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Between Tradition and Modernity: on Judaism and an Old-New Pedagogy

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Between Tradition and Modernity: on Judaism and an Old-New Pedagogy BETWEEN TRADITION AND MODERNITY: ON JUDAISM AND AN OLD-NEW PEDAGOGY AUTHORSHIP INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY Amir Mashiach The School of education, Ariel University. Israel. Head of teacher A.SHIFTS IN PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHING training program. The public educational systems known to us at ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-2108 present in the western world evolved and E-mail: [email protected] became established in the wake of processes Nitza Davidovich that occurred in 18th-19th century Europe, and The School of education, Ariel University, Israel. Head of The School of particularly the industrial revolution. This education. resulted in the gradual development of the ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7273-903X “factory model school”, aimed at allowing E-mail: [email protected] Received in: Approved in: parents to work in the factories and preparing 2021-06-20 2021-007-07 children for a similar future. The core of DOI: https://doi.org/10.24115/S2446-622020217Extra-D1116p.376-390 pedagogic thinking changed only recently, with what is called the new pedagogy. (WILDS & LOTTICH, 1970; NAIK, 1991, 14; SAPORTA, 2008, 74-77) In contrast to the factory model school, the school system in Jewish tradition was established as early as two millennia ago by a sage called Yehoshua ben Gamla: For at first if a child had a parent, the parent taught him, and if they had no parent, they did not learn at all… They then made an ordinance that teachers of children should be appointed in Jerusalem… Then came Yehoshua ben Gamla and decreed that teachers of young children should be appointed in each country, and each town, and that children should enter school at the age of six or seven (Bavli, Bava Batra 21a). The rabbinical educational system seems to have been based on an ancient tradition that has nothing to do with the new pedagogy. We claim, however, that many elements of the new pedagogy were already tried and proposed in Jewish tradition, in the pedagogy of the sages. This refers to the Jewish sages who lived in the land of Israel and Babylonia from the second century BC to the sixth century AD. This paper discusses the pedagogy of the sages and shows how they preceded their times, for instance on issues such as the teacher’s status, the teacher’s role, the role of the learner, centering on the student, teaching critical thinking, peer teaching, cooperative learning, admitting mistakes and intellectual integrity, equality, apprenticeship, personal attention, the academic climate, and even the “flipped classroom”. We do not wish to err on the side of anachronism. Obviously, all the technological aspects did not exist then; in addition, the new pedagogy is comprised of three categories: teaching, learning, and assessment. Alternately, the focus is on cognitive, emotional, and value-related elements. And these, as a whole, had no part in the sages’ pedagogical awareness. We shall inspect several modern approaches customary at present, with a view of the past: to independent learning One of the fundamental Jewish precepts is “and you shall explain to your son” (Exodus 13:8), i.e., conveying the traditions to one’s children and students. From time immemorial, knowledge has been passed from parents to children and from teachers to students, as instructed in this precept. The parent or teacher were the source of knowledge and of authority, and the children and students received from them, watching, listening, and experiencing. For example, the traditional-rabbinical approach ascribes great significance to looking at one’s teachers, as looking contributes to deeper learning. For instance: “Rabbi said: [The fact] that I am more incisive than my colleagues is [due to the fact] that I saw Rabbi Meir from behind. Had I seen him from the front, I would be [even more] incisive” (Bavli, Eruvin 13b). The source of this is the verse: “And your eyes shall see your teacher” (Isaiah 30:20). And therefore, “Rav Mesharshiyya said to his son: When you seek to enter and study before your Laplage em Revista (International), vol.7, n. Extra D, 2021, p.376-390 ISSN: 2446-6220 Amir Mashiach; Nitza Davidovich • 377 teacher… look to his mouth, as it is written: ‘And your eyes shall see your teacher’” (Bavli, Horayot 12a ). Hence, in order to see and to achieve improved learning the seating order must be strictly maintained, as the sages said (SHUKRUN, 1990) : “A Sanhedrin was [arranged] as half of a circular threshing floor, in order that [all the judges] will see one another” (Mishna, Sanhedrin 4:3). In recent decades, a significant change occurred in the pedagogic process. This happened mainly since the emergence of technology in life and in teaching. The parents and teachers have not remained the source of knowledge, rather this function has been assumed by the internet. In addition, psychological-sociological-educational outlooks have