20-22 March 2016 Budapest The fourth professional development seminar for teachers in European Jewish schools

Transcription

1 20-22 March 2016 Budapest The fourth professional development seminar for teachers in European Jewish schools

2 Centropa is a serious organization with a huge database of memories from the Jewish communities of Europe. The movies that were created from this database are definitely different than material produced by other educational organizations. Also, the opportunity provided by Centropa to cooperate with teachers from different countries is unique. Karen Ettinger Project Manager for Education National Library of Israel Table of content Introduction and executive summary... 3 Our fourth international Seminar: what our goals were, what we accomplished... 4 What this seminar taught us... 6 Seven take-away quotes... 6 List of participants... 7 About the schools CJN student competitions Centropa films and lesson plans Exchanging curriculum and border-jumping projects Guest lecturers Budget Program

3 Introduction and executive summary As odd as it sounds to those not working in education, teaching can be a fairly lonely profession. Teachers have relations with their students, of course, and they chat with colleagues during breaks. But there are usually few opportunities for teachers to share best practices with each other, brainstorm, and work together on finding practical solutions to the problems they all face. And before 2012, if you were teaching in a European Jewish school let s say in Sofia, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Kiev or Berlin neither you nor your students had much or any contact with teachers and students in other European Jewish schools. There are now twenty-six Central Eastern European Jewish schools that didn t even exist before the fall of Communism in 1989 and 1991, and while these institutions have done a remarkable job of building themselves literally from the ground up in many cases there has been a lack of cross-border, pan-european professional development programs for teachers. The only exception was Arachim, a network for school directors initiated by JDC and ECJC. CJN the Centropa Jewish Network of European Schools was formed in 2011 to address this deficit for classroom teachers, and from the beginning our goals have been to: develop meaningful content that speaks to today s European Jewish students; create a platform and forum so their teachers can meet at least once each year to share the programs that work best with their students. By creating, developing, and expanding this network, we accomplish three extremely important objectives: we empower teachers to develop lessons they know will work for them and the students they face everyday, in Jewish schools from Istanbul to Tallinn, from Manchester to Kiev; through Centropa s online database of stories and films, students get to know Jewish stories from other European Jewish communities, and they use social media to jump into contact with each other; by creating a forum that nurtures a peer-to-peer network, teachers draw on each others strengths and experiences, forming a more cohesive bond among Europe s Jewish educational institutions. That means, in essence, we are building sustainability, because once our teachers and students are working together, they want to stay in touch and since 99.9% of them are on social media we give them the tools, the content, and the platform to stay connected to Jewish history, and with each other. Thank you for reading this report and please be in touch should you have any questions. Sincerely, Marcell Kenesei Director Centropa Jewish Network 3

4 Our fourth international Seminar: what our goals were, what we accomplished From the 20th to the 22nd of March, 2016, 34 educators from 20 Jewish schools and educational institutions in 16 countries attended at our seminar in Budapest. The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ) hosted us, and for a conference room we were given the spectacularly ornate late 19 th century board room of the building, surely one of the most beautiful Jewish community meeting rooms on the continent. Aside from what our teachers studied and worked on together, and which we discuss in detail below, there were three new developments we would like to describe. We held a walking tour of Jewish Budapest, where our teachers came in close contact with what had been one of the greatest Jewish communities of Europe. They toured magnificent synagogues, engaged with historians, and heard about the horrors of the wartime Budapest ghetto. They also met community members and leaders, and learned something about the largest Jewish community on the continent excluding France. 4

5 We also offered two engaging discussions with CJN s partner organizations. Mariano Schlimovich, program director of the Arachim program of JDC and the European Council of Jewish Communities, spoke of creating ever-tighter bonds between school directors and the teachers in the Centropa network. And Karen Ettinger, Project Manager for Education at the National Library of Israel, spent time with our participants, explaining how to use NLI s growing online database of images, photos and documents. Centropa seminar participants were invited to a private lunch hosted by the Minister of Human Resources (Culture, Education, Religion), Zoltán Balog (above left). Minister Balog has been following Centropa s methodology with oral histories (collecting family pictures along with the stories that go with them) since The Minister also spoke positively of Centropa s approach to empowering teachers through a peer-to-peer network, providing a platform where they can share best practices, and organize cooperation projects between educational institutions nationally and internationally alike. Indeed, we immediately arranged a further discussion with Minister Balog on how Centropa s Budapest team can work more closely with teachers who work in Roma schools in rural eastern Hungary. The host of our seminar, Andras Heisler, President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (above, right) also spoke at our lunch, and he can be justifiably proud of the fact that there are now three Jewish day schools in Budapest that see over a thousand students daily. 5

