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What do we teach |
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"Teach them diligently to your children..." Deut. 6:7 It is said that knowledge is power. Perhaps a more accurate formulation of this axiom is that knowledge is empowerment. With a Jewish education, an individual is empowered to claim his or her Jewish identity and make it meaningful and relevant to his or her life. Beth Chaverim’s mission statement encapsulates the importance of Jewish education; indeed we recognize that it alone is the means to developing a meaningful Jewish identity. Jewish education is the key ingredient of Jewish continuity, as one generation passes on its wisdom to the next. Beth Chaverim is proud to create an environment for the honest questioning of life's essential issues. There are no unthinkable thoughts nor any unaskable questions. Only in this way can we hope that our children eventually will become freethinking individuals who affirmatively take ownership of their Jewish identity. It is appropriate to identify what we teach at Beth Chaverim, and the rationale for the curriculum offered. All our students will learn about the Jewish holidays as they occur over the course of the liturgical calendar. They will learn what our tradition offers in terms of observance and celebration in general, and how Beth Chaverim Humanistic Jewish Community celebrates them in particular. It is one of the wonders of Judaism that there is no single way to be Jewish. There is a full rainbow of Judaism, and we are but a small part of the arc. In addition, particular grade levels have unique curricular agendas. Our primary students are on a three-year curricular rotation to cover kindergarten and first and second grades. The curriculum includes Bible stories, Jewish identity, and mitzvot or good deeds as they learn to become good people by being the youngest participants in tikkun olam or repairing the world and making it a better place. They learn about the Jewish holidays throughout as well. Our third and fourth grade students study Jewish heroes and history. Jewish children need a cultural literacy about their heritage, and role models to whom they can look when confronted with difficult issues in their lives. A hero is not an idol, and nor simply someone who is outstanding in his or her field. Rather a true hero is someone who has overcome an obstacle to succeed, set an important moral or ethical example, or led his or her community in a different and better direction. In the alternate year, these students study the Jewish life cycle from birth to death and Jewish literature, including the Bible, Talmud, midrash and contemporary stories. Fifth and sixth grade students focus on Israel, both in historic and modern times. They learn the significance of the Land of Israel to the Jewish people, and come to understand the complex issues facing the Middle East today. In the alternate year, this class studies immigration, Eastern European Jewry and Yiddish culture. Seventh and eighth grade students will be privileged to have a full year of Holocaust studies unparalleled in any supplemental school in the Chicago area. Finally, ninth grade students study ethics in a class leading to confirmation.
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