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Developing Jewish Educators: TALI Human Resource Development
The Challenge of Creating Qualified TALI Teachers
Despite the desire of many new and even veteran TALI school communities to expose their pupils to Jewish tradition, and to implement a Jewish studies curriculum, the staffs of their schools are incapable of doing so without external intervention. Few Israeli teachers have ever had any formal training in Jewish education, or any broad enrichment in Jewish studies. Some schools, if they have the means, hire "specialists" to teach Jewish subjects, but this strategy has often also left out key homeroom teachers and does not produce a whole-school environment critical to TALI Educational goals.
Moreover, "teaching our teachers" requires attention to the integration of Jewish tradition with the inclusive values of democratic society. Most "secular" teachers have little or no Jewish background, and require remedial Jewish study stressing values and experiences that nurture and strengthen, rather than threaten, their Jewish identities. Teachers who come from traditional homes (and were educated in Orthodox-State schools) often have the knowledge, but need to learn an approach to Jewish studies reflecting educational messages appropriate to mainly non-religious pupils.
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