Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Take the Edah Experience Home with You!


Sikkum Shavua - Week in Review - סיכום שבוע
!עם ישראל חי
Am Yisrael Chai!
We are proud to present Edah's next YouTube hit, Edah's version of
– "המסע לארץ ישראל"
"The Journey to The Land of Israel"!!!:



This week, we had a fun time celebrating יום העצמאות 
– Yom Ha'Atzmaut – Independence Day, commemorating Israel's 66th birthday!!! We continued our Israel unit by imagining that we were visiting the מערב – ma'arav – west!
קבוצה לבן – kvutzah lavan – white group blended smoothies to cool down in the heat of the מערב – ma'arav – west in Israel.  They also had a "beach day", pretending that the park was actually a beach in Tel Aviv, and played Israeli beach games.  They spent time learning about the Israeli Opera located in Tel Aviv, and practiced the weekly Hebrew vocabulary creating scenes and turning them into mini operas.  Finally, they visited the local Farmer's Market, but pretended it was שוק הכרמל – Shuk HaCarmel – Carmel Market, the big market in Tel Aviv, and had to purchase fruits and vegetables in Hebrew.
*Key Words:
מערב – ma'arav – west; מדבר – medaber – speak; להזיע – l'haziah – to sweat; חוף הים – chof hayam – the beach

*Ask:
What things are there to do in the
מערב – ma'arav – west in Israel?





קבוצה כחול – kvutzah kachol – blue group focused on the modern Hebrew of the מערב – ma'arav – west in Israel, learning about Eliezer Ben-Yehudah who was a key figure for the existence of modern Hebrew, and spent time exploring how modern Hebrew is used at Edah, and where we could use even more modern Hebrew at Edah. They also played Hebrew improv, imagining they were in different places in Tel Aviv, or in one of the places at Edah where we use modern Hebrew.  They also got a chance to have smoothies to cool down from the heat of the מערב – ma'arav – west in Israel, and got a chance to have a "beach day", and pretend that they went to the beach in Tel Aviv, and play Israeli beach games.


*Key Words: 
אליעזר בּןיהודה – Eliezer Ben-Yehudah; ימה –yamah – seaward/westward; עיר – eer – city

*Ask: 
What is your favorite modern Hebrew practice at Edah?



Shabbat Shalom,
Edah Staff




Friday, May 31, 2013

Edah: Bringing Our Community Together With Online Communications

by Wendy Kenin, Edah Coordinator

edah_with_megillah.jpg
Edah’s Jewish learning programs for K-5 students were already ahead of the curve when it came to understanding how to engage students, families and communities. Edah’s experiential and project based learning infused with rich Hebrew and Judaic content has been reaching children who participate in its programs since 2010. Parents directly benefit from Edah too. The regular updates on educational units, family programming, and retreats provide family learning opportunities connected to the Jewish calendar. Even our organization’s name “Edah” meaning “community” speaks to the intergenerational and social nature of our educational philosophy and approach. Until recent months, Edah’s communications existed in a very basic set of website, email, and facebook group channels.

Participation in Darim’s Social Media Boot Camp for Educators was an indication of Edah’s intention to strengthen our community’s online networks by increasing our web presence and utilizing digital communications tools. One message that came across in all sessions of the Boot Camp was that a functioning, enhanced online network could strengthen Edah’s community. By community, they meant not only our community of participants, but also our larger community of stakeholders and funders that have supported our emergence and growth. Joshua Venture Group’s May 29, 2013 report Change the Conversation, Change the World echoes the need to remain visible to funders and align with funding priorities - two aspects of organizational sustainability and growth that can be achieved in large part through the online communications world.

edahs_basic_social_system.jpgIn spring 2013, Edah built a Facebook page, connected it with our Twitter account, launched a new colorful website and set up a blog. While Edah has been building an extensive library of multi-media documentation of our innovative “complimentary” Jewish educational program, we now have tapped into the critical digital systems that will more efficiently present our work to families, stakeholders, and colleagues alike. The private Edah Facebook group that was set up when we began in 2010 continues to serve its purpose well, as a hub where parents, staff, lay leaders, and our wider network members share information about Edah and community interests.

For our afterschool and out-of-school programs, the outstanding Edah educators put in tremendous effort to provide our students with integrative learning stations, and to equip our youth with authentic and engaging ways to absorb Hebrew and Judaism and deepen their personal Jewish identity. For our camp and special day programs, educational leaders have the freedom to develop adventurous participatory storytelling, creative and artistic multi-sensory exploration, and project-based studies. Bright excerpts of Edah life can now be viewed, understood, shared, and enjoyed through our new social channels.

