Nachum Amsel has extensive experience in formal and informal Jewish education in the US, Israel and the former Soviet Union. He has served as a day school teacher and principal, and taught in university. Rabbi Dr. Amsel is currently the Director of Educational Programming of Rabbi Berel Wein’s Destiny Foundation.
As we live through the era of the scandals of Abramoff, Rubashkin, Spinker, Madoff, Deal, N.J., etc., many Jewish educators have been asking themselves whether we are sufficiently educating our students with proper Jewish ethics, Mentchlichkeit, Yirat Shamayim, or whatever term is used to denote proper Jewish values. Are these scandals mere examples of isolated hillul Hashem by a few individuals, or are we producing a culture where such unethical behavior is accepted and tolerated? Are we indeed satisfied with the level of Jewish values and the middot of our graduates? If our graduates have all the academic skills and achievements but fall short in the area of Mentchlichkeit, can we be satisfied with our accomplishments as Jewish educators?
If educating our students in the areas of Jewish ethics and behavior is truly as important as, or perhaps even more important than, academics, if we want to produce graduates who, as Rav Yisrael Salanter would say, “when people see thee Jews they want to make berakhah,” then we must not only “talk the talk” but “walk the walk”. We must devote the time and resources to make this a reality in our schools. How many hours per week do we currently devote to moral education as opposed to academic education?
Of course, the answer is partially one of time constraints, budget constraints, parental pressure and lack of manpower. But it is also a fact that there is no formal Jewish Studies teacher training in how to impart Jewish values, and it is a discipline that cannot be taught like math or science or even Humash and Talmud. Many teachers and heads of schools have no real training in creating an atmosphere and curriculum that fulfill these goals. We need to put invest effort and resources into this essential aspect of Jewish education, and set the teaching Jewish values as holding primary importance. I’d like to share a brief story, as told by Haim Ginott in his introduction to Thomas Lickona’s Educating for Character: How our Schools can Teach Respect and Responsibility:
There was a teacher who was honored by her community as “teacher of the year”. The day after receiving this award, one the way home from school, she spied two boys writing in the wet cement in front of her house. As she drew closer, she saw that they were writing uncomplimentary inscriptions about her. She went up to the boys and beat them up. The next morning, a shocked school principal summoned the teacher to his office. “Mrs. Smith” he said, “I hardly know where to begin. You, the teacher of the year, a person of whom we all look as a model, someone who loves children, have just gone and beaten two of them up!” Mrs. Smith looked down, paused and said, ”Well, I love them in the abstract, but not in the concrete.”
The following suggestions are “in the concrete” – practical ideas and activities that can immediately be implemented in schools, and have worked in various contexts and many kinds of institutions in the past. Of course, some suggestions may be impractical for some schools because of financial, physical and other constraints or limitations, while others may have to be adjusted based school population, age of students and religious ideology. But these suggestions can be taken as a starting point.
Educators must set the tone of the school and by example
The teacher, principal and head of school must personally demonstrate that learning and acting with proper middot are central to the school’s philosophy. They must do more than just spout the words, but must consciously go out of their way to show that this aspect of the “curriculum” is most important. For example, in one school where there is an intercom in every classroom, there is a rule that no announcements may be made during class time. The only exception is when the principal announces that an object has been lost or found, and the students are encouraged to return the lost object or claim one which was found. This exception gives primacy to the mitzvah of hashavat aveidah encourages students to act accordingly. In another school, the principal teaches all students from grade 5 and above that they must greet any guest or visitor to the school with a personal “Shalom Aleikhem” and introduce themselves by name. This then becomes second nature for students when greeting someone in Shul or any Jewish setting (of course, students must be taught not to do this with complete strangers on the street!). Thus, teachers must consciously behave towards students, towards other teachers and towards all non-academic staff in the school with the highest sensitivity, living and demonstrating Mentchlichkeit by personal example. The staff should go out of its way to find opportunities to demonstrate proper character behavior and ethics.
Recognizing students with outstanding character and values
In our society and in our schools, recognition of achievement is a primary means of demonstrating that something is valued. Many schools use this as an incentive for students, and give “Student of the Month” awards for academic achievement. Schools can consider giving equal attention and prestige to students who demonstrate outstanding middot. Similarly, a “Most Improved” award for ethical behavior, just as there is often is an award for “Most Improved” in the area of academics. A meaningful grade (by some objective standard) should appear on each student’s report card (separate from the grade for the Jewish Values class discussed below). At graduation, the prestige and importance of the Valedictorian for middot should be the same as the Valedictorian for academics (or perhaps create the award for Valedictorian based on an equal combination of both components, and make it known to the students).
Middah of the month program
The teachers and administration should generate a list of the most important areas of character development, and select one area each month for concentration that permeates the entire school. This trait should be integrated into both the limudei kodesh and General Studies curricula, and.special projects related to this character trait can be assigned in each class. Some of these monthly middot might include honesty, anger, leadership, helping others in need, importance of Torah learning, greed and money in Judaism, hate and revenge, lying, drugs and alcohol snitching, the importance of Israel, tefillah, self discipline, self esteem, tolerance of others who are different, etc. The Art staff can coordinate creation of posters and slogans that will be decorate the halls and classrooms walls to reflect that month’s Jewish value.
