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Adara B

The Jewish Week - 0 views

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    A special needs Jewish day school is in the works for NYC, would be the first pluralistic special education Jewish day school in the country. Not an inclusion model, but meets the needs of parents who prefer a program tailored for special education
Adara B

Keshet - A Rainbow of Hope for Individuals with Special Needs - 0 views

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    Chicago area Jewish special needs program: gives " educational, recreational, vocational and social programs "
Erin Hirsh

Going iPhone-less: Camps trying to ban gadgets while embracing technology | Jewish Tele... - 1 views

    • Erin Hirsh
       
      Why does screen time seem diametrically opposed to the values of camp? Is this a false dichotomy? What messages are camps like this communicating to children about technology? I wish we were searching for a way to help kids use screentime in moderation year-round . . . that would seem like a great gift to our children and community to me.
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    My children are all attending Camp Ramah in California and they are not allowed to use technology at camp either! (iPhones, cell phones, game bos, etc) They do have camper mail that parents email to the camp and the camp prints out. Their technological offerings are limited. This article does raise an interesting point. When we go camping as a family, we have ano technology rule as well. It is a time to connect as a family without the distractions of the outside world. Perhaps that is the goal of the summer camps as well. Thanks for posting this article!
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    I used to work at sleep away camp and I completely understand having the kids disconnect from technology for the summer, while at camp. If there is a serious issue, their counselors and the administration staff have direct contact with the camper's parents. Also, if they have access to a phone and a problem occurs with another camper, they will call home and complain to their parents and say they want to come home. By the time the parent reaches the camp and staff has had a chance to talk to the camper, the issue has been resolved already. This is especially true for middle school students who are constantly having "fights" with their friends. This has happened to me! Kol Ha'Kavod to the camps for not giving in to letting kids have electronics!
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    My two kids are at Ramah Outdoor Adventure in CO right now. I miss them so much. One more week. They have a similar policy. Now onto to the topic: I've also worked at camp before (Ramah and Camp Thunderbird) and we also didn't allow screens. The exception that Ramah makes though is for kids who have their bar and bat mitzvah training. They can use their screens for that. And they also told us the kids could have an MP3 player and listen to soft music if they needed to in order to fall asleep. It's very true that the phones would be abused at camp like mentioned above. I think I also could see the need to have like 12 IPads at camp for a special video making elective. It's not that the technology is inherently bad or something to always shy away from. For me, the technology ban is so the kids can connect with nature and not have anything holding them back like mentioned by Yvonne. Every year I lead a b'nai mitzvah camping trip at our Synagogue and I tell parents it's fine with me if the kids bring their screens, we just limit the time they can use them. But if it breaks, it's on them. One time a camper brought an expensive screen with them and it broke and I said oh well, that's what happens in the woods. While on the theme of screens: When my kids at home overstep their lines or are not the nicest to each other or whatever (they are really good kids), they get their screens taken away. We don't say no TV, because then they go to the IPad, or the computer, so we just say no screens period when they overstep. I do think this is an important topic though and but would like to see ways camp can integrate technology more. It's pretty cool I think that I can email my kids every day and look at pictures of them every day on photobucket. Thanks for the conversation!
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    Eliyahu, I am not sure how old your kids are, but we find it difficult to take away screens because our two oldest (15 and 17) have many of their school books, assignments, projects, etc on their tablets! It can become tricky. We do limit xbox, game time, movie time, etc, but the absolute no screen time becomes too difficult and therefore takes much more monitoring if they have overstepped the bounds!
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    Good point Yvonne. My kids are 12 and 8. As they get older, you're totally right that it really isn't realistic and hard to monitor. Saying no to every screen, especially if they have homework to do on it. That would be like shooting yourself in the foot and no one likes to do that! And even though screens are limited at camp, at least at ROA, the counselors can go to the staff lounge and log in when they have time at night to do so.
Eliyahu Krigel

Technology and Jewish Education - 0 views

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    This is a great article about integrating the smartboard into your lessons. We don't have smartboards at the Synagogue (not yet) but they have one at the day school and at the federation. I've taught some classes before for adult ed at the federation and for kids at the day school and using the smartboard is quiet an experience. It is so much fun and really is the future. Typical story though: We have this family who donated a smartboard to the school but then wanted the smartboard to be used in the same class as their daughter who will be in first. But the director want's to have the smartboard in fifth grade so it can maximize student learning. Plus, the first grade teacher doesn't know how to use it and doesn't really want to incoorporate it into her classroom experience. If you were the director, would you put the nicely donated smartboard where the donor wanted it to go in the first grade classroom with their child or use it in another classroom entirely because that's what would benefit the school? Or would you humbly say no thank you to the gift because it has strings attached?
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    I would let the donor know that it is best suited in the fifth grade class. However, anytime any teacher wants to use it, arrangements would be made so that they could use the smart board. That's what we did in our religious school. The classes that would most likely use the smart board received it in their room. But if a teacher was doing a special project or needed use of the smart board, the classrooms were switched so that someone else could use it if need be.
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    Makes good sense to me. Giving gifts with strings attached really complicates the matter and everybody loses in my experience.
ikatro23

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ceremony - 0 views

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    They say that no matter what happens, at the end of your wedding day the goal is to be married. I find the same to be true for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. At the end of the day you are a Jewish adult. You will be held to higher standards. It does not matter if you only have an aaliyah to the Torah or if you lead the whole thing. The point is you have reached adulthood in Judaism and you need to start acting like it.
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    You are a Jewish adult, then you go back to middle school! Seriously though, I really love myjewishlearning.com. I use it all the time for references and articles. The articles make a lot of sense and speak to a wide yet focused and community. I also appreciate how even though it keeps it serious, it remains consistent in its respectful approach to pluralism. In terms of the adult b'nai mitzvah, we have a class at the Synagogue for just this type of thing. We use Hineni Prayerbook Hebrew for Adults through Behrman House. People can take the class even if they don't schedule an actual adult bar or bat mitzvah. The ceremonies are really quiet special....it's never too late. And there's also the tradition of every 70 years having a bar or bat mitzvah which also has lots of potential. We all should live so long!
Michael Becker

Rosh Pina Cornerstone - 1 views

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    Rosh Pina is new Jewish organization, providing assistance & certification for schools and other Jewish institutions striving for inclusivity. (Full disclosure: the brilliant founder of said organization is my sister-in-law.)
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