The biggest internal change that was required by our renewed focus on social media is that Edah is building communications into our business infrastructure. It takes time to grow comfortable in all the online platforms in order to manipulate each to serve its purpose effectively for the organization, so it helps that our staff person responsible for the communications system has experience utilizing the online tools. Now that our basic system is almost in place, our next step is to establish a regular communications calendar routine that involves educators, administrators, and leadership to capture and share the exciting Edah curriculum and media out into virtual realms.

In Edah’s environment of thriving Jewish learning, leaders and educators do not struggle with concepts like emotional intelligence, empathy and middot, digital learning, inclusivity or design thinking. Our savvy leadership has its finger on the pulse of research regarding learning, in general, and Jewish learning, in specific, and helps apply that to our own program as well as through Nitzan - a network of innovative Jewish afterschool programs throughout North America that Edah leaders catalyzed and facilitate. We look forward to applying our social media strategies and new online systems to upgrade our broader professional collaborations through Nitzan’s website and other upcoming web-based venues.

Wendy Kenin is the Coordinator for Edah.  This year Edah participated in the Social Media Boot Camp for Educators, a year long program generously funded by The Covenant Foundation.  This series of blog posts this spring chart the learnings of the 10 teams in this year's cohort.

This post first appeared in the blog of Darim Online.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Being “Just Like Camp” is Not Enough: Renewing Jewish Learning Afterschool


By Rena Dorph, Ph.D.
Co-Founder: Edah (Berkeley, California) & Nitzan Network (North America)
Director: The Research Group, University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science

Parent’s e-mail message: “This is all surprisingly more emotional for all of us than I could have imagined.  For myself and each other parent that I've talked to, the topic of Jewish education really tugs at our heart strings and it's hard to feel like we can do right by our kids and our pocket books and our commitments to school and other activities.  ooph.  I haven't heard about any families where the kids are driving the want to be at something Jewish after-school. The kids seem to want to veg out at home or with their friends or be at a specific sport practice; and the parents are working so hard to set up a good Jewish learning and community experience; but it's all so much effort in terms of encouraging kids and schlepping and paying for it that it exhausts us parents.”

Rena’s response: “Interestingly, it is exactly the trend that you are reflecting on that we set out to change.  The kids in our program are often asking for more Edah. They are having a very positive experience that they connect with their Jewish selves.  We are trying to turn the tide so that kids will drive the want…we're looking for the sweet spot of will and skill.  It may be only because of the types of Jewish learning experiences they had that the children you are referencing currently don't have the will.”
--excerpt from an email exchange

Research regarding the impact of Jewish education contextualizes this parent’s experience. Cohen (2006) notes that (1) some dosages of supplementary school (in particular the once-a-week format) may actually have a negative impact; and (2) participation in 3 informal educational experiences (including camp, youth group, and Israel) during one’s teen years actually surpasses the impact of day school.

Data like Cohen’s and others suggest that camp makes a difference for children’s short and long-term Jewish identity and commitment. Persistent discontent with the experience and outcomes offered by Jewish supplementary education has led to a barrage of educators calling for the “make religious/Hebrew school like camp” solution. “Hey, if we make supplementary Jewish education like camp then they’ll like that too, right?” When educators suggest this solution it is with the hope that we can make the afterschool setting as powerful as the best outcomes we’ve seen from Jewish camps. Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard the same compelling stories I have: the child who comes home from camp and tells her parents she’s keeping kosher; the young adult that marries within the faith because of a relationship that began at camp; or the camper who decides to become a Jewish leader because of an incredible counselor, teacher, role model she met at camp. Don’t we want that from our supplementary school education?

Sounds great! Yes? But, alas, it is too good to be true.
It’s time to change this conversation.

We must recognize the complexity of developing high quality afterschool learning experiences. Camp has a very different set of affordances than afterschool spaces. And, one of the most important of these features is that camps can be totally immersive experiences for extended periods of time (days, weeks, months). In fact, it is noticeable that this feature is also present in each of the types of experiences that Cohen et. al. (2006) mention (Israel trip, camp, youth group).

