Family Night 5775 - Teen Program Presentation Notes



TI Teen Education Family Night
at Monday Night School, December 1, 2014
Presentation Notes

·         Communication
o   Email (Constant Contact) – “TI Teen Ed News”
o   tisrael.org > Study > Teen Program for Grades 8-12
o   The TI Teen Ed Bulletin on Blogger: http://tisraelteened.blogspot.com/
o   facebook: RYFTI Group, Events
§  TI Teen Ed News is also posted here
o   Event registration: paper flyers and wufoo.com
o   Mike: mfishbein@tisrael.org, 617-566-3960 x126

·         Part of a Whole: Education at TI
o   Life-Centered Jewish Education
§  1.  Jewish education should be relevant to the lives of students.
·         -no need to try and answer questions that no one is asking
·         -teaching skills that are relevant to the real world (helping learners to make life changing choices)
·         -vital to determine what is truly important to learn
§  2.  Jewish education should deal with the whole person and the full set of human concerns.
·         - the ultimate goal: more human (not more Jewish)
·         -Forging a connection between the entirety of our lives and Jewish tradition
§  3.  Jewish education must be grounded in experience.
·         -Not studied, but lived
·         -Experiential learning
·         -The Passover Seder
o   Four Educational Identities
§  As Critical Readers, we want to develop our teens’ ability to engage with the texts of our tradition and to find the connections between historical, narrative, philosophical, and theological documents and their own decision-making processes.
§  As Social Justice Activists, we want to develop our teens’ ability to engage with contemporary issues of justice and inequality as Jews, grounded in a tradition that emphasizes action, community, and healing.
§  As Reflective Ritual Practitioners, we want to develop our teens ability to connect with, participate in, and build Jewish rituals that have meaning in their lives.
§  As Zionists in America, we want to develop our teens’ ability to place themselves in a global Jewish context that is vital and pluralistic and recognizes that an engaged relationship to Israel and Israeli people is a crucial part of contemporary Jewish identity in the U.S.



·         Teen Program Goals
o   To engage teens as participants in Jewish educational experiences that are relevant to their day-to-day lives and that are lived as well as studied.
o   To encourage students to advocate for themselves and their needs and to grapple with the full set of human and individual concerns.
o   To develop teens as leaders who have agency in and ownership of their education and of what their Judaism means to them.

·         Three Braided Pillars (at a glance):
o   Monday Night School
§  Led by Clergy, Education Leadership, and faculty
§  Academic and social, built around core Jewish knowledge
§  Classes address the four educational ID’s of TI (Reading, Ritual, Social Justice, and Israel)
§  Extensive dialogue, debate, with some writing in class.  No or minimal homework
o   RYFTI (Reform Youth Federation of Temple Israel )
§  Led by High School students (supported by Director & Advisor)
§  Social, with strong emphasis on Jewish learning and values
§  Diverse program, social and experiential learning
§  Fall Kallah & Clergy Weekend
§  Monthly weekend events
§  Many avenues for peer leadership and skill building
o   Madrichim Program
§  Student Teaching Program
§  Led by Director
§  Students work closely w/ Sunday School teacher
§  Paid work, commitment to be present every Sunday
§  Training in student teaching, child development, and classroom dynamics
§  Learn by observing, teaching, and through constructive feedback; role model and bridge to Teen program


A Special Note About Confirmation

For the sake of space, details about the Confirmation year have been omitted from this packet. There’s so much to say! Please attend Mike’s breakout session tonight, or contact Mike with questions or for materials.



The Madrichim Program

-This year, 28 Temple Israel teens will lead their community as TI Religious School Madrichim, or student teachers. 
-The goals of the Madrichim Program:
- to help our teens develop as classroom leaders and teachers
-to provide our Religious School students with excellent role models for youth involvement at TI. 
-Teens apply to the program in the spring and are offered positions over the summer. 
-K-6 (sometimes 7) Classrooms and Library (coordinated with Ann Abrams)
-Option to work Tuesday or Thursday afternoon instead of Sunday morning (no opt-ins this year)
-Six “Madrichim Development Meetings” per year
                -one hour, 10:30-11:30am
                -focus on skill development (small group facilitation, classroom management, experiential lesson-planning)
-Madrichim begin their work by attending an orientation, which coincides with one session of Religious School Teacher orientation, where they are introduced to the skills on which they will concentrate during the year, and to the teachers with whom they will collaborate.
-Madrichim will research and craft a lesson which they will teach to their classes in the spring. 
-Madrichim receive a modest monetary stipend for their work.
-Post-Cards submitted every Sunday


