Kibitzer November 3, 2017

We're very proud of Judaics teacher Alise Gold, who won the Hartman Family Educator of the Year Award and will be honored at the ATT Annual Banquet on November 19.

See our Q&A with her!

#IlluminateAkiba

From the Desk of

Many of you have probably heard the term progressive education, but have you heard about "oppressive" education? I recently came across a tweet by Dr. Chris Emdin, Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, that stated: "Schools are teaching youth to be complicit with oppressive teaching and calling their silence a socioemotional skill." Here it is in its full twitter glory.

When I saw this tweet, it reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a parent who wanted to discuss transferring their first grade child to Akiba. I asked why and the parent told me simply that at the school their child is at they were told that the goal is to teach their child how to sit behind a desk all day and "be a student." This is the socioemotional skill of silence that I believe Dr. Emdin is referring to and the oppressive education that creates it.

At Akiba, as many of you know, our approach is an individualized one that promotes scholarship for the soul and mind through teaching children, not subjects. It is accomplished by a set of pedagogical tools and structures that allow for individualization, but it all starts with the mindset of our teachers and the culture we have created here. Our teachers walk into the classroom every day with a mentality that they are there to engage and support every individual child in their class. They want to unlock their student's strengths, interests and ensure each child learns various sets of critical skills and knowledge sets in the best way each one can. Does it work? Visit us and I will show you, but what I can say is that our students are happy, enjoy learning and, while we do not teach to any one test, they outperform time and time again on them. It is simply good teaching and learning, and intentionally not "oppressive."

Shabbat Shalom!

Dr. Eliezer Jones

Head of School

Dvar Torah

A Total Eclipse and a Lesson from Abraham

Bar Mitzvah Speech by 8th grader David Eskilson

A few months ago on August 21 I was at sailing camp. At 1:18 PM, sitting on our dock about to embark on a sailing trip, I, along with millions of others witnessed the solar eclipse. Wearing the special glasses given to us by the instructor, I managed to see the ball of the sun get shadowed by the moon.

With all the hype leading up to that moment, I couldn't help but realize that about an hour after the eclipse, the hype seemed to fade immensely without a meaningful lasting message that would be befitting such a marvelous event. Read on...

The 100th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration

by Rabbi Holman

Chaim Weizmann grew up in Motele, a small town in Czarist Russia. Despite the explicitly anti-Semitic Russian school system, Weizmann happened upon a chemistry teacher who inspired him to pursue a career as a professor of chemistry. Eventually, having attained a professorship in Manchester, Weizmann brought his Zionist activities with him to England. During WWI, Weizmann contributed his chemistry skills to the British war effort, and as he made acquaintances with British officials, he persuaded many to the Zionist point of view.

Lord Arthur Balfour was particularly sympathetic, and with his help Weizmann convinced the British government to support a Jewish home in Palestine, controlled at the time by the Turkish Empire. This Thursday was the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, issued on November 2, 1917. At the time, Palestine was largely underdeveloped without electricity or running water. Tel Aviv was in its infancy, and the few Jewish farming settlements depended on Baron Rothschild's financial support. Only 31 years later, the State of Israel became a reality, and on this 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, we see a modern, flourishing and prosperous country. In a relatively short period of time, we have witnessed a Jewish renewal unmatched in history. Let us use this opportunity to reflect on the miraculous nature of this turn of events, and may it be a source of inspiration going forward. Shabbat Shalom!

Alise Gold Wins Educator of the Year Award

Mrs. Gold (second from right) on the 8th grade trip to Israel in May.

Q&A with Alise Gold

Alise Gold is the third Akiba-Schechter teacher to win the Annual Hartman Family Foundation Educator of the Year Award, celebrated at the ATT (Associated Talmud Torahs) Annual Gala in November. She has been at Akiba-Schechter since 2011 and teaches 7th/8th grade Jewish Thought as well as Tanach (Bible & Prophets) to 5th - 6th graders. She is best known for her innovative Jewish Studies units that bring biblical tractates to life and challenge students to discover their meaning and how that might reflect in their own lives. In her "Mishkan" unit, students build models of the ancient Israelites' portable tabernacle and contemplate the meaning of its parts. The Aron (chest) is golden only on the inside and appears plain and wooden on the outside. Might that not be a great metaphor for us humans? What's inside is more important than what's outside?