6 What this seminar taught us During the two and a half days we spent together, our participants collaboratively created crossborder projects, exchanged ideas and best practices, created lesson plans based on Centropa films and our web-based content, and also brainstormed how to strengthen European Jewish identity by connecting Jewish students with each other. Having both veteran (18) and new (16) teachers working side by side, our veterans presented classroom-tested CJN projects to those just getting acquainted with us. Apart from giving new teachers the confidence to carry out these programs, this seminar gave participants the chance to engage with each other and form new partnerships. After our seminars, we always ask our teachers to fill out an online evaluation survey to share their ideas, suggestions, and thoughts. The most salient findings we learned after this seminar: 85% found it very or to some extent useful exchanging information about their own curriculum; 63% indicated that they are very interested in attending the Centropa Summer Academy and 26% said they might be interested; Among those who attended the program, all of them found working on border-jumping projects useful to some extent; All teachers agreed to start working on at least one of the historical/cultural projects with their students. Seven take-away quotes This is my first time at seminar for teachers working in European Jewish schools, and this is a very good platform to get know other teachers from different countries and to find and develop educational resources that work for us. Sami Levi Ulus Jewish School Istanbul Centropa provides a great platform for building networks within the Jewish context. It's like one of the participants said: it's like a market place. You can shop around for what you need for making your lessons and projects at school more exciting. Dorothea Imre-Fecske I.E. Lichtigfeld Schule Frankfurt Centropa speaks about the past and faces the future. I appreciate your idea that every single word, detail, or personality is as important as the destiny of the whole country because you tell history through individual stories. It is very important to speak about history using today s vernacular with students. Svetlana Kutuzova Name of school 6

7 Saint Petersburg Centropa is a powerful educational platform that gives every participant an opportunity to broaden their outlook on history and culture; to develop new ideas for working with Centropa resources, and making learning more engaging. You also bring us together to find partners for further cooperation. Svitlana Sakivska Name of school Kiev [There are] many possibilities for deepening the identity development of students by means of the Centropa archives and the possibility to cooperate/exchange our own school experience with other schools or educational institutes. Asjer de Bruin from Amsterdam Maimonides School Amsterdam It s level of professionalism, energy-giving strength and knowledge for further fruitful work at the school, and the opportunity to rethink the complex facts in the history of the world. Maryna Pysanets Educational Complex No. 141 ORT Kiev Your rich archive of primary sources and photos combined with interviews is a great resource for doing deeper work. Your personal films, which are so touching, are useful in many ways. To be honest, I had not realised just how many rich resources you provide. This time I found myself being present in another way than last time because other classroom teachers were showing me the lessons that work for them. And I am eager to start working tomorrow. Peppe Freud Vasa Real Stockholm List of participants This year, 20 European Jewish Schools and educational institutions were represented. The majority of the participants teach in middle or high school, but we also had elementary school teachers, as well as educators from community centres. 16 participants were new and 18 already participated at one of the Centropa Seminars, and the participants teach the following Jewish and religious studies ten History ten English ten Hebrew five informal educator - one 7

8 Name School Country Subject taught Dimitar Dimitrov Lauder ORT School Bulgaria English Ana Sesar Lauder Hugo Kon Croatia Elementary school teacher Zvonimir Maric Lauder Hugo Kon Croatia History Katerina Weberowá Lauder School of Prague Czech Republic Jewish and religious studies, Hebrew Irina Poláková Lauder School of Czech Republic History, literature Prague Julia Larsson Jewish School of Finland Elementary school teacher Helsinki Jewish School of Helsinki Daniel Weintraub Finland History, Jewish and religious studies, social studies, economics Gabriele Schlüter Lauder Beth Zion Germany (Berlin) Elementary school teacher, economics, politics Margarita Krasnovskaja Lauder Beth Zion Germany (Berlin) Elementary school teacher, art Roni Zuntz Moses Mendelssohn Germany (Berlin) Hebrew Dorothea Imre- Fecske I.E. Lichtigfeld Schule Germany (Frankfurt) Movies, art projects, elementary school teacher Stella Kalle Jewish School of Thessaloniki Greece History, elementary school teacher Zsolt Mártha Scheiber Sándor Hungary English, history School Tamás Domonkos Scheiber Sándor Hungary History, literature, English School Ági Fenyő Lauder Javne School Hungary Hebrew Cili Horváth Lauder Javne School Hungary History, cooking Csilla Hajnal-Smith Lauder Javne School Hungary Social studies, English Eszter Régner Lauder Javne School Hungary Hebrew, Jewish studies Szilvia Temesvári Lauder Javne School Hungary Jewish studies Vilma Nádasdy American Hungary English Endowment School Pál Németh American Endowment School Hungary Music, elementary school teacher Sofia Pavinskaite Scholom Aleichem Lithuania History, art 8

