Did you know that George Washington stood in Philadelphia
in July 2004 (yes, the date’s correct) and read
his 1790 letter to the Jewish congregation of Newport?
George—admittedly, a look-alike—was addressing the
25 master teachers participating in a two-day teacher
training seminar for Challenge and Change: History of
the Jews in America. The teachers, designated
“Feinstein Fellows,” were chosen by the Feinstein Center
for American Jewish History and the Auerbach
Central Agency for Jewish Education to be the first
members of an innovative three-year training program
funded by the Covenant Foundation.
The Feinstein Fellows come from seventeen states—
from California to Massachusetts—and represent all
four movements in Judaism. They were chosen from a
national applicant pool for their teaching experience,
innovative ideas, and intention to use Challenge and
Change in grades 7–9. Each Fellow received a stipend,
continuing education credits, and a grant to purchase textbooks.
All will become
“turnkeys” in
their own communities—
they will train
others to use the
Challenge and
Change materials.
Seminar leaders provided
an overview of
American Jewish history
and presented
teaching strategies,
including techniques
for collaborative
learning and for the
use of outside sources
such as the Tanach.
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A presentation by a descendent of the
early Philadelphia Jews not only enlivened
the program but illustrated how
using local resources can make lessons
more exciting.
This summer the group will return
to Philadelphia to recap the year’s
experiences and to learn how to use
the complete series (Book 2 was published
in December and Book 3, the
final volume, will be published in
April 2005). A new group of Fellows
will come on board too. The success
of the program is reflected in the
words of one participant: “Being
there at the ‘birth’ of the book and
being guided through its
rich variety of texts and
activities by two of the
authors is an outstanding
experience.”
Nancy Isserman is Associate
Director of the Feinstein
Center for American Jewish
History at Temple University.
For more information about becoming a
Feinstein Fellow or about teacher training
in your community, contact
isserman@temple.edu. Visit
www.behrmanhouse.com/cat/tbgs/68cac.shtml to learn more about
Challenge and Change.
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