Facing the Jewish Futures
Vision / Description: Challenging current and future leaders to imagine and shape the emerging Jewish future
Goals and Objectives
- Learn trends that effect the emerging future
- Identify uniquely Jewish trends that effect the emerging Jewish future
- Empower leaders to envision what the futures of Judaism and the Jewish people might look like
- Envision actions the Jewish community might take to help shape a strong, vibrant Jewish future
- Begin a process of building Jewish living and learning that aims towards the future
Staff Goals and Objectives
- Recognize that staff is empowering learners to lead in a Jewish world that will look very different than ours
- Empower and charge staff with understanding the future trends that will shape the lives of students in their futures
- Shape educational practices to give students the tools they will need to be future Jewish leaders
- Respect the variety of identifications of our students¡¦ lives
- Build the practice of teaching critical thinking skills and personal decision making to students
- Jewish ethics and values
- Jewish history
- Jewish community
- The synagogue
- Reading of futurists' projections and their suggested trends
- Selected reading of Jewish thinkers' projections of the futures
- Viewing of videos from The Jewish Futures Conferences, co-sponsored by The Jewish Education Conference, held at 2010 and 2011 General Assembly of Jewish Federations of North America
- Writing of suggested general and Jewish trends by participants individually
- Group writing of actions that community should take to prepare ourselves and the next generation for the Jewish future
- Follow up: Creation of Blog of Vlog to continue the process of visioning and planning for the future
Evaluation
- Formal evaluations through written tools and discussion
- Creating of videos to share experiences and document further discussion, learning, and action steps
- Retreats or programs for adults, youth, college age
- Adult Education
- High School leadership groups or classes
- Adult leadership development
- Staff Orientation and Professional Learning
- Jewish Connectivity in Residence weekend
At a staff conference of a national organization, participants learned what research is showing about young people today, as well as studying the thoughts of futurists. In reflecting on their work with teens, these professionals came to realize that they needed to change their approaches. What will become more important to their work is teaching critical thinking, uses of technology in building community, and "Do It Yourself¨ Jewish skills.