One of the things you likely will hear me discussing this year many times is the importance of good citizenship to the success of our school. Good citizenship means bolstering our school--your school really--by supporting the administration and staff, following our rules, and recognizing that you have to commit yourself--beyond the already arduous commitment of paying tuition-- to the institution.
Kadima needs good citizens so it can grow, flourish and succeed. The best schools are those in which parents, students, faculty and staff all believe in the institution, support it, and embrace the school's values and program.
And this is not just me talking. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses, among other things, how certain little steps can create larger social transformations. This certainly can be the case at Kadima. When people see others not caring about the institution--whether this lack of respect manifests itself in violating our parking rules or failing to clean up after themselves during spring fling--the message is stark: people do not care about the institution. And if people don't care about the school, that message will get out, and people will see little reason to keep sending their children to school.
That's why little things matter. It's important to follow Kadima's rules and not seek "special deals." It is important to meet financial deadlines and to follow our rules against double parking. It is important to support our administration and staff and teachers. By embracing the Kadima community instead of focusing our individual ways of avoiding the rules or seeking special deals for ourselves, we foster a commitment and respect to the Kadima community, which in turn creates enthusiasm and joy for our program, and the sense that we are all working together for a greater purpose, which is the creation of an excellent Jewish Day School educational program.
Once we've got a committed, devoted, and enthusiastic community, the word will get out, and and more and more people will come to our school. And that will only lead to greater success for the entire Kadima community.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Conservative Judaism and The Educational Process.
Kadima's elementary school is a Solomon Schechter School. This means that the elementary school is, at least formally, associated with Conservative Judaism. The relationship between the school and Conservative Judaism is often confusing and ill-understood, and unpacking and exploring this issue will be one of the first jobs of the new Board.
One of the inherent difficulties is that many people--through no fault of their own--have a limited understanding of Conservative Judaism itself. Thus, if you don't know principles of Conservative Judaism, it is hard to have an understanding of how being a Conservative elementary school can impact the educational process.
I recently read an interesting article by Rabbi Carol Levithan in CJ, the national magazine of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the national group of Conservative synagogues. Writing why she is a Conservative Jew, Rabbi Levithan, states:
"It was the intellectual integrity of the Conservative movement, rooted in Wissenschaft des Judentums (the scientific approach to the study of Judaism), that drew me in. It is a movement courageous enough to acknowledge a scholarship that questions the historical truth of the Exodus of Egypt, for example, while insisting that yitziat Mitzrayim--liberation from bondage-- occupies the higher plane of human aspiration where all are equal. . . .It is a movement of intellectual and ethical rigor that accepts change not for its own sake but for the sake of realizing more fully the transcendent values of our sacred biblical constitution" (emphasis added).
It doesn't take a leap of logic to see how such a philosophy might impact an educational program. If the religious philosophy requires intellectual and ethical rigor, then a school that adheres to this religious philosophy must teach the rigorous and critical thinking skills inherent in a modern liberal arts education. The School must teach science, history, art, literature, math, music, technology and everything else we normally associate with the "secular" side of things because our students need these tools to understand and fullfil their own religious responsibilities to effectively, responsibly and enthusiastically live their Jewish lives. In other words, the school must excel on the secular side because these skills are required for our students to be able to engage in a rigorous Jewish studies program.
The two sides of the program--secular and Jewish--are complementary and must be integrated at every level.
Or so goes the Schechter theory. This is, of course, a much larger discussion, and one that will cut to the core of who Kadima is. And one that the Board hopes to tackle this year.
One of the inherent difficulties is that many people--through no fault of their own--have a limited understanding of Conservative Judaism itself. Thus, if you don't know principles of Conservative Judaism, it is hard to have an understanding of how being a Conservative elementary school can impact the educational process.
I recently read an interesting article by Rabbi Carol Levithan in CJ, the national magazine of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the national group of Conservative synagogues. Writing why she is a Conservative Jew, Rabbi Levithan, states:
"It was the intellectual integrity of the Conservative movement, rooted in Wissenschaft des Judentums (the scientific approach to the study of Judaism), that drew me in. It is a movement courageous enough to acknowledge a scholarship that questions the historical truth of the Exodus of Egypt, for example, while insisting that yitziat Mitzrayim--liberation from bondage-- occupies the higher plane of human aspiration where all are equal. . . .It is a movement of intellectual and ethical rigor that accepts change not for its own sake but for the sake of realizing more fully the transcendent values of our sacred biblical constitution" (emphasis added).
It doesn't take a leap of logic to see how such a philosophy might impact an educational program. If the religious philosophy requires intellectual and ethical rigor, then a school that adheres to this religious philosophy must teach the rigorous and critical thinking skills inherent in a modern liberal arts education. The School must teach science, history, art, literature, math, music, technology and everything else we normally associate with the "secular" side of things because our students need these tools to understand and fullfil their own religious responsibilities to effectively, responsibly and enthusiastically live their Jewish lives. In other words, the school must excel on the secular side because these skills are required for our students to be able to engage in a rigorous Jewish studies program.
The two sides of the program--secular and Jewish--are complementary and must be integrated at every level.
Or so goes the Schechter theory. This is, of course, a much larger discussion, and one that will cut to the core of who Kadima is. And one that the Board hopes to tackle this year.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Kadima's Mission Statement.
Kadima has a Mission Statement. It was developed about 7 years ago. Here it is:
Kadima Hebrew Academy is dedicated to educating children of diverse backgrounds through a comprehensive Judaic and General Studies curriculum. As a Solomon Schechter school, Kadima is guided by the philosophy and practices of Conservative Judaism that encourages critical thinking and views history as a dynamic process. The curriculum links students to a cumulative tradition that values reading perceptively, reflecting thoughtfully, a fluent command of English and Hebrew language, text literacy and familiarity with the history and traditions of Jews and America. Students are provided with tools and a passion for lifelong learning. By connecting children, families and community, Kadima nurtures compassionate, moral and socially responsible individuals.
