For the past few years, we have been living in a world defined by crisis. COVID, political hyper-polarization, rabid antisemitism, Hamas—just to name a few. For good reason, our communities—including their educational institutions—have scrambled to respond to these crises, and have not only survived but in many cases thrived through them all. Survival is a significant achievement, but the thriving is nothing less than remarkable.

Every other Friday, the 9th grade Jewish Studies classes each sit in a circle in the middle of the room. At the front of the room, a neatly pressed white cloth neatly covers a table with two Shabbat candles and two snacks. We start the period with a song and then dive into the heart of the student-led activity. This is what the kids have come to know as “Jewish Journey Friday.”  After lighting candles and distributing snacks, the two students hosting that week each ask a carefully constructed question. The questions are designed to elicit a specific and personal story that will reveal some element of a person’s Jewish Journey. “Tell a story about a particularly memorable Passover experience.” “When was a time when you felt particularly proud to be a Jew.” “Tell about a specific way in which you see your Judaism differently today than you

When I joined TABC seven years ago in the role of STEM Coordinator, I was charged with building a project-based engineering curriculum that would integrate interdisciplinary learning. The intention was to provide students with a well-rounded, skills-focused STEM education in order to inculcate within them problem-solving skills, technology literacy, and effective collaboration. There were a lot of open questions, such as how engineering classes would fit into the overall curriculum, whether they would be mandatory for all students, and, if not, which students would take them. As we answered and re-answered each of these questions over the years while exploring all possible avenues to offer our students unique learning opportunities, a robust interdisciplinary elective program emerged and developed. Now, while my main focus is still teachi

In 2012, when we launched our integrated course on Jewish Thought, Philosophy, and Literature (formerly Tikvah, now JPhiL), a student asked, “Is there a Final?” to which Dr. Watts responded, “How you live your life is the Final.” From the beginning, we have sought to open students’ minds to the fact that through Judaism, individuals can contribute meaningfully, not only to conversations on philosophy and literature, but that by the very nature of their Jewish identities they can make a significant impact on society. While we have always known of the course’s short-term effects, we now know of its longer-term impacts on students’ approaches to critical thinking, their relationship to Judaism, and their relationship to God. And those impacts are profound. Students consistently report that in the years since, the course has moved them to liv