrants of the ISTE conference, fellows gain one year of ISTE membership.

Fellows are required to provide a written essay about their experiences, teach what they learn to their colleagues upon their return, and participate in two webinars during the 2011-2012 school year. Both team members must commit to attending the entire ISTE conference. Each selected team will receive conference registration for both members, plus $700 per pair for expenses.

Click here to download the fellowship application. Applications must be submitted electronically to Adena Raub at araub@pelie.org on or before April 28, 2011. Award recipients will be notified by mid-May. For more information about the conference and ISTE, visit http://www.isteconference.org/... For questions, please contact Adena Raub, PELIE's information manager at araub@pelie.org.

About PELIE:

Founded in 2007, The Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education (PELIE) works to improve complementary (part time) Jewish education in multiple settings throughout the nation. PELIE accomplishes this through advocating, consulting, and researching the field; by highlighting and adapting models that work; and by funding with local partners to bring change to their communities. PELIE also works to bring technology into Jewish education along with a variety of other "tools" - assessment, organizational, and experiential - to impact the ever-changing field of complementary Jewish education.

Pittsburgh Jewish Community Offers Free Jewish Education

Publisher — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:35:35 GMT

Celebrating decades of tradition in the Pittsburgh community, Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools have announced a new program to provide free tuition for students who are new to Jewish day school in Pittsburgh and are entering grades 3-11 for the 2011-2012 school year. Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools include Community Day School, Hillel Academy and Yeshiva Schools, located in Squirrel Hill.

More after the jump.
With tuition that ranges from $4,675 - $14,000 per year depending upon the school and age of the child, this program offers a unique opportunity for Jewish families to have their children experience a high quality private education coupled with a rich understanding of Jewish history, language, culture and traditions. Support for the program is coming from each of the three schools, as well as from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh's Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future.

"Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools provide the highest quality private school education coupled with a deep and lasting connection to Jewish values," said Chuck Perlow, Chairman of the Pittsburgh Jewish Day School Council. "With a strong connection to this community, Hillel Academy, Community Day School and Yeshiva Schools are working collaboratively to give more children and their families the opportunity to experience all that a Jewish Day School education has to offer."

"Given their collective commitment to rigorous academics, students who attend one of the Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools typically excel on their standard achievement tests (SAT's) and go on to succeed in private schools, Ivy League and competitive colleges, universities and seminaries around the world," said David Shapira, co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh's Jewish Community Foundation. The Foundation's Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future, in conjunction with the schools, has underwritten the program offering the scholarship funds. "Across their spectrum, the Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools offer the highest quality education with options that will suit the preferences and needs of any Jewish family."

The free tuition program is for local, permanent residents who apply to one of the three Jewish Day Schools for the first time. The student must meet admission guidelines for the desired school and be currently enrolled in any school in Allegheny County. Families that are new to the area will not be eligible at this time. To qualify, students must be enrolled prior to the start of the 2011-2012 school year. Families interested in learning more about qualifying can go to www.pittsburghjewishdayschools.com or contact one of the three schools to schedule a tour.

"As a city, Pittsburgh needs strong neighborhoods in order to thrive," said Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. "For decades, the Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools have been strong partners in creating a tremendously stable neighborhood in Squirrel Hill. For Jews and non-Jews alike, these schools are an important part of the fabric that makes this community unique. They have attracted students from around the world and led talented professionals to relocate to Pittsburgh over other regions, so their children can experience this unique Jewish Day School education."

About Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools
Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools are both a magnet and an anchor for the community, contributing stability and a unique cooperation with our community partners. Across our spectrum and amid the umbrella of Pittsburgh Jewish Day Schools that are nestled in the Squirrel Hill community, we offer:

