Living Beyond Denominations
Vision / Description: Inspiring Jews to Build Connectivity and Breaking the Walls that Separate, Using Skills, Sensitivity and Language for Do It Yourself Jewish Life that moves Beyond Today's Denominations
Goals and Objectives for Students, Families, Staff
- Know denominations and their centrality to American Jewish life in the 20th century
- Understand denominational change in each movement during the 20th century
- Recognize the growth of transdenominational life from 1960¡¦s ¡V present
- Identify change within each movement as perceived generationally
- Recognize people's prejudices other movements and reduce those prejudices
- Understand language and communications needed to reflect post-denominational sensitivity
- Value a Do It Yourself Judaism integrating a range of approaches to Jewish life
- Identify the learning experiences children and families need to live full Jewish lives in a Jewish world that crosses denominations
- Develop a personally meaningful Jewish life
Integration and Alignment with Other Learning, Including:
- Staff Learning
- School curriculum: American Jewish history and life
- Family and parent education
The Learning Experiences [customized for each session and series]
- Group quiz of information about 20th century Jewish religious movements
- Interactive study of excerpts of key documents of Jewish movements of the 19th-20th century
- Role plays of situations involving students and staff with different Jewish beliefs and practices
- Exercises in creating a personally meaningful Judaism
- Identifying skills and knowledge for post-denomination Jewish futures
- Trends identified by futurists
- Critical thinking skills
- "Mash up" skills
- "Do it Yourself¨ skills
- Further learning opportunities: readings, blogs
- Follow up: distance family coaching, distance staff coaching or follow-up programs
Evaluation
- Critical friends groups (among staff , parents, students)
- Blog / VLog to share experiences
- Staff Observations and Evaluations
Recommended Opportunities
- Staff Orientation and Development
- Adult Learning
- High School Classes
- Family and Parent learning, particularly post Bar-Bat Mitzvah
- College age learning
- Jewish Connectivity in Residence weekend
A Success Story
At a recent staff conference of a national Jewish youth organization, participants used role playing to explore how they would respond to teens that presented challenges such as interfaith families, LGBT students, ranges of Jewish practices and experiences, ambivalence towards Israel, and interracial dating. The experience allowed youth professionals to safely try out responses and to learn from one another. A high point of the experience was the realization that most of the youth workers had confronted these issues, but had not had the ability to reflect and improve on their responses prior to this session.