Alisa shares a new project with us:
Ben,
After teaching elementary Spanish w/CI for a few years, I could no longer tolerate the legacy modern Hebrew instruction my and other kids were getting at our local supplementary (temple-based) schools, so I embarked on a “re-imagining Modern Hebrew Instruction” project. I wrote a grant with the education director to retrain the Hebrew school faculty. I did that in August. Now I’m modeling classes at the temple, and will (hopefully) soon transition to coaching/mentoring. Response has been great.
The issues are a bit more complicated and convoluted since the venue isn’t a language class/school, but a synagogue based Hebrew class, though they’ve been awesome about giving me 100% academic freedom!
I explore much of it on the blog. Feel free to ask me questions and make me think, as y’all always do. Suffice to say the Hebrew reading piece is complex since many of the students don’t read Hebrew (yet). So establishing meaning with the word on the board, and reading (step 3) is hard. But I’m REALLY working the auditory input and shoring up right now, and I figure as long as there’s compelling CI going in, it’s all good.
This is why I’ve been absent from the PLC. Between the extra teaching and the blogging, I’m wiped out! On Wednesdays I teach 8 1st thru 4th grade elementary classes at school, and then run over to the temple and teach 3 more mixed 4th through 7th grade classes – straight til 6pm. I AM NOT COMPLAINING – it’s a joy to get kids excited about something they’d been writing off for years!! I hope CI spreads to Hebrew schools everywhere, though this will severely constrain many comedians.
(My brother – a podiatrist by trade – has like a 30 min set based on his 6th grade Hebrew school teacher…)
Wishing everyone a wonderful school year and hope to hear from you!
Alisa