Community Day School: Founded in 1972, Community Day School, a Solomon Shechter Day School, nurtures 280 Jewish children from kindergarten through 8th grade to become young people who are academically strong, good people, knowledgeable Jews, and contributing citizens of K'lal Yisrael (the people of Israel), the United States, and our world. The school is committed to helping each individual child excel in his or her studies, in spirituality, on the athletic field, and in the social arena. Community Day School educators recognize that children learn at different rates, in different styles, and from diverse strengths, and the school builds programs that help them grow from strength to strength.
Hillel Academy: Founded in 1948, Hillel Academy has 242 students and offers an emphasis on Jewish and rigorous general studies, a love of Israel and recognition of the commitment to community service for children preschool through high school. A PA Pre-K Counts School, Hillel Academy offers the Isadore Joshowitz Early Childhood Center, a NAEYC accredited early childhood center for Jewish children beginning at age two and is committed to creating a community filled with inquisitive minds and thoughtful students who become strong Jewish leaders. We bring our students a top notch general studies education with the timeless teaching of Torah study and Jewish values.
Yeshiva Schools: Founded in 1943, Yeshiva Schools offers a comprehensive curriculum of secular and Judaic studies for children from preschool through high school. Approximately 400 students from diverse backgrounds attend Yeshiva. Dedicated to educating the whole child, Yeshiva imbues its students with a deep understanding of Torah that has inspired thousands of graduates to live as proud Jews in myriad professions in countries all over the world.

Learn Hebrew for Free

Publisher — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:43:18 GMT

If you have ever wanted to learn Hebrew or another language (complete list follows the jump), the Lower Merion Library System and many other libraries are making it easier than ever and at no cost to you. Hebrew is offered at two levels: Mango Basic Hebrew teaches simple, practical skills for common, polite conversation in only a few short hours. Mango Hebrew Complete 2.0 teaches in-depth and comprehensive language and grammar skills.

This unique service teaches conversation skills for practical communication through fun and engaging interactive lessons, making learning a new language fast, easy and incredibly effective.

The system is completely web-based and remotely accessible, so you can learn at your leisure wherever you have an internet connection.

"As students listen to and repeat after native speakers, they learn more than just words and phrases; they learn how those pieces can be rearranged and combined to make new thoughts, new conversations, and even more practical communication."

noted Christine Steckel, Director of Libraries.

Lower Merion Library System cardholders should scroll down to the bottom of the LMLS Website and click on the Mango logo to get started.

A list of other languages follows the jump.
Languages courses offered by Mango for Libraries:

Arabic (Levantine) 35,000,000 speakers: Basic
Chinese (Mandarin) 1,365,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Dari (Afghanistan, Pakistan) 9,000,000 speakers: Basic
Farsi (Persian, Iran) 100,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
French 77,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
German 105,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Greek 12,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Hebrew (Israel) 7,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
Hindi (India, Pakistan, Fiji) 490,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
Irish 355,000 speakers: Basic
Italian 70,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Japanese 130,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Korean 78,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
Pashto (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) 26,000,000 speakers: Basic
Portuguese (Brazil) 200,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Russian 164,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Spanish (Latin America) 329,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 1.0, Complete 2.0
Tagalog (Philippines) 49,000,000 speakers: Basic
Thai 60,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
Turkish 70,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
Urdu (Pakistan, India) 250,000,000 speakers: Basic
Vietnamese 73,000,000 speakers: Basic, Complete 2.0
English as a second language: In Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

Agudath Israel Interacts with State Department & White House

Publisher — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:34:00 GMT

Encouraging words about Israel, Foreign and Domestic Issues, from Obama Administration.
-- Rabbi Avi Shafran

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 150 men and women took a day from their regular responsibilities to be part of an Agudath Israel of America delegation that arrived in Washington early last Thursday morning, July 29, for a day that saw nonstop meetings with members of Congress as well as both State Department and White House officials. What the participants in the National Leadership Mission to Washington heard from the Administration on the two most important issues on their minds - America's commitment to Israel's security and federal education aid to nonpublic schools - was, in the words of one delegate, "clearly positive."

The day began with Shacharis, of course, either on a bus headed south from the New York area or at the hotel where some participants had spent the previous night. But it wasn't long before all the Agudath Israel activists had gathered at the U.S. State Department, where they were addressed by Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism; and Douglas Davidson, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues.

Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel Washington Office director and counsel, who organized the National Leadership Mission and facilitated the day's meetings, offered greetings, and the proceedings were then turned over to Agudath Israel chairman of the board, Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger, who chaired the session and introduced the morning's speakers.

