Nearly 40 faculty from area congregation religious school schools participated in a shared day of professional Jewish learning and networking last month.
Teachers took part in a workshop titled, “Social Emotional Learning in the Religious School Classroom: Competing Values in our Diverse Jewish Communities.”
The program took place at host Congregation Beth Shalom.
Guest presenter Rabbi Monica Kleinman, assistant director of programs at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, discussed the many backgrounds that learners come from and the diverse experiences they bring to the classroom, which can be a challenge when they ask questions that may not reflect the values or directives of institutions.
Rabbi Kleinman provided resources and tools for understanding learners’ experiences and addressed the values underlying their comments and questions.
This program was coordinated by area religious school education directors including Morgan Fasbinder (Congregation Beth Torah), Dayna Gershon (The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah), Shelley Hedrick (The New Reform Temple), Shelley Rissien (Kehilath Israel Synagogue), Civia White (Beth Shalom) and Annette Fish of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City.
This workshop is an annual effort of the Rabbinical Association and area congregation religious schools and funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.
