It’s 10.30aM, which means that it’s time for my children’s Hebrew class. The two youngest jump on Zoom, where they “meet” 20 or 30 other kids — mostly strangers. Before long, they’re discussing their favourite foods in Hebrew. Sadly, most kids cite “pizza” and “pasta”, which doesn’t exactly increase their vocabulary because the words are identical in both languages. But the teacher still manages to sneak in “chicken”, “ice cream” and some other essential kiddie foodstuffs —plus a review of the previous day’s material.
This lockdown class is engaging and lively. And my kids are (mostly) excited to turn up daily. But it isn’t run by a school — it’s run by the UJIA in partnership with the Jewish Agency.
It’s a great example of just how well teaching can be done when it moves online. It also shows how our kids can genuinely (and voluntarily!) be engaged by Jewish education, outside the formal classroom.
And it begs the question: Since Coronavirus has forced practically every business to re-imagine itself, and forced shuls to re-imagine prayer services and Jewish lifecycle events, perhaps this is a good opportunity to re-imagine Jewish education?
The model I’d like to see come to Jewish life is an American website called Outschool.com, which has transformed my primary school-age children’s lockdown experience.
This user-friendly platform (which I gather was mostly used by home-schoolers before the Coronavirus crisis hit) allows teachers to offer live, virtual classes on any subject. “Learners” register in advance for a fee, which seems to range from around $6-$20 (£4.80-£16) for a single class to around $40-$70 (£32.50-£57) for a series. During the COVID-19 crisis, some classes are also offered for free.
The teachers, who are background-checked, guide the children through activities, presentations and discussions, sometimes sharing class material or worksheets in advance.
The beauty of this site is that there are hundreds of classes, covering every imaginable subject. It’s almost like Netflix for learning. And since this is a marketplace, there is plenty of creativity.
My kids, for example, have taken a “tour” of Rome, explored Greek mythology, learned to do magic tricks, participated in an improv session, used a ‘virtual escape room’ to learn maths, talked to a former zoo keeper about “animals that sting” and been introduced to the periodic table. And by the time you read this column, one untidy child will have taken a class on tricks to keep their room more organised (actually a series of two classes — though I suspect it will take many more!).
As parents can rate every class, the very best ones are soon over-subscribed, allowing teachers to earn extra income and children to broaden their education.
I only wish such a resource existed, and was widely used, in the Jewish world.
Many of our schools offer fantastic Jewish educations, to be sure. But this format encourages children to follow their own interests rather than a set curriculum. And they can explore quirky subjects which will never appear on a formal curriculum. Given how tricky it can be to get children truly engaged in their Jewish identities in a classroom setting, this can be a valuable supplement.
Such a platform gives children everywhere access to great teachers from around the world. Again, children in our UK system are mostly taught by wonderful JS educators. But not all children go to Jewish schools — and not every Jewish school around the world can have the top teachers. Since our very continuity is at stake, why not help every child get access to talent?
Lastly, because classes are interactive, there’s also an opportunity to get to know children from other places, particularly on the longer courses. It’s fun on Outschool but on a Jewish platform, imagine the value of getting kids from different diaspora communities — or even Israel and the diaspora — routinely exploring Jewish history, philosophy, politics, theology or culture together online. It could be paradigm-changing.
The concept is not altogether new. There are some excellent programmes offering kids online Jewish learning, including JetsIsrael.com, Bar Ilan’s Lookstein Center, iTalAm and — not least — Chabad’s online education programme for the children of its emissaries, which probably serves thousands. But the majority of these programmes are run through schools, are not the choose-your-own-adventure, free-market model I’ve just described, or are costly.
Coronavirus has spurred innovation, revolution and online adoption in practically every industry. As Zoom learning and working becomes normalised, perhaps it can turbo-charge online Jewish education as well?