Mr. Feltman was the first to address the delegation. He repeated the United States' endorsement of a "two state solution" to the Israel-Palestinian situation. At the same time, he took pains to state clearly and forcefully that the U.S.'s commitment to Israel is "unbreakable and unwavering," citing "common interests" both countries share and "common threats" both countries face. Mr. Feltman also addressed the situations in Iraq and Yemen, and responded to questions from delegates on Turkey's recent actions and the incorrigibility of Hamas.

The next presenter was Ms. Rosenthal. The Special Envoy spoke of her "personal roots" as a Jew and how her background informs her current official responsibility. Referring to 2009 as "not a good year for either human rights or Jews," Ms. Rosenthal identified several contemporary trends in anti-Semitism: "old fashioned" hatred-fueled vandalism and blood libels, Holocaust denial, Holocaust "relativism" (comparisons that "diminish the scale and scope" of the Shoah), Holocaust glorification (rife in the Islamic world), anti-Israel stances tainted with anti-Jewish attitudes (the disgraced journalist Helen Thomas' unguarded statement of several weeks ago, the Special Envoy said, was "a gift to us" in having exposed and example of such ill will) and anti-Semitism born of a general disdain of "the other," particularly in Europe.

Ms. Rosenthal spoke of the tools her office uses to identify and combat anti-Jewish attitudes and acts, and took questions from delegates about the United Nations Human Rights Council and the sorry state of hate-filled Palestinian textbooks.

Mr. Davidson, the final State Department official to address the delegates, spoke about the misappropriation of Jewish-owned property and valuables during and after the Holocaust, as well as the desecration of Jewish holy sites (such as synagogues and cemeteries). He outlined the efforts of his office to do what can be done to right such wrongs. The results, he admitted, can never be more than (referencing the title of Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat's 2004 book) "imperfect justice," but what restitution and restoration can be had, he insisted, must be had.

Early afternoon found the group on Capitol Hill for a luncheon that was attended or visited by a veritable bi-partisan parade of Senators and Congressmen, each of whom briefly welcomed and addressed the delegation. The Senators, who were warmly introduced by the luncheon session chairman, Agudath Israel executive vice president Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, included Scott Brown (R - MA), Benjamin Cardin (D - MD), Saxby Chambliss (R - GA), Johnny Isakson (R - GA), Joseph I. Lieberman (ID - CT), Robert Menendez (D - NJ), Charles E. Schumer (D - NY) and Debbie Stabenow (D - MI).

The Representatives who addressed the assemblage were: William "Bill" Cassidy of Louisiana, Steven Rothman of New Jersey, John P. Sarbanes of Maryland and Anthony D. Weiner of New York. In addition, Representatives Yvette Clarke of New York and Bill Pascrell of New Jersey joined the lunch gathering as well.

Highlights of the luncheon included a current of strong statements of support for Israel's right to defend herself, Senator Isakson's recall of his response to a Georgia hinterlands talk-show caller who warily asked if he was a Jew ("No, but I'd be very proud if I was"), Senator Brown's statement that the Obama Administration "needs to be more public about" the fact that "Israel is our strongest ally in the region," Senator Menendez' discovery (having been so informed by Senator Lieberman) that his surname is on a list of common Spanish Jewish names, Congressman Weiner's strong words concerning the "injustice going on" in the Rubashkin case and Senator Lieberman's heartfelt words about how legislators' and American citizens' acceptance and even appreciation of his Shabbos observance says much about America - a "different place" for Jews, he stressed, historically speaking.

After the luncheon, the Agudath Israel delegation proceeded to the White House.

Before the session began, it was noted that Rabbi Zwiebel had missed one of his son's and new daughter-in-law's Sheva Brachos the previous night because of the Washington Mission, and that he would be leaving a bit before the program was over to join that night's Sheva Brachos seudah in Brooklyn. A spontaneous chorus of "Siman Tov U'Mazal Tov" ensued, perhaps a first for the White House.

Rabbi Cohen chaired the White House session, and outlined some of the issues that would be discussed, explaining their pertinence to the Orthodox community's interests and describing Agudath Israel's deep involvement in promoting those issues and advancing those interests.

The delegates were greeted by Susan Sher, a key Administration liaison to the Jewish community and the First Lady's chief of staff. Ms. Sher spoke briefly to the delegates about her responsibilities regarding Jewish outreach and about the projects undertaken by Mrs. Obama, and recounted a story about the media-noted White House seder this past Pesach. She was, however, tight-lipped about who found the afikoman and what was received as reward for the successful hunt.

