ב"ה אני מתרגשת שסוף סוף אני יכולה להציע את מה שהיה כל כך חסר לי כמורה לתורה שבכתב ובע"פ בתפוצות...
את מוזמנת להצטרף למעגל המורות המתמקצעות לקבל את הידע, הכלים והתמיכה שמגיעה לך כאחראית להעברת המורשת לדור הבא!
דבורה קפלן
"עברית בדרכנו"
Video link: https://youtu.be/FjY_fQdg_cs
From the video (free translations) CREATING A BOND BETWEEN OUR STUDENTS AND THE TORAH
Here we have a triangle that represents, really any type of teaching, but in this case the process which is our focus when we are building a connection between our students and our Holy Torah.
We assume that our teacher has a connection with the Tanach, and also some type of bond with the student. Now of course if these two connections don't exist, we have a big problem. But assuming we have these two connections, what do we want to accomplish?
Our goal is to create a kesher - the purple dotted line - between the student and the Torah. And we want it to be a direct and meaningful connection, as we discussed earlier in the video.
THE SECOND TRIANGLE
How can we accomplish this? Let's look at a second triangle -- one of psukim (content), skills, and values. I need all of these things in each of my lessons. To check to be sure, I ask myself some questions.
WHAT
The first question is "What?". What am I teaching? What, of the material that is written here, do I want my student to know? I don't always need her or want her to know every single thing. It's not always even possible. But there is always some particular point from the lesson that everyone in my class has to know.
HOW
When I'm talking about skills, I ask "How?" and I ask it twice. How am I presenting the skills, and how are they going to acquire these skills? What keilim do I have as a teacher, what can I make use of, and what capabilities do they have as students? One of my tasks is to enhance my own set of skills and use them to enlarge the students' skill sets.
WHY
The most important question of all is "Why?". Why am I even teaching this content? Once I was speaking to a group of teachers and one of them said to me, "What can I do? That's the curriculum." Truth is, that's not such a great answer. We must enter the classroom to teach a particular content item because there is something valuable that we want our students to take with them further into with them into the future. We can find these valuable concepts everywhere in the Torah. But in order for me to make this to happen, we have to identify them, and they have to be extremely clear to us, ourselves.
[In this series, as we practiced a little tonight (see video for examples) we'll learn and practice how to find these concepts, and how to present them in a meaningful, relevant way. ]
For instance, if I'm teaching Migdal Bavel, it could be because I want them to understand the power of interpersonal communication. If I'm teaching the piece about chalukas haaretz under Yehoshua when the smaller shevatim weren't taking action, I want them to think about the importance of getting up and starting something, and then see how others will begin to help. Or as we saw that empowering message from Yeshayahu (see the video) that they have awesome power and responsibility to use their talents to serve Hashem.
Values concepts and meaning are what has to drive the shiur. The "Why?" is the basis for all the learning.
THE BOND
So then I combine these two triangles. By doing that, we create that connection line between the student and the Torah. I take the skills, the values, and the psukim, and they help build that bond.
Also we're building the connection between values and skills (dotted blue line), because acquiring technical skills can be daunting, or uninteresting on their own -- but values are obviously relevant and important to the students. We're also helping the student build a kesher with her own skills so she won't forget them.
Let's learn together - in the same experiential way that you will bring to your classroom. Join Nechama and Dvora in a special series for Limudei Kodesh teachers, starting soon.
Nechama Torem is a master teacher and madricha for teachers in the chareidi schools in Eretz Yisrael. In addition to teaching her own classes, she interacts with thousands of teachers and responds to hundreds of questions on a regular basis, and B"H we are fortunate to be able to connect her with you as well.
We are offering a series focused on 4 individual topics, with Learning & Practice for each, for a total of 8 sessions.
Educators (teachers, coordinators and administrators) are invited to join either as participants in a collective group with other teachers and schools. Alternatively, we are able to organize an interschool series within a single institution.
We encourage you to join a live session, so your questions can be answered on the spot, and to benefit from the support and camaraderie of your colleagues. However, if you find it difficult to attend at a set time, please inquire about gaining access to the recordings and thus completing the series at your own pace.
Participants will iy"H receive a certificate of completion at the end of the series.
Feel free to contact us for additional details, and share with your friends and colleagues to spread the word about this valuable opportunity. Click here or download the PDF below for a full description in English