9 School Galina Cargher International Center of training and professional Moldova Jewish studies and religious studies, Jewish ethics, English development Alexandra International Center Moldova Jewish studies Safranova of training and professional development Asjer de Bruin JSG Maimonides School Netherlands Jewish studies and religious studies Alexandra Nycz Lauder Morasha Poland Literature School Joanna Czopnik Lauder Morasha Poland Jewish and religious studies School Diana Gherasimius Lauder-Reut Romania History Educational Complex Svetlana Kutuzova 550 ORT School Russia English, history Irina Georgieva 550 ORT School Russia Literature, English Frederik Freud Vasa Real Sweden Hebrew, Yiddish, Jewish and religious studies Sami Levi Ulus Jewish School Turkey Jewish and religious studies Maryna Pysanets Educational Complex Ukraine English 141 "ORT" Svitlana Sakivska Educational Complex 141 "ORT" Ukraine English Figure 1. The proportion of teachers teaching different grades (31 answers, multiple choice) 9

10 About the schools Our partner schools Country (city) Type of school Number of pupils Number of teachers Year of establishment Educational Complex #141 ORT Ukraine (Kiev) All ages Isaac Emil Lichtigfeld School Germany (Frankfurt) All ages /1966 Jewish Primary School Talmud Greece (Thessaloniki) Elementary Torah Ha gadol Jewish School of Helsinki Finland (Helsinki) All ages Lauder Beth Zion Germany (Berlin) All ages Lauder Hugo Kon Croatia (Zagreb) Elementary Lauder Javne School Hungary (Budapest) All ages Lauder Morasha School Poland (Warsaw) All ages Lauder ORT School Bulgaria (Sofia) All ages /1996 Lauder-Reut Educational Complex Romania (Bucharest) All ages Lauder School in Prague Czech Republic (Prague) All ages 220 n.a Maimonides School The Netherlands (Amsterdam) High school Moses Mendelssohn Jewish Germany (Berlin) High school /1993 School Scheiber Sándor High School Hungary (Budapest) All ages /1990 Scholom Aleichem ORT Lithuania (Vilnius) All ages School 550 World ORT Russia (Saint Petersburg) All ages Ulus Jewish High School Turkey (Istanbul) All ages Vasa Real Sweden (Stockholm) Elementary 811 n.a. 1927

11 CJN student competitions This year CJN announced for the first time a student competition where students can choose one project out of the four options (virtual walking tour, family story, cookbook, and school tableau). Students can apply from Europe, the US, and Israel and the best three (the winner plus the runner-ups) will receive prizes. As we would like to continue with this idea, we asked our coordinators of each project to make a presentation at the seminar to encourage the teachers to apply in the coming years, and teachers who already did these projects with their students also presented. We asked the teachers to what extent they found these projects useful. One of the main goals of the seminars was to encourage teachers to continue or to start working on projects; as we can see from Figure 2, the Seminar reached this goal. (All teachers indicated they think at least one project is a good idea they will try with their students.) Figure 2. We had Centropa veteran teachers show their video projects. Did you find it useful? (27 answers, multiple choice)

12 Centropa films and lesson plans During our seminars, we share our database with teachers. Centropa films are not only rich in information but most of them are also short enough to fit into a typical classroom session. Having shown four Centropa films during the seminar, our aim was to encourage teachers to use one or two. As the seminar took place in Budapest, we decided to show two of our best (and most popular) Hungarian films and we showed two movies with Sephardic background something a great many of our teachers (and their students) know nothing about. From Figure 3 it is clear that most of them will be used throughout Europe by the participants. Figure 3. Among the films we showed, which one or ones will you use in your class? (27 answers, multiple choice) One of the reasons I like Centropa and its resources is because they welcome ideas like tolerance, hope, survival, and they do not only focus on the horrors of the Holocaust. I was THRILLED with the Jewish-Muslim-Christian story. Diana Gherasimiuc from Bucharest Lauder-Reut Educational Complex. It is a great movie to show to kids to talk not only about history. But also about personality and the importance of having strong values, belief in what you do no matter what the circumstances are. Also, it is about a person's choice and sacrifice. This film has many sides to work on in the class. Sofia Pavinskaite from Sholom Aleichem School. 12

