Marathon Sessions at Annual Educators Conference
It was well after midnight when Rabbi Sholom B. Halberstam of Chicago ended the marathon 13-hour meeting of principals of “out-of-town” Mesivtas. They had convened as part of the annual “Kinus HaMechanchim” – educators conference, sponsored by the Merkos Chinuch Office.
Other than brief breaks for tefillos and meals, the group concentrated on the business at hand, improving their yeshivas and cooperating to help the many hundreds of students maximize the effectiveness of their yeshiva experience.
Nearly one hundred thirty Torah educators from across North America convened at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Danbury, CT, away from the hustle and bustle of their respective communities and away from their offices and classrooms, but with their mind’s eye focusing on their students and their needs. The educators followed a similar conclave of women educators two weeks earlier.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe ZI”A promoted the idea of summer professional development in letters dating back to the early 1950s. The idea that teachers need to rejuvenate and hone their skills resonated well with the capacity crowd in Danbury.
The Kinus program was essentially divided into two sections which complemented one another. There was a strong focus on the development of better pedagogical skills, and there was a deep concentration on the “Nashomo,” the soul of Jewish education.
The general academic program was devoted to the study the Danielson Framework, which helps teachers plan and execute their lessons in a more organized way, and workshops on classroom management – among others. One issue which generated a great deal of discussion was the need for each student to be guided in the development of a healthy self-image. This discussion was led by Dr. Shloimie Zimmerman, a psychologist in New York who specializes in the issue.
Rabbi Jonathan Rietti an educational consultant who has developed a wide ranging program to assure maximum participation and sustained outcomes, especially for younger students, presented on sustained reading skills, development and on the fundamentals of teaching Torah to younger students. He also presented, to great acclaim, on a wide reaching approach to teaching Jewish history.
Rabbis Yoseph Minkowitz of Montreal and Rabbi Mendel Schapiro of Los Angeles keynoted on the essence of the mission of those gathered, to reach the Neshomo of their students, and not only to teach but to inspire them.
One particularly inspirational moment occurred during lunch on Monday, when a group of about fifty formed a round-table to recap how their classrooms had changed since the introduction of the Master Torah program highlighted at last year’s conference. They decided to hold similar discussions via Skype throughout the year.
“It takes months of planning and a lot of hard work, not to speak of the financial expense, but when at the conclusion of the Kinus one can feel the tangible inspiration of hundreds of educators who will teach thousands of students next year, all the effort is a small price to pay,” said Rabbi Nochem Kaplan, director of the Merkos Chinuch Office – the umbrella of Chabad schools.
Rabbi Kaplan thanked his staff at the Chinuch Office, led by Rivkah Cohen, a committee of mechanchim, and particularly Rabbi Zalman Goldstein of Oholei Torah, who collectively spent countless hours arranging the program. He added that all attendees are in their debt. In addition he said that his son, Rabbi Baruch Kaplan, a shliach in Wallingford, CT and rebbe at the Southern New England Hebrew Academy in New Haven, was essentially the coordinator of all Kinus logistics along with Rabbi Menachem Kirschenbaum.
dafs
rabbi raskin uly you seem very involved :)
to all older rebbeim,
plz dont stay in the system cuz you have nothing better to do,,,it is not right to the children who spend their whole day with you each day,,,,leave, let others bring in renewed energy, you will find more satisfaction knowing that your’re doing the right thing, and new opportunities will arise.
hope you heed this message. ty.
To #
Absolutely dumb comment. With older age comes more experience and wisdom!
harry
did they give out the special dvar malchus with the sticker on them as in past years?
moishe
“Merkos Chinuch Office – the umbrella of Chabad schools.” LOL
1 of the older rabeim
to dafs.
ok, here we go.what exactly is ur problem? firstly,the fact that older rabeim including me were participating on our own free will,doesnt that demonstrate that they r teaching not becuz we have nothing better what to do!!secondly, i for 1 does have something better what to do[for the second i choose to leave,i can find a job BETTER paying more too].thirdly,obviously u sound quite clueless to what chinuch is all about.in todays day and age, u simply have to b more tolerant to the needs of the kids,and new rabeim [on the average]dont have that.it simply comes with experience!and what “right thing” r u doing? gee,go get a life!!btw, does “dafs stand for 1.DUMB,ANTAGONIST,FAILURE,STUPID???
ROSH MESIVTAS/YISHIVAS
who are the rest of the rosh mesivtas with farkash and halbershtam?
THE PROBLEM
The issue is not the Rebbeim or their age, but the complete lack of leadership that has plagued Lubavitch since gimel tamuz
willing to give the benefit of the doubt
Old or young, if a teacher is not willing to work hard and continue learning how to teach, then he/she does not belong in that profession. Some are naturally good teachers and some learn to be very good teachers. Problems arise when a teacher refuses to see his/her own faults and will not change. I’m not saying they have to give up their principles, but they have to know who they are teaching and how best to teach them. Every class and every student is different.
To #2-
Well….not necessarily. One would hope that wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age brings a continuation of poor habits and practices. If those who educate are not required to maintain professionalism by attending professional development sessions yearly, and if they are not monitored for effectiveness, then sometimes age is a continuation of less than adequate practices. In addition, sometimes those in the system for many years do not seek out improvement, nor are they aware that there is improvement to be made….So, one would hope that any teacher of any age should be required to attend such sessions and show evidence of effective practices.
To #8-
Very true. How do we insure that what you say filters into the system and is actively part of the environment?