Friday, March 4, 2011

Parents knocking on the door?

Parents knocking on the door. The fist is the same size as the heart. Heart and fist.When the knocking of the fist represents the heart, it is strong enough to break down the door of the "classroom only model."

Parents are you knocking and saying from the heart:

1. I want my child to see the world doesn't revolve around her. She is responsible to heal and mend. How does this model of Jewish learning work with me to achieve this goal?

2. I hope my child grows up with role models who help her navigate this crazy universe. I can't do it by myself. How does your model of Jewish learning support that?

3. I wish for my child to be loved by people besides myself. My child needs peers and adults who know her story, care about her and connect with her on ordinary and extraordinary days.
How does your model of Jewish learning structure that?

4. I need partners to nurture my child's soul. How can she grow with a loving neshama that is strong and resilient? Can you tell me how the model of Jewish learning helps me work toward that?

5. I hope my child talks to God and can listen for God in return. I myself often hear a busy signal. How does your model of Jewish learning support us?


6. I hope my child grows up knowing she is not alone. She stands on the shoulders of ancestors who were immigrants and didn't have, as my grandmother, may she rest in peace, would say, a "pot to pee in." Her people still live in Egypt, Eretz Yisrael, Russia and Baltimore. Can your model of Jewish learning help me build a young woman who holds her story with pride, respect and with an analytical eye? Can you help me invite her to write her own vital life chapter grounded in Judaism?

7. Joy and sadness come. I want her to have the ways, the rituals and the memories to meet and shape time. How does your model of Jewish learning work with me so she/we can shape these things?

If parents ask questions like this, we will create High Impact Models that
Engage the family, not just in how to light a candle, but in how to light a life...this is a model worthy of pursuit.

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