13 It is a family story, filled with very warm and natural senses. I like it and could use in the classroom. Svetlana Sakivska from Educational Complex No. 141 ORT. Very touching and there are many points that even non-jewish students in my class can relate to different nationalities, religions, handicapped father etc. Katerina Weberová from Lauder School in Prague. To place the Hungarian films in a context, we took our teachers on a tour (guided by Haver Foundation) to the Jewish ghetto. And after screening the films we invited one of the Holocaustsurvivors shown in the film so that the teachers could ask questions. Both programs were highly successful. While participants unanimously rated the tour as very interesting, only half found the discussion very interesting, while half indicated mildly interesting, possibly because it was a late evening and everyone was tired. Apart from these leisure activities, we usually connect the films to lesson planning. Attendees were divided into groups by the subjects they teach: English, Hebrew, elementary school teachers, Jewish & Religious Studies, and History. By the end of the seminar, two lesson plans were finalized and submitted to us; the other three are not yet finalized. 13

14 Figure 4. After the films, we divided you into groups to work on a lesson plan. To what extent did you find it useful? (27 answers) Usefulness of working on a lesson plan 30% 7% 4% 59% Absolutely To some extent Not at all I wasn't there Exchanging curriculum and border-jumping projects For the first time, before working together on border-jumping projects, we gave our participants time to discuss their school curriculum in groups, divided by the subjects they teach. It is easier to create projects if they know what they teach, to which grade, etc. We asked them how much they found this exercise useful. As we can see from Figure 5, this new feature (exchanging curriculum) at the seminar was a success - creating dialogue on a curricular level enhances the connections between the teachers and the more they collaborate, the more there is unity between the communities, in the sense that Jewish students in different countries are learning the same curriculum. Moreover, the participants were very interested in creating cross-border projects with the students. This was supported by the fact that 63% of the teachers expressed interest in participating in Centropa s biggest annual event: our Summer Academy. This year, our 10 th Summer Academy, will take place in Vienna, Prague and Berlin, and teachers expressed interest in having more opportunities to work together with teachers from other countries. Figure 5: You also worked in smaller groups to share information of your curriculum. Did you find it useful? (27 answers) 14

15 Guest lecturers Teachers love learning, and at each of our seminars we invite experts in a variety of fields to share their expertise with our participants. This year, as stated in our introduction, we invited Karen Ettinger, educational director of the National Library of Israel, and Mariano Schlimovich from the European Council of Jewish Communities. Karen gave a presentation on how to use NLI resources in classes and shared educational ideas about the use of primary sources in education. Mariano talked about Arachim, which is a trying to create synergies between Jewish schools by organizing conferences, and creating meeting opportunities for principals. Centropa and Arachim have similar goals and we are now creating a strategic partnership that includes sharing networks, ideas on how to motivate and engage students in an educationally meaningful way, proven projects that connect students internationally, and organizing joint events. Figure 6: We had two guest lecturers. To what extent did you find the lecture of Mariano and Karen useful? (27 answers) 15

16 Budget CJN Seminar EUR USD Travel Participants Centropa staff (inlcuding prep. travels) Subtotal Hotel rooms Participants Centropa staff Guest lecturers Subtotal Meals Sandwich lunch (1st day) Dinner (1st day) Tuesday lunch (3rd day) Kosher meals Coffee breaks Gala lunch Subtotal Confernece room incl. personell Seminar materials, USB sticks Photographer Personnel costs Marcell Kenesei, director of CJN Ráchel Surányi, coordinator Edward Serotta, Founding director of Centropa Ouriel Morgensztern, Tech director Veronika Doppelreiter, Accountant Subtotal Total