Jewish values course
A weekly class focusing on a different value each week should be introduced into the curriculum. This course will not be effective if the teacher merely lectures and the students are passive, rather, the format must be a discussion where the students do most of the talking. The topic should be introduced with a moral dilemma in writing or a film. A grade, based on objective criteria, should be given for the course in those schools where students will only relate to such a course seriously if it appears as a grade on the report card. (This author has written extensively about how do implement such a course, which topics to discuss, and how to do testing.)
Middot projects tied to the Jewish calendar
Schools can take advantage of the Jewish calendar to introduce specific values tied to the traditional Jewish cycle of the year. Some examples are:
- During Aseret yemei teshuvah one of the older classes could form a “Sorry Squad” and print “Forgive Me” and “Forgiven” cards which can be sold for a modest fee and delivered (sealed) to students in the school who wish to ask selihah for indiscretions over the past year.
- Lail Iyyun (all night learning), perhaps on Hashana Rabbah or , Shavuot, focusing on a specific Jewish value.
- Hanukkah project to visit and light candles with the homebound.
- Tu Bishvat Projects about Judaism and the environment
- Purim projects about friendship (picking up on the theme of ish lerei-eihu)
- Purim project to disperse food and funds to the hungry of the city (matanot le-evyonim)
- Purim dispersal of Mishloah manot to Jewish patients in hospitals or a visit to Jewish home for the aged.
- Before Pesah, a Yom Iyyun involving students and their grandparents (vehigadta levinkha).
- A Maot Hitim project for Pesah. After collecting money (through a student run fund raising program or through direct donations) students and staff assemble actual Pesah goods packages for the needy. Students can also visit the homebound on Hol Hamoed to “make a Seder,”,or conduct a Project Eliyahu (Eliyahu Hanavi vists every home on Pesah).
- Yom Hashoah can feature a program demonstrating the importance of memory in Judaism and of learning (from) Jewish history.
- Yom Ha-atzmaut can focus on learning and the importance of the Land of Israel for the Jewish people.
- Yom Yerushalayim is an opportunity to highlight the importance of the city of Jerusalem for the Jewish people.
School-wide middot projects
Where applicable, many of the projects below can generate enthusiasm by the students and also teach them that it is their responsibility to help and get involved. Many of the projects suggested raise needed money for causes of the students’ choosing:
- In Israel, there are bins on the streets that look like mailboxes that are there to drop in food packages for dispersal to the poor. Such a large bin can be set up in the school. This can be a staple project in the school all year round or tied to a specific holiday. Students should be involved in the distribution aspects of the project as well. In a similar vein, students can be encouraged for their Bat and Bar Mitzvahs to eliminate one course at the affair and donate the saved money to the Food Bank in the city.
- Basketball Marathon to raise money for a specific cause. Players can raise funds by getting sponsors for each hour played.
- Girls donate their time and hut (thread) to crochet custom kippot.
- Regular visits to Jewish hospitals and Jewish nursing homes.
- Post Bar Mitzvah boys help make minyanim for people sitting shivah.
- Nihum Avelim at the shivah of a parent of a student.
- Student Court for the school to handle disputes between students.
- School-wide or class-wide correspondence with Jewish students from around the globe emphasizes areivut.
- Letter writing to congressman on various issues as they come up.
Teachers (and older students) must be involved in the planning and execution of all these events and projects. The staff should meet before the end of the school year and plan the program for entire next school year in advance. It is crucial that staff be “on board” and that an atmosphere in the school be established where these projects are considered “cool” and exciting, and not just “another program.” Students should be active in not only implementing these programs in the school, but helping to decide how tzedakah money is dispersed.
Of course, even with all these activities and programs, there is a chance that many students will not dramatically alter or improve their values, especially if conflicting values are pervasive in their homes and in their environments. But we, as educators, have an obligation to try. It will surprise many teachers and administrative staff how many lives and behaviors of students can be altered and improved permanently with a focused effort and conscious reinforcement. The author recalls an angry parent who called him very upset because his family vacation was “ruined” when his teen daughter would not let him take the towels from the hotel following a values discussion in class about honesty and stealing.
If we expect to change the values in our community, it will not happen through osmosis or the claim of many Jewish educators that “we teach Jewish values in every class.” Each school needs a concrete plan of action, detailed planning, implementation, and a way to measure short-term and long-term results. Only if we try and dedicate ourselves to this goal can we indeed hope to change the values in our schools, our homes and our communities.
Note: For further ideas and strategies for implementation, Thomas Lickona’s Educating for Character: How our Schools can Teach Respect and Responsibility and Howard Kirschenbaum’s 100 Ways to Enhance Value and Morality in Schools and Youth Settings are excellent resources.