The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators (PCJE) is hosting a conference for teachers on Teaching Tanakh in Jewish Day Schools, November 13-15, 2016 at the Pearlstone Retreat Center near Baltimore, MD. Over 40 day school educators will be convening, representing 27 day schools across North American communities and denominations; half of the participants are PCJE alumni. The conference offers a deep exploration of teaching Tanakh that will enhance classroom pedagogy, offer tools for developing and improving curriculum, and provide an opportunity to enrich knowledge and exposure to the wider field of Tanakh education, as well as Torah Lishma and professional inspiration in an immersive, inclusive Pardes learning environment.
Dr Judy Markose, Director of the PCJE commented in anticipation of the upcoming conference – The most passionate teachers must themselves be constantly enriched by the power of Tanakh so that they in turn can empower their young students to find meaning in the text. Bringing teachers from day schools across the US to a retreat setting to learn text together, re-imagine their curricula and reflect deeply on the impact of Tanakh in today’s Jewish Studies classrooms is a hallmark of the Pardes approach to learning and teaching.
Conference faculty include: Keynote speaker Dr. Susie Tanchel, Head of the Jewish Community Day School of Boston and Bible scholar; Evan Wolkenstein, Master teacher from the Jewish Community High School of the Bay; Naava Frank, consultant on teacher collaboration; PCJE faculty Dr. Judy Markose, Rachel Friedrichs, Aviva Golbert, Rabbi Michael Hattin and Dr. David Bernstein.
