Gala, again.

Having worked on and been part of several annual events over the past few years, I can tell you that this year's Gala--on April 3, 2011--is going to be one that people talk about for years to come. It will be unlike anything Kadima has ever done: great location, great program, and a lot of partying.

Tickets are still available.

You won't want to miss this.

Science Fair, 2011.

This morning I attended the annual Science Fair. My son was participating--as was the entire middle school. Science Fair is one of those things that we do at Kadima, and frankly, it works for some kids better than others. Some kids get engaged and some do not.

For those that do, the experience is terrific. They explore a problem, do some experimentation, and then discover their results. I spoke with several young scientists, and I could tell that some really got into it, and really wanted to determine an answer to a scientific problem.

Most importantly, this year, the school really made sure that the Science Fair was a student project, instead of a project designed and built by parents. I think that the school succeeded well. The kids were engaged (mostly) and they were all very proud about their experiments.

Kol HaKovod to Mr. Randolph, our science teacher, Ms. Combs and Mr. Cohen for an excellent day of learning.

What Is Religious?

One of the questions we've struggled with over the years at Kadima is "how religious" our school is. On the one hand, we are a Solomon Schechter School, which means that we affiliate with Conservative Judaism. On the other hand, Conservative Judaism has a terribly difficult time defining precisely what it is, so defining our school using a definition that is inherently opaque is, well, less than helpful. Indeed, the nature of Conservative Judaism is so broad that most people can find there way to fit into it, as long they are challenged to define exactly what they believe.

And there is a third hand. While we want to define ourselves, some don't want to define ourselves too narrowly, since then we'll have a school that is well defined, but only a few people attending it. Adding to the struggle is that this involves religious issues, which are notoriously sensitive and sometimes anything but logical.

In fact, the "religious" question is so amorphous and so emotionally charged, and we generally don't discuss it at all. Our Board spent hours talking about it last year as we revised our Mission Statement and our name. There was much concern that the school had a reputation for being "too religious" (whatever that meant, and it meant different things to different people), while others said that we had lost our religious roots (whatever that meant). The feeling was the Hebrew Academy meant we were perceived Orthodox (which we are not, if one of the hallmarks of Orthodoxy is that our services not egalitarian) so we changed our name and sought, at least internally, to reconnect ourselves with the Solomon Schechter Day School Association. We just didn't want advertise it too much, since some people, erroneously, believe that Schechter is a synonym for "too religious." These are some of the same people who belong to Conservative synagogues.

It seems to me, however, that in the San Fernando Valley, when there are a variety of choices in Jewish Day Schools, a school has to have a focus. So what we sought to do was to take the focus upon study and academics inherent in traditional Conservative Judaism (even if this focus has become blurred in recent years) and apply it to the educational context. We sought to create a Judaic program that is rigorously academic and transcends merely teaching of values. Yes, we'll teach values, but we'll also explore the texts and the commentators, so our graduates will have a better understanding of Judaism so they can, ultimately, be committed to it as a way of life.

That's the theory, and we're still working on the application of it. It's hard, because our families come from so many different religious points: we have people who will only go to Orthodox shuls and cringe every time they see a woman wearing a Kippah; we have people who never go to synagogue and their only connection to Jewish life is our school; we have people who keep Kosher and people who do not; we have regular synagogue attendees and people who never go to synagogue at all. We have kids who wear tzitzit to school and kids who have to be reminded to put their kippah in Judaic Studies.

So it's a struggle. But it is a good one.

Toward The Future.

It's been a busy month for me professionally and that has meant not to many blog posts. Well, none, actually, in a month. I've also been busy with Kadima, as the Gala Committee works very hard to promote what is going to be one of the best, if not the best, annual event in Kadima's history. We're honoring David and Esther Vered, both of whom have been stalwart and strong supporters of our school over many years. Because David is in the fashion industry, we're putting a professional fashion show, and it should be a spectacular evening. You can still come. Check out our website to get your tickets.

We also had big news that the Nominating Committee has selected the next President for Kadima. I am absolutely thrilled that Suzy Bookbinder will be taking over for me when my term ends at the end of June. Suzy is an excellent leader and has precisely the skills, talent and community involvement that the school needs. She's a professional Development Director in her day job, serves as PEJE coach, and knows more about Boards, non-profits and fundraising than most everyone else.

Suzy, who currently serves on our Board of Trustees, is precisely the right person in the right place and the right time for Kadima. Kadima is lucky that she is willing to give the time and effort to serve the school and set its course for the future.

With the next President in place, it gives me a moment to begin thinking about the past two years in this job. I hope to have time to write about what being President meant, what I learned, and what I hope I accomplished, and what the school still needs to do. I'll still be on the Executive Board as Immediate Past President, and I will still do my best for the school, but the reins will be firmly in Suzy's capable hands.

Purim Sameach.

Learning a Second Language Is Really Important.

We've always known that learning Hebrew is critical to living a learned Jewish life. Rabbi Ismar Schorsch--former Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary--once quoted a famous saying that studying Judaism without knowing Hebrew was like looking at a bride through a veil. You can't see the true beauty of Judaism without removing the veil imposed by translation. Thus, at Kadima, we focus upon Hebrew language so our students will graduate knowing Hebrew not only so they have a greater connection with the State of Israel, but so they can study Judaism in an academic and intellectually honest and personally meaningful way. Through this study, we hope, our students will engage Judaism, love it, and live it.

It turns out, however, the learning a second language has other benefits, too. As the Los Angeles Times reports:

Does being bilingual help children learn to prioritize information, provide a defense against some effects of Alzheimer's or just provide a great workout for the brain?

All of the above, according to studies discussed Friday at the 2011 American Assn. for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington D.C., where a number of researchers presented on the benefits of being bilingual.

You can read the whole story, here.

Deep Budget Cuts at LAUSD.

This just in: LAUSD passes a Doomsday Budget that will apply if the voters don't agree to tax themselves more. Read about it here.

These cuts would be a disaster for our city: things like evisceration of magnet schools; 30 kids in kindergarten, and all sorts of horror stories.

Testing Helps Learning.

In today's New York Times, there is a story regarding the effectiveness of testing; testing, at least one study reveals, not only assesses knowledge, but actually helps learning. The story's lead:

Taking a test is not just a passive mechanism for assessing how much people know, according to new research. It actually helps people learn, and it works better than a number of other studying techniques.

You can read the entire story here. This is further evidence that testing is not only important for assessment, but also that testing is valuable as a learning tool.

I am big on testing. I don't think that it is the end of everything, but I do think that it is important, and I think that it is evidence of a school's effectiveness. There is, of course, an opposing view, exemplified by the film Race to Nowhere. You can read about the backlash against testing here.

Whatever the efficacy of testing, the reality is this: tests matter. Throughout our lives, we are given tests, and how we do on those tests help determine the opportunities we have. It may not be fair, it may not be accurate, but it is a stark reality of life. And a good school recognizes this and will help prepare its students for it. Thus, at Kadima we don't shy away from honest, clear, and effective assessment of our students and our program.

It's good to read today that tests not only useful for assessment purposes; they also help learning.

But we already knew that.