Jewish Education and the Potential for Change

Abstract

John F. Kennedy once called change “the law of life.” But its inevitability does not make change any easier. Institutions can be especially resistant to change, and educational institutions more than most. Change, with all its possibilities and obstacles to fruition, was on my mind as I reviewed the articles in the present issue of the Journal of Jewish Education. Let us begin with the articles in this issue that round out our special focus on “Jewish Education in the Time of COVID-19,” which began in our previous issue. Larry Cuban and David Tyack's 1995 book, Tinkering Toward Utopia, about the intractability of the “grammar of schooling,” the ways in which public schools have largely been impervious to a century of reform initiatives, seemed particularly relevant while reading Isa Aron and Ziva Hassenfeld's article, “Going Beyond Zoom to Enrich Learning in a Part-time Jewish School.” The authors explore how part-time congregational school teachers utilized technology as a pedagogical tool in the midst of the pandemic, particularly during the first few waves, when most schools were forced to migrate to online education. In particular, Aron and Hassenfeld offer a case study of two exemplary practitioners, describing specific lessons where these educators went beyond the functionalities provided by Zoom and utilized apps and Web 2.0 technologies in ways that allowed them to make online Jewish education more participatory and learner-centered. The authors also ask why these teachers were able to use technology so adeptly, even while the vast majority of their colleagues settled into a routine of frontal teaching on Zoom with the occasional use of breakout rooms and the polling function. Here is where Cuban and Tyack's work becomes relevant. Even with professional development and other support from a local Jewish educational agency there was very little change on the ground. Aron and Hassenfeld make a strong case for the integration of TPACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge) theory into the curricula of Jewish educator training programs. But they also acknowledge that the two teachers that they profiled were atypical in their degree of tech-savviness, penchant for creativity, and level of preparation for teaching. While the authors are optimistic that as more teachers become tech-savvy they will engage in “self-directed professional development” on the web, a century of failed school reforms in the public school and Jewish educational institutions points to a different possible outcome. Being a digital native does not necessarily endow a teacher with the mindset or skills to create impactful learning environments any more than knowing how to thread the film on JOURNAL OF JEWISH EDUCATION 2022, VOL. 88, NO. 1, 1–4 https://doi.org/10.1080/15244113.2022.2038000