Another very important component in T'filla education is the family, the community and the Beit Knesset. What does the student see on Shabbat (if he/she goes to the Beit Knesset -is this an important family value?). Is everyone -men and women -engaged in T'filla? What happens during Kriat HaTorah? Haftorah? The Rabbi's drasha? What happens at home on Sundays? Is T'filla part of family life? What happens when its time for Mincha? I think you know what I mean.
This is part of the powerful "hidden curriculum" Although students can be more "religious" than their parents, what if their parents and Beit Knesset consider themselves Orthodox, but T'filla is not what it should be. There is sometimes a "disconnect" between the message studied in school and what the student experiences in the Beit Knesset on Shabbat.
A successful T'filla curriculum will involve families, Batei Knesset and Rabbanim in cooperation with schools. What better time than Chodesh Ellul to address this issue as a community?
Barbara Freedman
Jerusalem