Less entertaining but more substantive was the address that followed, by Roberto J. Rodríguez, who serves in the White House Domestic Policy Council as Special Assistant to President Obama for Education. Mr. Rodriguez addressed a number of educational issues, including early childhood programs and standards reform. The Administration, he said, embraced the goals of the "No Child Left Behind" law, an initiative of the George W. Bush administration, and, impressed his listeners by insisting that "we're committed to preserving" the equitability of private and public schools with regard to the law's implementation. During the presidential campaign, there was much speculation about whether an Obama administration would be sympathetic to the needs of the nonpublic school community.

Agudath Israel delegates and staff posed challenging questions to the Administration official, who responded thoughtfully, welcoming the input and challenges, and extending an offer to follow up and "work together" to address the needs of religious schools and how the government might better help such schools survive and thrive. While Agudath Israel's Washington Office has been actively involved with the White House and Department of Education on these issues on an ongoing basis, this public (and, later, private) interaction with Mr. Rodriguez allowed parents and professionals to share their unique perspectives "from the field" - a vantage point in which he seemed very interested.

Next to speak with the Agudath Israel delegation was Mara Vanderslice, Deputy Director for the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She cited the contributions of the nation's faith-based communities to addressing societal ills and declared the Obama Administration's commitment to the importance of equity for religious institutions - not only in the awarding of federal social service funding but also in the administration of such programs. "While we want to respect the separation of church and state," she said, "we are committed to religious groups being able to maintain their religious beliefs even as they participate in faith-based grants." As Agudath Israel's long-standing and prominent advocacy on this issue has heavily stressed the religious liberty of program participants, this was welcome reassurance.

The final two Administration officials to meet with the Agudath Israel delegation were, first, Dan Shapiro, the National Security Council's Senior Director for Middle East and North Africa, and the White House's point man on Israel; and Dennis Ross, the NSC's Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region, and the Administration's chief advisor on the Iranian situation. This segment of the session was "closed door" and reporters and delegates were asked to turn off any recording devices.

Both officials went into some detail that is beyond the scope of what can be published, but in general, Mr. Shapiro spoke of the Administration's ongoing interaction with Israeli officials, and of President Obama's request of Congress to allocate $205 million for the Iron Dome missile-interception system Israel is developing. He also noted that the threats to Israel include not only terrorism and military attack but the delegitimizing of the country itself. Mr. Shapiro declared the Administration's determination to join Israel in that battle, too, noting its walk-out at Durban II, its efforts to prevent the Goldstone Report from advancing and its opposition to the United Nation's condemnation of Israel over the "Turkish flotilla" affair.

For his part, Mr. Ross also vigorously asserted the Obama Administration's commitment to Israel, and addressed the vexing issue of Iran and its nuclear program. In a detailed and wide ranging analysis, he made the case for the efficacy of economic sanctions, and contended that the recent intensification of economic pressure on Iran has already shown signs that it is having an effect.
Both men's addresses were, in the words of one delegate, "impressive, even encouraging."

After the National Leadership Mission's end, Rabbi Zwiebel had words of thanks for Rabbi Cohen, and the Agudath Israel Washington Office director offered thanks of his own to all the Senators, Representatives and Administration officials who had offered comments to the delegation. He expressed special gratitude to Ms. Mary Pensabene and Ms. Eileen Place, of the State Department's Office of Public Liaison; and to Ms. Sher and Ms. Danielle Borrin, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Special Assistant to the Vice President. The efforts of those officials, Rabbi Cohen said, in facilitating, respectively, the State Department and White House interactions were "truly invaluable."

Rabbi Cohen also stressed the importance of missions like Thursday's, which "allow our community and government officials to directly interact and communicate our concerns on issues of importance to us." He emphasized as well how the participation of delegates from states across the nation provides crucial weight to Agudath Israel's presence in the nation's capital. "National Leadership Missions like this one," he said, "increase Agudath Israel's stature in Washington, which in turn empowers us to accomplish the maximum we can for the community."

What is a National Leadership Mission, Anyway?

For the past three decades, Agudath Israel of America has been organizing National Leadership Missions to Washington approximately every two years. The purpose of the delegations, explains Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, the organization's executive vice president, is manifold.