Over the next several months, the Board is going to be examining this Mission, unpacking it, and deciding precisely what it means, whether it requires revision, and how we should implement it at the school. One of my primary goals as President is to ensure that the Board and our entire school community understand and embrace the school's Mission, so we can, together with the administration, ensure we are implementing it in the school's classrooms, hallways, lunch tables, and playing fields.
Once we've done this; once we've seen its benefits, we will be better able to share and promote it to the larger community.
Kadima Hebrew Academy is dedicated to educating children of diverse backgrounds through a comprehensive Judaic and General Studies curriculum. As a Solomon Schechter school, Kadima is guided by the philosophy and practices of Conservative Judaism that encourages critical thinking and views history as a dynamic process. The curriculum links students to a cumulative tradition that values reading perceptively, reflecting thoughtfully, a fluent command of English and Hebrew language, text literacy and familiarity with the history and traditions of Jews and America. Students are provided with tools and a passion for lifelong learning. By connecting children, families and community, Kadima nurtures compassionate, moral and socially responsible individuals.
Over the next several months, the Board is going to be examining this Mission, unpacking it, and deciding precisely what it means, whether it requires revision, and how we should implement it at the school. One of my primary goals as President is to ensure that the Board and our entire school community understand and embrace the school's Mission, so we can, together with the administration, ensure we are implementing it in the school's classrooms, hallways, lunch tables, and playing fields.
Once we've done this; once we've seen its benefits, we will be better able to share and promote it to the larger community.
Bill Cohen, Head of School.
Bill Cohen officially starts as Kadima's new Head of School on June 29, 2009. But he's already been on the ground at Kadima for nearly two months. During this time he's been observing the school in action and getting to know our community. By volunteering his time--when he clearly did not have to--and learning about the school before he started, Bill dramatically reduced the time needed to transition into Kadima's next leader. He's been able to learn how Kadima works and see the school--warts and all--in action. Bill recognized that if he hadn't done this, he would not have been able to see the school operating until September. Now he has a head start to plan for next year based upon what he saw during the last few months.
Bill has already begun to impact the school. He's been involved in hiring of new personnel and new positions (as opposed to the rehiring of existing personnel and existing personnel, which was handled by the existing administration). He's made suggestions and comments that come from his fresh perspective as someone who has not been intimately involved in the Kadima community.
And it's clear that Bill's just starting. But we're all very excited to have him at Kadima's helm. He'll be at the school all summer (starting next week). The school is open during the summer, so if you have a moment, be sure to stop by and welcome him to our community.
Bill has already begun to impact the school. He's been involved in hiring of new personnel and new positions (as opposed to the rehiring of existing personnel and existing personnel, which was handled by the existing administration). He's made suggestions and comments that come from his fresh perspective as someone who has not been intimately involved in the Kadima community.
And it's clear that Bill's just starting. But we're all very excited to have him at Kadima's helm. He'll be at the school all summer (starting next week). The school is open during the summer, so if you have a moment, be sure to stop by and welcome him to our community.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Kadima's 2009-2010 Board of Trustees
On June 18, Kadima elected its new Board of Trustees for 2009-2010. I am honored to lead an extremely talented group of committed leaders. They are:
Jack Sholkoff, President
Mark Teitelbaum, Executive Vice President
Brett Grauman, Finance Vice President
Rabbi Jay Strear, Advancement Vice President
Pam Teitelbaum, Board Development Vice President
Meir Ben David, Building and Grounds Vice President
Rich Abronson, Secretary
Shawn Evenhaim, Immediate Past President
Trustees
Adrian Goldstein
Bronwyn Spencer
Richard Spencer
Effi Oren
David Leon
Elinor Glycher
Gary Raikin
Gila Milstein
Hagay Mizrahi
Isaac Oren
Katie Krause
Mike Resnick
Natalie Spiewak
Rabbi Richard Camras
Scott Dreben
Sholeh Assil
Jack Sholkoff, President
Mark Teitelbaum, Executive Vice President
Brett Grauman, Finance Vice President
Rabbi Jay Strear, Advancement Vice President
Pam Teitelbaum, Board Development Vice President
Meir Ben David, Building and Grounds Vice President
Rich Abronson, Secretary
Shawn Evenhaim, Immediate Past President
Trustees
Adrian Goldstein
Bronwyn Spencer
Richard Spencer
Effi Oren
David Leon
Elinor Glycher
Gary Raikin
Gila Milstein
Hagay Mizrahi
Isaac Oren
Katie Krause
Mike Resnick
Natalie Spiewak
Rabbi Richard Camras
Scott Dreben
Sholeh Assil
It Begins...
I am honored to have been elected as Kadima's Board President.
I intend to use this space as a place where we can communicate about Kadima, Board discussions, policy issues, Jewish Day School education, and perhaps various off topics that I might raise from time to time.
As some of you know, my wife Laura-Beth has been recently ill, but is recovering at home. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support and caring from the Kadima community toward my family. Our family is grateful to this community, which understands the meaning of community, and importance of taking care of each other.
There will be much more later.
I intend to use this space as a place where we can communicate about Kadima, Board discussions, policy issues, Jewish Day School education, and perhaps various off topics that I might raise from time to time.
As some of you know, my wife Laura-Beth has been recently ill, but is recovering at home. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support and caring from the Kadima community toward my family. Our family is grateful to this community, which understands the meaning of community, and importance of taking care of each other.
There will be much more later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
