Posted by Aron:
Growing up, I went to my fair share of supplementary Jewish schools. This was the trade-off to going to a public school rather than a Jewish day school. From the grade three to my Bar Mitzvah, my Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings would occupied by being yelled at by my fair share of Hebrew teachers who I don’t think were actually teachers but Israelis who felt entitled to the role because they could speak the language. Looking back on my Jewish education, I say with humour that everything I learned about Hebrew I learned in Grade 2. However, as a Jewish educator today, I am happy to say that I turned out okay.
My story is very similar to the many students in Jewish supplementary schools across North America. The truth of the matter is that between Hebrew and Jewish studies there are too many things to cover in only a few short hours over the course of a week. The truth of the matter is that children of the 21st Century are smarter than ever. And this environment, you cannot simply sit a child down, tell them everything they need to know about Judaism and expect them to absorb the information like a sponge.
Children today have to experience Judaism. In the supplementary program where I work, Jewish children are learning by going on retreats, and being in youth groups that mix learning about Judaism while being social.
The best place for a child to learn about Judaism is at a Jewish summer camp. No classroom experience compares to this. I just came back from spending two-weeks at one of these camps putting together a promotional video. I can hear you thinking. Most people take time off from work to go to Mexico or Florida. He went to summer camp. I can honestly say that what these children learn away from the classroom completely blows away any Jewish supplementary education they may receive during the year. At this camp in particular, buildings and places have Hebrew names. The ‘chadar ochel’ is the dining hall, ‘agam’ is lake, ‘tzrifim’ are cabins, and ‘chanichim’ are campers. Whether it’s community, King David’s Psalms, or the Creation narrative, each unit of campers are given a ‘study theme’ to centre their Jewish programming around and Rabbis, Cantors, and Jewish Educators come up to camp as faculty to help steer the programming. It is here where Judaism leaps off the pages of our sacred texts and becomes relevant and interesting to Jewish children. What is more exciting? A teacher at the front of a classroom explaining the history and significance of the Book of Psalms, or having King David arrive ‘himself,’ and explain who he was while atop a horse.
At the end of a session at camp, children walk away with a sense of understanding and belonging. They will have learned specific in Judaism, and a new vocabulary of Hebrew words, but they will have learned that Judaism as a culture and religion is alive and relevant to them; a concept that us educators are still trying to figure out how best to explain on Wednesday evenings or Sunday mornings.