"First and foremost," he says, "the missions demonstrate to elected officials in a direct and impressive way the geographical and demographic diversity of the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States. This year we had delegates from 16 states, and there was a particularly strong showing of younger askonim from many locales.

"Secondly, the makeup of the group provides members of Congress and Administration officials an accurate and impressive picture of the diversity of the frum community itself. They see Chassidim alongside clean-shaven men who, aside from their hats or yarmulkes, might look like any other citizens; they see black coats alongside business suits. And when they meet delegates, they come to realize they are meeting students, scholars, businesspeople, doctors, lawyers and other professionals."

Rabbi Zwiebel adds that the impression made on government officials goes beyond educating them about the Orthodox community. "It also lays the groundwork for the effectiveness of the work Agudath Israel - and especially our Washington Office - does the rest of the year." When such officials are approached about an issue or situation important to the community, he explains, "they have a memory - or can be reminded - of who we are."

"These missions," Rabbi Zwiebel adds, "also provide an important service by getting comments and commitments from government officials 'on the record'." Elected and appointed officials can thereby be held accountable for anything they may have stated or pledged to the delegation.

What is more, the Agudath Israel leader notes, "there is a special chizuk provided all of us who are involved in ongoing shtadlonus with the government by the time and effort so freely and enthusiastically given by members of the community who participate in the missions."

Chizuk is also provided to the delegates themselves, Rabbi Zwiebel asserts, by their fellow delegates. "When Jews committed to the principles that underlay Agudath Israel come together from diverse communities and cites," he explains, "there is a trading of notes and reports from their respective environments that allows all of the delegates to gain a better understanding of parts of the frum world they might otherwise have little or no knowledge about. And the sharing of information, experiences and strategies, as one might imagine, often leads to more effective shtadlonus on all fronts."

Rabbi Zwiebel takes pains to note that "True shtadlonus differs from what the larger world calls 'lobbying' or 'advocacy.' At Agudas Yisroel, we have been trained that the issues of the day, and our approach toward dealing with them, must be filtered through the prism of daas Torah and the guidance of our Gedolei Yisroel.

"Furthermore, we approach our mission with the essential realization that it is not our efforts themselves that can bear fruit, but rather that our summoning the effort and giving up time can merit Hashem's intercession on behalf of Klal Yisroel.

That mindset was evident even the evening before this year's mission, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Silver Spring, Maryland, where Agudath Israel representatives from across the country delivered reports and briefings on their activities. As a prefact to those reports, Rabbi Berel Weisbord, Mashgiach Ruchni of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, delivered divrei chizuk vi'his'orerus to the assembled, focusing on what it means to be "osek bitzorchei tzibbur be'emunah" - and why the reward for such faithful askonus is so great.

Says Rabbi Zwiebel: "We are blessed to live in a country where we have access to our government leaders. Experience has shown that if we use that access well, and within the framework of an authentic Torah Judaism approach, bi'siyata di'Shmaya, we can often accomplish great things for Klal Yisroel."

Adult Jewish Learning Thrives in Greater Philadelphia

Publisher — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:25:01 GMT

Gratz College Melton Adult Mini-School Graduates 11th Class, Gears Up for New Season.

-- Liz Nover

"What we did this past year and the year before was no less than to forge a link in the chain of the immortality of our people... minds were opened, eyes were opened, hearts were opened!" These were the words of Gloria Salmansohn, Gratz-Melton Class of 2010, addressing the graduates, their instructors and guests at the June 2 Commencement. Salmansohn and about three dozen others hailing from the five-county area were celebrating the culmination of two years of interactive text study together through the Gratz-Melton program.

The graduates, who reflect great diversity in their Jewish backgrounds and levels of observance, took four university-level courses over two years, giving them a broad and deep understanding of Jewish practice, beliefs, ethics and history, through exposure to classical and modern Jewish sources. Theirs was the same curriculum that is used in the over 60 Melton sites around the globe, and its goal, well-accomplished according to fellow graduate Betti Kahn, is for students to recognize "how specific teachings [from our sages throughout history] are precisely applicable to our own and our families' lives." In a unique Diaspora-Israel partnership, the Melton curriculum is developed and continually revised at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Students have the opportunity to continue their habit of weekly study in Gratz-Melton alumni and community courses that are designed both at Hebrew University and here in Philadelphia by the faculty members themselves.

