Imagine that you’re on a boat in the middle of the ocean in a thunderous storm. Waves are coming fast and furiously.  Water is splashing inside and out, and luckily you’re still afloat. There is no fast escape. How do you survive? What is the best strategy? Just hold on–and be as steadfast as you can. creative commons license You’re experiencing what it’s like to be a parent of an adolescent. I can relate to your worries, concerns, problems, and fears. You just need to hold o

You would think it would be easy to market a product that has intrinsic long-term value, is priced well, offers tremendous flexibility, is an intellectual challenge, offers social experiences and networking opportunities, and even looks good for college. You’d be wrong. Welcome to my world where marketing a great product  is a struggle. Here are just a few reasons why, with more to come in future posts: 1. The ‘point of sale’ is often at a synagogue Hebrew school, where we pr

Finding your path This year, thousands of high schoolers will be entering college. Sometimes I think they have things way too figured out, and am not sure whether that’s good or bad in the grand scheme of things. For example, I was interviewing an internship candidate who just completed her junior year in high school. I asked her what she thought she’d enjoy taking in college. Her response was not a version of: “I’m not sure yet” or “I haven’t given that much thought” or “I h

America’s into talent of all types, and we seem eager to watch, based on show ratings and tallies of millions calling in to vote for their favorites. This past Sunday we had a school talent show.  In what was a thoroughly enjoyable display of amateur ability we had singing, dancing, a fencing demonstration, quick sketching, a song parody, comedy, and dramatic readings.  What made this display of skill so energizing and exciting?   I think part of it was giving teens the oppor

credit: Mike D'Angelo How can we get our own students to love us the way their friends do? This past Purim, students were asked to bring friends to school to share in the festivities.  Out of over 200 students, only one brought his friends because he wanted them to experience a fun holiday like Purim. As it happened, his friends weren’t Jewish. As it also happened, they had a great time.  They loved being in a ‘unique, challenging, fun and educational place’ ! In a recent sma

That’s actually the opposite of the way I feel, but before I whine about how I’d like more parents involved in what their teens are doing at a Jewish supplementary school, I have to think about the messages they’re getting from the secular world about how much their presence is desired. How often are parents part of the picture at middle school? High School?  When my children were in elementary school, there were numerous ways to be involved: classroom parent, library aide, P

Image via Wikipedia A panel of teens expressed their opinions in a workshop at a Jewish educator’s conference in Philadelphia called “Understanding the Teenage Brain.” Who were they? These were teens already involved in post Bar/t mitzvah education, both in synagogue and community schools, which means they are committed to continuing their Jewish education. I asked them to talk honestly about what they want from their relationship with their teachers, and from their Jewish ed

It’s fascinating to think that these manufacturing terms, originally dealing with inventory, have been recrafted for the digital environment. They are getting another makeover in being re-envisioned for approaches to Jewish education. But then again, how far-fetched is it….we are in the business of ‘manufacturing’ committed Jews, aren’t we? Old school supplementary Jewish education for teens was based on the premise of “Just in case” i.e. let’s put everything in the pot: hebr