How Teachers in a Jewish Early Childhood Program Bring Israel to Their School
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Giving HaTikvah to our Children: How Teachers in a Jewish Early Childhood Program Bring Israel to Their School By Sasha Kopp Capstone project suBmitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a joint masters degree in Jewish Nonprofit Management and Jewish Education HeBrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Spring 2017 HEBREW UNION COLLEGE - JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION LOS ANGELES SCHOOL ZELIKOW SCHOOL OF JEWISH NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT Giving HaTikvah to our Children: How Teachers in a Jewish Early Childhood Program Bring Israel to Their School By Sasha Kopp Approved By: ________________________________ Bruce Phillips, Advisor ________________________________ Erik Ludwig, Director, ZSJNM Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5 Overview of the Fields of Study ............................................................................................... 7 Introduction to Early Childhood Education ............................................................................ 8 Introduction to Israel Education ............................................................................................ 12 Definitions ................................................................................................................................ 19 Research Methods ................................................................................................................... 20 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 22 Teacher Profiles .................................................................................................................... 24 Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Part One: Pre-School Teachers’ Exposure and Connection to Israel .................................... 26 Introduction to Teachers’ Exposure to Israel ...................................................................... 26 Jewish Teachers’ Connection with Israel: The Impact of an Israel Experience ................... 28 Non-Jewish Teachers’ Exposure to Israel ............................................................................. 29 Non-Jewish Teachers’ Connection with Israel: The Impact of a Classroom Experience ..... 31 Conclusion on Teachers’ Israel Exposure and Connection .................................................. 32 Part Two: Israel in the Early Childhood Classroom ............................................................... 33 Institutional Goals for Teaching Israel ................................................................................. 33 Jewish Teachers’ Goals for Teaching Israel ......................................................................... 34 Non-Jewish Teachers’ Goals ................................................................................................ 36 Conclusion on Goals ............................................................................................................. 37 Introduction to Classroom Curriculum ................................................................................ 38 Teaching Israel as a Symbol of Jewish Culture and Holidays .............................................. 40 Teaching Israel through Yom Ha’atzmaut Education .......................................................... 42 Bringing the Languages of Israel into the Classrooms ......................................................... 45 Hebrew .................................................................................................................................. 46 Arabic .................................................................................................................................... 48 Part Three: How does Exposure and Connection Affect Teachers’ Comfort Discussing Israel? ........................................................................................................................................... 50 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 50 Discussing Israeli Culture ..................................................................................................... 51 Discussing Israeli Politics ..................................................................................................... 54 Part Four: Recommendations .................................................................................................... 58 Recommendations for Teachers ............................................................................................ 58 Recommendations for Curriculum ........................................................................................ 59 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 62 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 64 Abstract “Israel is a country where everyone is Jewish!” This statement, which I have heard in Jewish early childhood centers across the country, made me acutely aware of the lack of Israel education that is provided to pre-school teachers who teach about Israel in Jewish early- childhood settings. As a Joint Masters student in Jewish Nonprofit Management and Jewish Education, I sought to understand teachers in a Jewish early-childhood program. I studied how their exposure and connection to Israel affects how they teach Israel in their classroom, as well as their ability to discuss Israel in their personal lives. This case study is based on interviews with 21 employees at a typical synagogue-based early-childhood program in Los Angeles. The educators represent a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds, including over a third non-Jews. Interviewees were asked about their initial exposure to Israel, how they teach Israel in their classroom, their uses of Hebrew and Arabic, and their comfort level discussing Israeli culture and politics. I found that teachers who have been to Israel tended to teach Israel as a home and as a place of belonging, while non-Jewish teachers who had not traveled to Israel frequently discussed Israel as a holy and religious place. Additionally, in this early-childhood center, Israel was primarily taught leading up to Yom Ha’atzmaut. Their curriculum focuses on Israel as if it were a holiday, rather than a country with a diverse and multi-faceted society. The interviews highlight the importance of meaningful Israel educational experiences for teachers, such as an Israel trip or formal education. Implementing more robust Israel education for early-childhood educators has the potential to inspire in-depth Israel exploration that can be woven through emergent curriculum throughout the year, fostering a sense of connection, wonder, and curiosity about Israel in the next generation. 4 Introduction Israel is one of the most ubiquitous topics of discussion among the American Jewish community. It’s infused into our services and synagogue programs, it influences national politics, and it incites debate within our communities. Despite the Jewish community’s belief in the importance of Israel, there is no consensus of how, when, and why American Jewish children ought to learn about the Jewish homeland. “The socialization of young American Jews into a deep and meaningful connection with present-day Israel is not as self-evident or as ‘natural’ as it was 40-60 years ago” (Horowitz, 2012). Even within particular denominations of Judaism, there is no national curriculum or consensus on what content should be taught, or when it should be introduced. Lisa Grant and Ezra Kopelowitz wrote in their book, Israel Matters, that, “Israel education should be about integrating Israel more fully into the tapestry of Jewish life in North America, that process cannot begin with Jewish teens; it must include the emotional and intellectual lives of Jewish children as well” (Grant & Kopelowitz, 2012). Israel education is often incorporated within the curriculum for supplementary religious school; however, little is known about Jewish early-childhood education and its capacity to teach about Israel in meaningful and developmentally appropriate ways to our youngest learners and their families. This research seeks to begin to fill that gap in order to discover how early childhood educators’ personal exposure and connection to Israel affects the curriculum and methodology of teaching Israel in a typical Jewish pre-school. Throughout America’s Jewish educational institutions, Israel education is most often introduced in pre-schools and early-childhood centers. These settings, which most often serve two to five-year-olds, and their families, have no standard curriculum, which results in a wide 5 variety of content taught throughout the country. The teachers in these early childhood settings greatly differ in terms of their personal Israel education and experiences, bringing unique perspectives to their teaching. Teachers’ relationships with Israel are dynamic and are often affected by Israel exposure, education and