CAJE Blog

The Roberta and Jerome Shevin Speaker Series was lovingly established in their memory by their son Adam R. Shevin and represents the areas of education Roberta and Jerome committed their lives and work to Holocaust Education, Jewish-Christian relations and Adult Jewish Learning. They believed deeply in the power of education as a unifying force and the topics of this series speak to that legacy.

Barbara is no stranger to CAJE and Federation, serving as a Past Chair of both organizations. As a member of Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, where her son Sammy went to day school, the mission of CAJE is one that is close to her heart. Barbara believes there is nothing more important than creating the next generation of Jews, and CAJE touches all ages and stages of Jewish life with all of its different programs.

In these strange times, CAJE is challenged to accomplish its goals even under difficult circumstances. One of those challenges is to help elderly Holocaust Survivors, who often are not well-versed in today’s technology, share their testimony with students via Zoom! As the Miami March of the Living (MOTL) embraces the educational changes we are faced with due to the pandemic, so do our beloved Survivors, who are still trying to make sure that future generations continue to be their voice.

Whether you are having a seder involving early childhood, elementary, middle, high school students or empty nesters, or any combination thereof, making your seder interesting and interactive is a worthy and attainable goal. All you need is some inspiration, motivation, and time to prepare.

The last one [aspects that need improvement in the day school system] that I'll talk about is the pipeline of educators for Jewish Day schools. There is clearly pandemic fatigue across the board. I'm sure that we all feel it. I know it's difficult to come to another Zoom. The pandemic fatigue is very real and it has raised the conversation about mental health and wellness in schools, now even more important than it had been before. Mental health and wellness was a topic of conversation before the pandemic; and now, we have heard more conversations about anxiety among students particularly in the high school level.

There's been so much loss and trauma that will follow us as we slowly move out of the pandemic but I think that there is a collective sense of optimism about Jewish day schools right now. I would like to focus on three particular areas and to give a quick overview of what we're seeing from the national perspective at Prizmah. They are the value proposition of schools, collaboration and coordination on the community level, and the pipeline of educators for Jewish day schools.

It has been a rewarding year for the Department of Adult Learning & Growth/ Melton & More even in the midst of uncertainty, and our classes have been a powerful constant for our community of learners who are inspired by the richness of the learning experience.

The education world has experienced change over the past year in unprecedented and deep ways. In education, we often talk about how we are called upon to metaphorically drive the bus while changing the tires, looking under the hood and getting people on and off safely. This holds true during the pandemic more than ever.