-Lesson Outlines for each class – kept in binders & used during lesson planning
-Coordination with and support for classroom teachers
-Collaboration with Orna Sonnenschein, Director of Elementary Education


Monday Night School


Dinner                                  5:45-8:30
Class Block #1                    6:40-7:30
Break/Snack                       7:30-7:40
Class Block #2                    7:40-8:30
Fall Semester, Winter Semester, Spring Mini-Mester
5 years, 2 blocks, Fall & Winter = 20 blocks
Core Curriculum: 8th & 10th grade only, total of 4 blocks
Electives: 16 blocks over 5 years


ELECTIVES
Commissioned by Mike
Teachers are grad & HC rabbinical students, our clergy, young professionals (and me)
Solicited subjects are based on student interest (survey) and TI Ed ID Areas
As much student input as possible
Teachers submit weekly lesson outlines to Mike; use wide variety of sources and modalities
CORE CURRICULUM: 8th Grade
“Our Whole Lives” (OWL)
Both Fall blocks (two electives in Winter)
Based on UU Curriculum (secular); Judaic curriculum component created and developed by Suzie Schwartz Jacobson
Two teachers (Suzie Jacobson and Matthew Lowe)
Social/Emotional topics; Values; Identity & Sexuality
Small group learning, by affinity and by gender identity
Also: 8th Grade NYC Trip: American Jewish Identity

A Glimpse of OWL (email text)
Dear 8th Grade MNS Parents,
I hope this finds you well! We’re two-thirds of the way through the fall semester of Monday Night School, and through your 8th graders’ time in OWL. Suzie Jacobson and Matt Lowe, the OWL teachers, have been sharing great stories and inspiring moments from their time with their students throughout the semester. We know that less detail than we’d like about the content of OWL makes it back to you, and so I’m happy to be sharing with you this glimpse of the semester, written by Suzie and Matt, copied below. We hope this update is helpful and fun for you to read!
This Fall, the 8th grade is experiencing OWL - “Our Whole Lives,” a course that encourages our teens to quite literally bring their whole selves to Temple Israel. This course introduces topics, values and conversations that matter in their lives. So far we've covered: consent and boundaries, privilege, relationships, being cool, cliques, flirting, gender and gender roles, and transgender issues.  The goal is to build trust in the grade by encouraging conversation and providing opportunities for the teens to be vulnerable, and say what they really think and feel. Our hope is that by giving them the chance to talk about the issues that are most pressing in their lives, they will bond as a class and Temple Israel will be a safe place in their lives where they feel comfortable and cared for. Some excellent moments this semester have included:  flirting advice from the book of Ecclesiastes; “drawing” our social cliques and discussing teenage social hierarchies and community; privilege scenario role plays; and gender boxes and activity that helped us examine gender stereotyping and social pressure. 
There have also been some excellent debates in the second hour - In Matt’s group we had a recent discussion of whether James Bond is a positive or negative role model for males; in Suzie’s group we have discussed catcalling, feminism, and joined a group of 9-12th grade girls to ask and answer our pressing questions. 

Best wishes,
Mike, Suzie, and Matt

RYFTI

Reform Youth Federation of Temple Israel
For Teens, By Teens
Informal/Experiential Education
Events Throughout the School Year
5-6 Social Events (Skyzone, Field Day, Movie Night, Farm Gleaning, Lazer Tag, Scav Hunt, etc)
Two Weekend Retreats (Fall Kallah, Clergy Weekend)
RYFTI Board…
From the Letter to RYFTI Members about RYFTI Board Elections last spring:

