Jewish educators from abroad and their Israeli colleagues agree that the key to successful Hebrew teaching in the diaspora is the “mind set” of the student, not finding the right textbook. In fact they are convinced that the “perfect textbook” would not solve their problems.
Those points were made by Israeli and overseas teachers attending the Jewish Educators Consultation convened by the Jewish Agency’s Education Committee here a week ago. There were more than 100 participants, including 65 educators from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia, Spain, Argentina and Colombia. The Consultation was co-chaired by Prof. Seymour Fox, senior consultant to the Committee, and Haim Zohar, Secretary General of the World Zionist Organization.
Dr. Yaacov Braverman, head of Talmud Torah Schools in Montreal, observed that the goal of the Hebrew educator in the diaspora should be teaching children not to relate to Hebrew as a foreign language. He said with respect to his own pupils that they are tri-lingual, as conversant in Hebrew as they are in English and in French which is the official language of Quebec.
The foreign participants in the Consultation represented the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform trends of Judaism and secularist outlooks. They were joined by some 35 Israelis, including WZO officials who deal with diaspora affairs, officials from the Education Ministry and lecturers from Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University and Bar Ilan University.
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