shifted. The center of gravity has changed. In the past, the teacher was at the center; in the new pedagogy, the student is at the center. In 2018, the OECD presented seven principles of modern learning (PANIAGUA & ISTANCE, 2018) : • Centrality of the learning process and encouraging involvement and awareness of learning strategies; • Ensuring the social and cooperative manner of learning; • Orientation to motivation and emotional involvement in the learning process; • Sensitivity to individual differences between the students; • High demands of each student, but without overburdening. There is need to be sensitive to each student and his abilities. This concept derives from the understanding that there are multiple types of intelligence, as well as different levels within each type; • Changing the assessment according to the main goals of the learning, with an emphasis on formative assessment; • Promoting horizontal links between learning activities, building connections between different disciplines, forming a learning plan that includes learning within the school and learning outside the school. The perception of pedagogical innovativeness has at its base several principles, with the main guiding principle being the student’s role as an active partner in the learning process (VOLANSKY, 2020). Moreover, cooperative learning emphasizes the responsibility of the learners. It takes place in a team-based environment that forms commitment and encourages responsibility towards struggling students. We will address this further below, when examining the issue of peer teaching within the pedagogy of the sages. A.2 Teaching literacy and digital literacy In the past it was customary to think that there is one objective truth, while at present the post- modern conception is one of multiple truths and a subjective truth (Ofir,1997); learning upgrades the student’s proficiency to consume knowledge wisely and create new knowledge. Therefore, teaching one to think is a significant part of the general curriculum; learning leads to the development of critical thinking, which addresses a world in which access to knowledge is democratic in essence. One example of this is Wikipedia, where “the wisdom of the masses” is fully manifested and anyone can express his knowledge and share it with everyone else. In the present era, in the context of teaching, the ability to screen and critique information, to separate the wheat from the chaff, is a necessary, central, and significant skill (Volansky, 2020). These principles led to a real transformation and essential change from the traditional-didactic pedagogy to the new pedagogy. For example (VIDISLAVSKY, 2017): • In the traditional pedagogy, students should be taught what to think and what not to think, while in the new pedagogy students should be taught how to think and not what to think; • In the traditional pedagogy, knowledge is passed on traditionally via speech, reading, and experiencing, while in the new pedagogy, knowledge is a process created in the student’s mind; Laplage em Revista (International), vol.7, n. Extra D, 2021, p.376-390 ISSN: 2446-6220 • 378 Between tradition and modernity: on judaism and an old-new pedagogy • In the traditional pedagogy, asking questions indicates a lack of understanding, while in the new pedagogy, asking questions indicates inquiry and critical thinking; • In the traditional pedagogy, quiet classrooms indicate learning, while in the new pedagogy, noisy classrooms indicate thinking and learning; In the traditional pedagogy, education can occur even without changing the student’s personality, while in the new pedagogy education cannot occur without changing the student’s personality (Paul, 1992). A.3 Learner-centered Indeed, “the educational pendulum moves, albeit irregularly, between the customary didactic instruction and child-centered education” (BEREITER & SCARDAMALIA, 1993), but the center of gravity has moved to centering on the child. The student is required to be an active part of the learning process and to be capable of relating to knowledge critically and creatively. If knowledge is so readily available but at the same time full of wrong information that exists on the web, it is necessary to know how to screen and critique. The learning process now focuses on structuring the student’s knowledge (BEREITER & SCARDAMALIA, 2003). B. INSTRUCTION A UNIVERSAL AND PARTICULAR OBLIGATION The significance of teaching needs no explanation. This is self-evident in all cultures. The Jewish sages, however, ascribed far-reaching meaning to teaching children specifically, unlike the category of adult studies. “He who learns when a child, to what is he compared? To ink written upon a new writing sheet. And he who learns when an old man, to what is he compared? To ink written on a rubbed writing sheet” (Mishna, Avot 4:20). This indicates not only a higher standard of learning. The sages were of the opinion that Torah study by children guarantees the existence of the Jewish people and the existence of the world. The sages were able to relate that before God gave His people the Torah he demanded ir guarantors forןgood guarantors”.
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