92: Meaning-Mining with Your Students with Aviva Lauer

Aviva Lauer is the Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. She majored in Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women, and earned a Master’s degree in Midrash at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. Aviva is a Jewish educator with 25 years of experience in curriculum development, classroom teaching, school administration and educational consulting. Upon making Aliyah in 1996, Aviva developed formal and informal educational materials for Melitz and at the Leo Baeck Education Center, where she also gained experience in teaching pluralistic Judaism. She then served as the head of the department of Jewish Studies at Immanuel College, London. Working at the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators since 2009, Aviva has been a teaching coach, director of recruitment, director of the Summer Curriculum Workshop, and Assistant Director of PCJE before taking on her current role in 2017.

Gems:

• Reveal reasons for particular pasuk you like.
• Share your true self with your students that includes your passion, and an experience in your life and use that as the hook of starting a lesson.
• Be forthright with talking about G-d/Hashem.
• Tap into bringing G-d into your life.
• The earlier you start talking about G-d, the easier it is for when people get older.
• Chinuch is meaning-mining which is diving deep into the text and pulling it out.
• Walk alongside your students.
• Learn to see the text as if you’re seeing it with new eyes.
• Trust the process.
• The more you learn Torah, the more that you will know.
• Set yourself up for success by putting in the work at the right time.
• Our rituals serve us in so many different ways.

Book: In God's Name by Sandy Eissenberg Sasso

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