Dear RYFTI Member,
Kol hakavod!  Your interest in serving on the RYFTI board is an indication that you are invested in the future of RYFTI, and for that we thank you and honor you.  Below, you will find the most pertinent and immediate information you’ll need to understand the 5774 RYFTI board election process. 
The board will consist of 12 members:
o   Two (2) Co-Presidents – 12th graders only (oversee all the work of RYFTI; liaise regularly with the educator, advisor, and VPs).
o   Four (4) Vice Presidents – 11th or 12th graders:
§  Worship and Culture VP (oversee religious & spiritual elements of all events; strengthen RYFTI culture in our community)
§  Programming VP (oversee the creative and logistical development of all RYFTI events)
§  Social Justice VP (oversee RYFTI’s justice work; infuse the pursuit of justice into the life of RYFTI)
§  Outreach and Communications VP (oversee RYFTI’s efforts to tell our own members, the larger TI community, and the rest of the world about who we are and what we do; oversee efforts to generate turnout and increase participation)
o   Six (6) General Members – 10th, 11th, or 12th graders only (work with each VP as the creative and logistical point-person for all aspects of one RYFTI event; join action teams to work on a variety of long-term projects)
·         Board members are required to enroll in Monday Night School.
·         Board members are required (except in extenuating circumstances) to attend all board meetings and all RYFTI events, particularly RYFTI Board Overnight, Fall Kallah and Clergy Weekend.
·         The election is open to current RYFTI 9th, 10th, and 11th graders.  Therefore, there will be no 9th grade board members in 5774.  The hallmark of leadership as a RYFTI 9th grader will be attendance and active participation at RYFTI events, and service in opportunities such as chanting Torah during kallot.
·         We will hold a parliamentary-style election.  All of the candidates will be listed on a single form, and each RYFTI member who is present at the election on 5/20 will be able to vote for up to five (5) candidates.  The top 12 vote-earners will form the 5774 board.  The graduating seniors of the 5773 board, along with the Director of Teen Education and the RYFTI Advisor, will then slate the 12 elected candidates into the positions described above.
·         In order to become a candidate for the 5774 RYFTI board, you must compose and submit at Letter of Intent, which is due on May 6th.   Your letter of intent: 
o   is due on Monday, May 6, 2013 (worth mentioning twice in a row).  Late submissions will not be accepted. 
o   should be DIGITAL, not printed, and should be emailed to Mike (mfishbein@tisrael.org).
o   must include your name, grade, preferred phone number, and email address.
o   should be followed by a list of your anticipated activities for next school year, and the months, weeks, or specific dates on which you will be involved with other commitments.
o   should be no more than 500 words. 
o   should explain, to your fellow RYFTI members, your qualities as a candidate.  Here are some guiding questions (Note, you should not list and answer these questions directly – they are meant to be helpful suggestions, not to dictate the structure of your letter.)
§  Why do you want to be a RYFTI board member? 
§  What will make you good at the job? 
§  How can your fellow RYFTI members be confident that you will be a dedicated member of the board; that you will prioritize RYFTI highly among your other activities, interests, and commitments? 
§  How will being a board member help you to grow as a person? 
§  What skills will you work on as a board member? 
§  What challenges do you anticipate, and how will you meet them? 
§  What innovative ideas will you bring? 
§  What experiences have you had with RYFTI so far? 
o   should mention the position on the board, as described above, that most interests you, and should say why.  Even though you are not running directly for this position, your interest will inform the post-election slating process.
Please consider this carefully.  Being a RYFTI board member is a significant commitment.  Please speak with current members of the board – they will be happy to talk to you!  Ask them about their experience.  Being a member of the board is a great thing, but you can be an active and important RYFTI leader without being a board member.  That having been said, I hope that you are ready for this commitment, and I look forward to receiving your letter!  Whether you become a member of the 5774 RYFTI board or not, by submitting a letter and becoming a candidate, you are standing up and identifying yourself as someone who cares about RYFTI and wants to join in the work of making it the best teen community possible.  You can be sure that you will be included in that effort in the coming year, and we look forward to working with you!
Candidate Statement Example:
I have been involved in RYFTI for four years, and a board member for the past three years. Each year I have stepped up to a new level of leadership in the community and contributed through creativity, collaboration, and dedication. I’ve developed my own leadership abilities as well as nurtured the leadership skills of other RYFTI members as part of my work in [MEF edit] over the past years. Approaching my senior year, I am able to notice how I have been changed by my participation in all of the traditions and engagement with loving members of RYFTI. I have also witnessed how the RYFTI community has been helpful to others. We have all grown and changed in the influence of this community through the simple joys of singing together, working together, planning and leading activities, chanting Torah, staying up late for senior line, sharing personal beliefs, and eating together each Monday. The seniors have a special responsibility for the continuity of RYFTI culture and values. They lead by the example they set for the younger RYFTI members as well as develop the next generation of RYFTI leadership. I’ve been encouraged to find my own voice as a leader of RYFTI and I am ready to encourage others to take their own steps towards leadership and ownership of RYFTI. I will continue to dedicate myself to work enthusiastically on the board, and I am ready to do so as [MEF edit].


L’Taken and TIKKUN

Praying With our Feet: L’Taken and TIKKUN

When he returned home from one of the great historical moments of the Civil Rights Movement, the march from Selma, Alabama on March 21, 1965, Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, "For many of us the march from Selma to Montgomery was about protest and prayer.  Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying."  Many Jews today refer to Heschel’s iconic phrase to describe our tradition’s imperative to act for social justice; when we pursue justice, we are “praying with our feet.”  This year, Temple Israel’s teen education program will offer our 9-12th graders two opportunities to “pray with their feet,” in the form of meetings with our elected legislators at both the federal and state levels. 