17 Program Day 1 Sunday Morning - Arrivals 12:00-13:00 Registration (handing out welcome packages) with sandwich lunch 13:00-14:30 - Introduction Welcome by MAZSIHISZ - the Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Congregations Welcome by Centropa (Edward Serotta and Marcell Kenesei) o Introducing Centropa and the Centropa Jewish Network o Showing the Centropa website Ice breakers for: o Getting to know each other personally o Getting to know each other s schools 14:30-15:00 Coffee break 15:00-16:30 About CJN competition - student competition based on projects that were developed in the frameworks of the CJN Coordinators present their projects (TBA) 4 teachers, one from each category present their project outcomes (TBA) 16:30-17:00 Centropa - Sephardic stories A Turkish-Jewish Muslim Tale - Guler Orgun (16min) In the traditional Ladino language of her Sephardic Jewish ancestors, Güler Orgun tells us how her family found a new home in the Ottoman Empire after being expelled from Spain in the late 15th century. We learn why her parents converted to Islam, and how Güler herself later came to find her Jewish roots again - before she married a Muslim man Three Promises, the Kalefs of Belgrade (18min) The Kalefs were one of the Belgrade's oldest families, tracing their roots back more than 300 years. Then the Nazis swept into Serbia in While scores of relatives were being shot and gassed, Dona Bat Kalef fled with her two daughters, Breda and Matilda, to a Catholic church in Banovo Brdo. "Can you protect us?" she asked the priest. Father Andrej Tumpej did indeed save Dona and her daughters, and this film tells their story. 17:30-18:30 (19:00) working on lesson plans in small groups Free evening Day 2 Monday 9:00-9:30 Presenting lesson plans in small groups 9:30-11:00 Presentation and workshop by Karen Ettinger from the National Library of Israel. Educational resources and useful ideas for teachers. The National Library of Israel offers a variety of services to the public. Many of these services, such as the use of commercial databases and reference books in the reading rooms, as well as guided tours of the library do not require payment or registration. Along with services offered on the premises, the Digital Library and the Department of Music Website offer thousands of items online, free of charge. See more at: 17

18 11:00-11:30 Coffee break 11:30-13:00 Team work by subjects on curriculum (to get to know each other & work on crossborder projects, and the possibilities for cooperation) 13:00-14:00 Gala lunch with invited guests 14:00-15:00 Continue planning cross-border projects 15:00-16:30 Guided tour in the Jewish district of Budapest by volunteer educators of Haver Jewish Informal Educational Foundation (in 2 groups) A non-profit organization established in 2002, Haver Foundation stands with individuals and educational organizations and institutions mostly high schools and universities to promote a diverse and inclusive society in Hungary. Haver works to combat prejudice and discrimination and to promote social cohesion through dialogue, training, education, and advocacy. They aim to start an open and honest discussion and dialog between Jews and non-jews that leads to tolerance and common understanding. It is essential to give special attention to the colourful modern Jewish life of the 21 st century. Therefore, Centropa works closely with Haver. See more: 16:30-17:00 Coffee break 17:00-17:30 Centropa films Eastern Europe The Mayor Who Worked in Hell, the story of Miksa Domonkos (17 min) A story from Hungary unlike any other in our collection. Miksa Domonkos was a decorated soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Army in the First World War. During the Second World War, he acted as the de facto mayor of the infamous Budapest ghetto, bringing in food and medicine to save lives, and working closely with Raoul Wallenberg to protect even more. In the 1950s, the Communist secret police arrested Miksa Domonkos and accused him of murdering Wallenberg. A story of remarkable bravery, and of tragedy. Love on a Paper Airplane, the story of Judit Kinszki (5 min) Judit takes us back to the early days of the 20th century. The Kinszkis were upper-middleclass, highly educated, and hardly observed Jewish traditions at all. The Gardonyis were a lower middle class family determined to secure good careers for their children and religiously observant. When Imre Kinszki announced that he wanted to marry Ilona Gardonyi, his family had her fired from her job! Which is all it took for Imre to hunt her down and propose marriage on the spot. 17:30-18:30 Discussion with Centropa interviewee Judit Kinszki Free evening Day 3 Tuesday 9:00-10:00 Project presentations - groups give feedback 10:00-11:00 Workshop on Arachim, conference for Jewish educators, by Mariano Schlimovich, director of programmes at the European Council of Jewish Communities Arachim is the European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC) flagship education event. Organized in conjunction with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a biannual Conference 18

19 for key people dealing with Jewish formal education from across Europe, Arachim became the space where participants get inspiration, learn about new trends and new programs, and have the opportunity to exchange and start building common and regional programs. See more: 11:00-11:30 Coffee break 11:30-13:00 Feedback (discussion + filling out surveymonkey) 13:00-14:00 Lunch 14:00-16:00 Optional program offered by Centropa (TBA) Departure 19