Read more...

#IlluminateAkiba

We're excited to kick off the basketball season for our boys and girls team!

See the game schedule on our website.

Preschool

Thanks to all who joined us for the Preschool Brunch last Sunday. What a fun time we had!

The Lime Room children decorated a pumpkin with fall colors and leaves for the Preschool Brunch centerpiece.

Ready! Set! Go! has been busy learning about Noah's ark. They turned their classroom stage into an ark and pretended to sail for forty days and nights.

Exploring leaves in the Blue Room.

Grades 1-8

D.E.A.R. us! That means Drop Everything And Read, which is something the 1st and 2nd graders in Mr. Salk's class are doing periodically.

The students of Kitah Bet were excited to receive their Chumahsim and Parashat Hashvuah workbooks for Sefer Bereshit. They were happy to read from the Torah and learn about the creation of the world. The students are learning to recognize the differences between how we read the verbs in the Torah and how we say them in modern Hebrew. They look for certain patterns and for the root letters in the verbs in order to make learning easier for them. Sometimes they work in teams to discuss questions and make learning even more fun.

Ms. Levine's 3rd/4th graders and Mr. Salk's 1st/2nd graders participated in a simulation activity to kick of their unit on immigration.

The 3rd grade Hebrew speakers in Ms. Hoch's class have been studying archeology, learned about mosaics, and created their own art.

Parents and children studied Torah together at the Mishna Fair last week.

Mishna Fair

We hosted a Mishna Fair last week, namely an evening for 5th/6th graders and their parents to delve into Torah learning. Mishna is part of the oral tradition that explains the Torah, passed down in the Talmud. Our Mishna Fair served as an introduction to a deeper level of learning that involves more questioning and critical thinking than you usually find in the elementary grades. Read more...

Mr. Basa, Jonathan, Romy, and Lani compare the sizes of bass, cello, viola, and violin.

David and Gavin work together on a quadrilateral problem during Mrs. Basa's Math Club.

The Chidon class has been working diligently with Mrs. Schinasi, studying and preparing for the National Bible Contest, which will take place in May. This year they are focusing on the books of Bereshit (Genesis), Yehoshua (Joshua) and Tehilim (Psalms). Among the benefits of studying for the Chidon are learning techniques for noticing textual details and standardized testing. Students also come away with a great breadth of Torah knowledge to draw upon in high school. Right now they are preparing for their first regional test on November 20th.

Art with Dara

7th and 8th grade artists used a grid system to draw realistic portraits inspired by artist Chuck Close.

P.E. Update

by Sara Price

Last week, 3rd through 8th graders finished up the track unit. They worked up to a mile run, ran relay races, and completed the hurdles. This week they started basketball with ball control, dribbling, and passing.

Kindergarten through 3rd have been working on manipulative skills. Last week they finished learning throwing and catching. This week they started kicking and trapping. They're working towards their first sport: kickball.

#Illuminate Puerto Rico

Preschoolers at Akiba-Schechter explore the world, develop life skills, and build a diverse community in a Reggio-inspired environment. As we have been witnessing disastrous natural events such as flooding, hurricanes, wildfires and landslides, it can start to feel like we are helpless and don't know how to help.

At Akiba, we focus on community,and we must be ready to help our community when they are in need. LuminAid is a resource to help us help others. To that end we're raising funds for LuminAid. B ased in Chicago, LuminAid was developed and created by two friends who wanted to help those in need and provide one of the most basic and essential needs: Light!

Please join us in raising funds to help bring light to the people of Puerto Rico and others around the world who have been impacted by natural disasters. Click here learn more about LuminAid and to donate!