One of these trips is an established tradition: the Religious Action Center’s L’Taken Social Justice Seminar in Washington, D.C.  Groups of RYFTI teens have been participating in this four-day, three-night experience for many years.  We last joined the L’Taken seminar in the winter of 2012, and we’ll return this year, February 7-10, 2014, with 15 students.  In the L’Taken seminar, our teens will learn about major public policy issues, get familiar with the lobbying process, and explore the Jewish values that underlie the Reform Movement's positions on social issues. Over four days they will study together, tour major sites in the nation's capital, have a fun night out in Georgetown, and most importantly, they will spend Monday morning on Capitol Hill, lobbying their own senators and representatives.

In the past, we’ve primarily encouraged participation of juniors and seniors on this trip, and have taken only a few 9th or 10th graders.  This year we’re making a change, and are most highly recommending this trip for our freshmen and sophomores.   This change is directly related to our second opportunity, created with our junior and seniors in mind; a new experience called TIKKUN: to Take on the World.  TIKKUN was inspired by the L’Taken seminar in Washington, but is intended to offer a more in-depth experience than can be achieved in one weekend.  TIKKUN has two components.  The first is a semester-long elective class in our Monday Night School program, developed and taught by Rabbi Matt Soffer and 2003-2004 RYFTI Co-President Celia Segel.  This class is currently in session, and is being taken by 14 MNS teens.  The second component is an intensive experience, similar to the L’Taken seminar, which will be inclusive of additional students, and will culminate in a trip to Beacon Hill, on Monday, January 13, 2014, where our students will lobby their own MA legislators.  The TIKKUN intensive will represent a substantial leadership opportunity for students in the TIKKUN class, who will assist in preparing their peers for our lobbying day. 



CJP’s Boston Haifa Teen Exchange Program:
A program through which a cohort of teens from the Boston area builds relationships with a partner cohort from Haifa through exchange travel supported by parallel curricular work.

An Overview, In Bullets:
·         CJP has invited TI to participate in this program
·         A number of other area institutions have been engaged in this program
·         Participating institutions have reported that this program succeeds in building meaningful, lasting relationships between the two student cohorts, and between the American students and Isarel.
·         The Haifa partner site will be a public high school; the Haifa teens will engage in this exchange as part of their high school class work.
·         The Haifa group will be larger than our cohort.
·         The Haifa group will likely visit in the fall, during their Sukkot vacation.
·         The TI group would travel to Israel during a school vacation.
·         Our community will host Haifa teens
·         We envision offing this program as a fall semester MNS elective.
·         Our target students would be 11th & 12th graders. Including 10th graders is also an option
·         The Exchanges:
o   The Haifa students would understand that our teens are in school during their visit.
o   The Haifa group would come to MNS and to a TI service (e.g., Shabbat or Simchat Torah)
o   The Haifa teens may be interested in attending one day of high school with their host TI student.
o   Most of the Haifa group’s time would be spend touring Greater Boston; they may even go to New York or D.C.
o   Our trip to Israel would be anchored in Haifa, but we would tour other areas as well.
o   The Haifa teens would be available to accompany us for more of our stay, because hosting us would be part of their class.
·         Cost: still to be determined, but we estimate $1,500 per participant.

TI Teen Education 5775 Self-Care Seminar Series (intro letter, 1st paragraph)

Dear Parents of Temple Israel's Teenagers,
We hope this letter finds you and your families well and that everyone is launched into a positive school year thus far.
 We are thrilled to have your children as part of our synagogue community and, as is the case for many of our teens, as participants in Monday Night School. We wanted to let you know about an exciting unit of curriculum we have planned for the teens in grades 9-12 at Monday Night School (MNS), but is also open to any teenager who is a part of our Temple's community.
 Last year, as a response to what felt like the growing awareness of stress in the lives of teens in our nation and in our local communities, we decided to dedicate three sessions of MNS to help address the pressures that teens face, and to provide them with specific wellness strategies to manage the everyday stress and pressures they might face. We are hoping that these will be lessons that the teens take with them for their lives. We recognize, too, the opportunity that being in a community such as MNS presents us in helping our teens recognize that they are part of a greater whole - fellow teens, teachers, clergy, and parents - who care deeply about them, and who are here as a constant backdrop of support. We aspire to continually provide a safe space, to use it to teach coping strategies to relieve and alleviate stress when it comes up. With these sessions, we will strive to help our teens effectively support each other, as well as remind and teach the teens to be good to themselves.

No comments:

Post a Comment