Afterschool experiences face several particular challenges. First and foremost, they areafter school. Think about it from the child’s perspective. I’m 6, 8, 10 years old. I’ve sat (yes, mostly sat) quietly (yes, mostly quietly) in school for 5, 6+ hours already today. I’ve read, behaved, written, behaved, computed, behaved, discussed, behaved, self-regulated, behaved, focused, behaved already today for 5, 6+ hours. And did I mention that I’m not even allowed to lie down or touch anyone else during rug time at school. And I hardly get any recess and when I do I spend half the time trying to figure out who to play with today or waiting in line to play wall ball. Now its 2:30 or 3:30, bell rings, schools over. I’m HUNGRY. No, not hungry—I’m STARVING! It’s been at least 3 hours since I’ve eaten lunch—that cold floppy cheese sandwich someone packed me that I didn’t really like (gosh I’d trade my favorite toy if I was allowed to have peanut butter at school). And, I can’t believe there were carrots and apple slices in my lunch box, uh-gain! Even though I’ve made it very clear to my parents that I DON’T WANT ANYMORE CARROTS IN MY LUNCH! What do they think I am, a rabbit?

Does this sound like the frame of mind of a camper?

It is for this reason that many afterschool programs don’t even try to attempt any “serious” or “academic” learning. Supervised play, fun activities, homework help, clubs, enrichment, and sports are the usual suspects in afterschool offerings that are popular choices for parents. Further, I’ve seen several religious/Hebrew schools follow this path using the idea of “camp” or “experiential” learning to provide cover for substituting substantive Jewish learning experiences with decontextualized activities like gaga, planting a garden, and Shabbat-o-Grams.

So, how can we renew Jewish learning after school…yes, in particular, during the hours that happen after school? What role can the lessons learned from camp education as well as education in other contexts play in supporting this renewal? What can we learn from other afterschool programs that successfully meet “serious” learning goals (e.g. science, mathematics, arts, etc.)?

At Edah (www.edahcommunity.org) in Berkeley, California we are tackling this complex challenge head on with the generous support and wisdom of the Covenant Foundation,UpStart Bay Area, and both local and national advisors and donors. Edah’s mission is to inspire and engage children and their families through experiential, Hebrew-infused learning in order to nourish collective commitment to Jewish life and learning. We are guided by a central principle: authentic, immersive experiences provide powerful learning opportunities through which people create meaning, develop Jewish identity, build strong relationships, and nurture community. We marry features of camp that are known to be effective with powerful elements of other relevant learning spaces. It is in the intersection of these multiple spaces that we designed Edah.

The Edah model builds upon the best of several existing program structures as depicted to the right. Drawing on elements of several existing educational and enrichment structures, Edah is designed as a community of Jewish doing and learning. Edah builds on the existing structures and youth development goals of afterschool programs, the experiential, immersive, free-choice learning environments fostered at high quality Jewish summer camps, the commitment to daily Jewish learning and Jewish chevreh that characterize Jewish day schools, and the value of families learning and practicing together embodied in high quality family education programs. Edah meets daily, offering participants the option of as many contact hours for Jewish learning as available in day schools. Edah also meets for full days or weeks when school is out AND we also has an annual retreat—yes, a little bit of that camp magic!

Working within this framework, we developed Edah as a program for children in Kindergarten through 5th grade that would both offer amazing Jewish learning for children and their families AND provide a national model for extensive and intensive Jewish education. The following diagram summarizes the theory of action that underlies this program:












The program is designed to include Jewish learning experiences that are: experiential, Hebrew-infused, immersive, learner-centered, and project based. These experiences will operationalize the concept of na’aseh v’ nishma—we will do and we will understand1—by providing participants and their families with opportunities for doing Jewish practice, learning Jewish content and values, and being Jewish.

These opportunities support participants to become curious about, interested in, motivated towards, engaged in, and skillful in Jewish learning and practice. As a result, these participants develop both the willand skill to engage in Jewish living and learning and realize our program’s learneroutcomes in age appropriate ways. These outcomes include: (1) positive Jewish identity; (2) knowledge of Hebrew, Jewish tradition, and values; and (3) capable of engaging in Jewish ritual and communal life.

We at Edah are not alone in the effort to reinvent Jewish learning experiences for children after school. The Edah pilot was conceived of and developed by a group of parent volunteers (of which I am one) who were seeking to create a new model of afterschool Jewish learning experiences. From its inception, the creators of Edahreceived requests to share their insights with other communities in North America. As a result, the leadership of Edah catalyzed and lead the Nitzan Network with the generous support of the Covenant Foundation.  The purpose of the Nitzan Network(www.nitzan.org) is to support the renewal of Jewish learning after school.
 Through this budding network, Edah leaders and Nitzan affiliates are actively engaging in changing the conversation about what it takes to renew Jewish learning after school

Being “just like camp” is not enough.


1 Na’aseh is translated as “we will do” and nishma is translated literally at “hear” but interpreted as understand. This biblical concept is very much in line with Edah’s constructivist pedagogy.

This piece was first published at JESNA's Innovation XChange blog May 24, 2013 and at Nitzan.