Keystones: Connecting Educators to Israel with T'helah Ben-Dan

T'helah Ben-Dan, Deputy Director, TALMA

Disclaimer: This podcast episode was recorded prior to October 7, 2023, and reflects discussions and perspectives as of that date.

Sharon Freundel:

I’m Sharon Freundel, Managing Director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge (JEIC). Welcome to JEIC’s Keystones Podcast Series. The keystone is the central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together. We believe that a strong Jewish Day School education is what holds the Jewish people together as we look towards the next generation.

In today’s episode, we will hear from T'helah Ben-Dan from TALMA Israel on using Israel as a cornerstone for teaching professional development and connection.

T'helah Ben-Dan:

Israel is home; it’s our yesod, our foundation. And teachers should really be able to connect with that on a personal and a tangible level, and then they're able to harness that experience in the Jewish Day School classroom.

Every summer we bring over 100 educators to Israel from Jewish communities around the world, where they engage in pedagogy workshops, undergo leadership training, co-teach English alongside local Israeli teachers, dive deeply into the rich tapestry of Israeli society, and form meaningful and encouraging relationships with like-minded educators from near and far. It's professional development that's incredibly impactful with minimal investment.

Our goal is for teachers to return to your schools in the fall reinvigorated, more committed to the classrooms, with more tools in their pedagogy toolbox, stronger leadership skills, and a deepened connection to Israel and Jewish values.

Israel really is the founding base for who we are as Jewish people, and I think that if you're working in a Jewish context, even if you're not Jewish because we have teachers who are teaching in Jewish day schools who may not be Jewish or who are teaching in Hebrew language charter schools, having that connection, and really experiencing Israel on your own, and seeing what it's like on the ground, and seeing what schools are like, and engaging with Israelis, really gives you a different perspective, the kind of perspective that you can't get just being here, right? If we get our perception of Israel from the news or from the media or from what other people say, it's very different than the experience that we can bring back after having seen and learned and tasted and smelled and experienced it on our own.

So for a teacher who may not necessarily teach Judaic studies or, you know, Limudei Kodesh or anything like that, they may not bring exact things that they've gotten out of their specific Israel experience into the classroom, but they will bring the perspective that they've gotten teaching in an Israeli school. They will bring the leadership training that they've gotten; they will bring their conflict resolution skills that they've got. They'll bring all of that back to the classroom. So it is definitely personal development because I think any experience of professional development is also personal development, and it is also professional development. Even if you don't necessarily teach Hebrew or teach, you know, religious studies, you will be able to bring back skills that you get and incorporate that into your classroom.

So in Israel, the impact that it's having on the schools there, is that we're seeing that students are improving their English communication skills, and they're also raising their confidence levels. We know how you're supposed to teach languages, and then we know how languages tend to be taught. And so for our students that we work with in Israel, who may or may not have English throughout the school year because there's a severe shortage of English teachers, the ones who do have English, a lot of times they learn English almost entirely in Hebrew, so their focus is really on writing and translating and reading and really have a lot of communication ability. So we're really changing that on the Israel side.

And then in terms of the teachers, I think our biggest demonstration of success is the fact that we grow our numbers every summer. We brought 150 teachers to Israel last summer, and we're looking to increase this summer as well. So I live in Charlotte, and there's another teacher in Charlotte, who was this close to quitting after the pandemic year, which was incredibly difficult for everyone, teachers are no exception, it's really hard. So following that she was like, “Okay, this is it, I can't do this anymore.” Somebody told her about TALMA. She went, did the program. And that really reinvigorated her.

Another teacher who is not Jewish works at a Jewish Day School at Brawerman in LA, and they said that it was literally the best experience that they have had, hands down.

Going to Israel also helps to bridge the gap when they come back to the school, that cultural gap between the American team and the Hebrew team, which is from Israel, and now they're starting to understand those cultural differences and see, you know, oh, they're not, you know, angry all the time. It's just a very lively culture, you know, starting to put those pieces together. So definitely, they're coming back feeling more committed to the classroom, which is a huge thing, because it really helps with retaining teachers, which we know is a challenge. And then also just bringing back those skills, you know, increased classroom management, being able to work with another teacher like they did in Israel and having that co-teaching relationship. So that definitely we see benefits to their home schools.

I think for teachers who are specifically working in that field is really helpful, because along with the professional development, we do want to provide them with opportunities to deepen their connection to Israel and to Jewish life. So we do a Kabbalat Shabbat with everyone there. And we also make sure that everything that we do, even though we're not a religious program, we are in Israel, we are a Zionist program, we have a lot of Jewish teachers from all over the spectrum. And we want to make sure everyone feels comfortable in their religious practice. So being in Israel and, you know, other places all over the country, they have the ability to deepen their connections and get involved with Jewish life and then continue that connection when they return home.

So many of us have done Birthright, right? And Birthright, it's fun. But it's also exhausting. Like, for 10 days, you're running up and down the country, you're never anywhere more than a couple of days. And so this is, like, good it is not Birthright; it's a different type of experience. But it's just great being able to be in Israel, among educators that are like-minded, that have the same passions, the same missions and goals as you, and really just being able to explore that and deepen your connection and understanding to a specific community as opposed to being, you know, running up and down the whole country. So I think just having that experience in Israel, in the summer, with all of the amazing food and sights and smells and all of that, and really being with folks that you can draw inspiration from and that you can inspire as well.

Sharon Freundel:

To find out more about this topic and other ways to catalyze radical improvement in Jewish Day Schools, please visit our website at JewishChallenge.org.