The days are still long. And the nights are warm. Even though most kids may not want to admit it, school is just a few weeks away. And as teachers begin to pull out their lesson plans, now is a great time for them to take a look at the marvelous Jewish educational resources that the Internet has to offer.
Let’s start at the beginning — with early childhood education. Amy Weisman is a teacher in south Florida who wasn’t able to find suitable Jewish material for her young students on the Web. So she created her own site — www.geocities.com/amynealw/ — with resources for teaching youngsters about the holidays, Shabbat, Bible stories and more. You can find related material at the Jewish Early Childhood Educators’ Electronic Toolkit — www.jesna.org/cgi-bin/earlychild.php3
The Jewish Early Childhood Education Partnership is a research and advocacy group that is trying to sensitize Jewish communities about the importance of early childhood education. Learn more about them at www.jecep.org/
CAJE, The Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education, presents a site full of ideas for creating a challenging and meaningful curriculum. You can even watch online video seminars on topics including working with special needs, teaching controversial subjects and communicating with parents. I was intrigued by Paul Epstein’s lecture on “Brainstorming: How to develop five teaching ideas on any topic,” at www.caje.org
If you are a teacher trying to learn about recent history and current events, even the most current textbook can be out of date. The Internet can supplement your teaching materials with a Website like “From Matzah to Matzav: The Current Crisis in Israel.” You’ll find suggestions for teaching topics ranging from “The United Nations and Israel” to “Worldwide Anti-Semitism in the Wake of 9/11.” Check out all their useful curriculum materials at www.caje.org/ learn/israel_curriculum.htm
JESNA, the Jewish Education Service of North America, is an organization that focuses on promoting excellence in education. JESNA has studied critical issues such as Jewish day school viability and offers its complete reports online. The JESNA Directory of Central Agencies for Jewish Education supplies information about boards of Jewish education throughout North America. One helpful feature — at www.jesna.org — groups North American educators by specialty so you find experts in such areas as adult education, Holocaust studies, or music and art.
Is your school looking for Israeli teachers who could come teach for two to four years? Then check out the Jewish Agency’s Department for Jewish Zionist Education Shlichut Program at www.jajz-ed.org.il/dept/shlichim/
Another program offered by The Department for Jewish Zionist Education is called Let’s Twin. This program matches students in schools in Israel and the diaspora and helps them start a dialogue in English and Hebrew. You can find more about Let’s Twin and the department’s other programs at its huge Website: www.jajz-ed.org.il/cen2.html
There are many more excellent Jewish educational resources, including the Academic Jewish Studies Internet — www.jewish-studies.virtualave.net/ — and sites created by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations — www.uahc.org/learning
One of the most impressive initiatives belongs to the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, which has created “Virtual Field Trips.” These trips promote Internet literacy while learning about institutions like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Learn more about their innovative program at www.jecc.org/ edres/medtech/vft/stage.htm
If you are a Jewish educator who would like to hone your teaching skills, then consider going back to school. The Melton Centre for Jewish Education at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University offers a one-year Senior Educators’ Program for teachers with three years full-time experience in Jewish education. The center also operates over 60 “mini-school” programs worldwide for teachers and other adults who are interested in structured Jewish learning. Learn more at http://sites.huji.ac.il/ melton/top.html
And from Ramat Gan, the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora also provides both lesson plans and courses at Bar Ilan University. There are programs geared toward school principals from abroad and for teachers interested in curriculum and professional development. See www.lookstein.org/ home.htm