Since 1998, the Gratz College Melton Adult Mini-School has been an integral part of Gratz College. The Gratz-Melton faculty members, area residents who are scholars, rabbis, professors, and passionate laypeople, are as diverse as the students. They bring their backgrounds, knowledge and practices to the table while embracing a pluralistic and tolerant perspective in a sophisticated, warm atmosphere.

The entire community is invited to Gratz College to "Experience Melton" during Camp Melton, August 2-6, with additional times and locations on the Main Line, in Center City and in Phoenixville. "Campers" have a choice of morning, afternoon and evening sessions with Gratz-Melton faculty. These sessions are illustrative of the type of classes taking place during the academic year. Camp Melton offers an opportunity to learn about the program and ask questions with actual students, teachers, and the Director, Liz Nover.

Gratz-Melton will open its 13th season with locations in Elkins Park, Main Line and Center City. Alumni and community courses on a wide variety of subjects will be offered at these locations, and in the Chester/Delaware County area as well. For further information please contact the Gratz-Melton office, 215-635-7300, x143, or LNover@gratz.edu.

New Jewish Early Learning Center in Center City

Publisher — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:13:30 GMT

-- Lynn B. Edelman

On August 30, the dream of a full day Jewish child care program in Center City Philadelphia will become a reality as the Buerger Early Learning Center officially opens its doors. The center, which will be located at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 619 North Broad Street, represents a partnership between the synagogue and Federation Early Learning Services (FELS).
Maddy Malis, FELS president and CEO, says that community response to the project has been "overwhelming." "Our phones have been ringing off the hook with inquiries from parents who have been enrolling their children at a rate that far exceeds our first year projections," she comments, stating her belief that Center City families are "hungry for a high quality, Jewish full day educational experience for their infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers." She comments that "FELS' reputation for high quality programming and community confidence in Congregation Rodeph Shalom has fueled excitement in this new project."

Among the first children to be enrolled was 19-month-old Ava, daughter of Sharon Schwartz and her husband Kenny. Sharon and her sister Veronica attended the Lassin Early Learning Center in Northeast Philadelphia, which is also administered by FELS. Their parents immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1975. "FELS did so much to help our family during our resettlement. I am very appreciative of all the support that we received," Schwartz says, adding "I am looking forward to my daughter following in my footsteps."

FELS Board Chair Marcia Wasserman expressed her confidence in the Buerger Early Learning Center's Director, Megan Nachod. Nachod, who most recently served as director of the Jewish early childhood program at Adath Emanu-El in Mt. Laurel, N.J., and as an Early Intervention Specialist at the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, has a master's degree in early childhood education and is certified by the American Montessori Society. "She has extensive teaching and administrative experience and the ideal personality to make this a first-rate center," Wasserman maintains, adding that "Preschool teacher Suzy Curcio has comparable credentials and experience."

Tom Perloff, director of Finance and Development for Congregation Rodeph Shalom, shares Wasserman's enthusiasm. "Every step of the way, we are creating a space and program that is purpose-driven. The vibrant, fresh, custom-renovated space is almost complete: construction is on schedule, classroom equipment and materials have been ordered and a first-rate director and other key staff members have been hired," he says.

Rabbi Jill Maderer, who has been involved in the project since its inception, notes the symbolism of opening the doors to the new facility just ten days before Rosh Hashanah. "We are excited that before the Jewish New Year, children and parents will be filling the Buerger Center. Everyone's hard work and and determination have paid off in such a meaningful way. August 30, our opening day, will be a dream come true," she says.

Federation Early Learning Services enrolls infants, toddlers, pre-school and school-age children from diverse economic, religious and racial backgrounds on a year-round basis. FELS serves more than 1000 each year in its 11 programs throughout the Delaware Valley.

Meet Center staff and learn more about the program during one of two scheduled open houses, Thursday, July 22, 4-7 p.m., or Sunday, August 1, 10 a.m. ~~12 noon. RSVP to Center Director Megan Nachod, 267~~535-2643, or mnachod@felskids.org. Parking is available onsite and refreshments will be served.