Education principles can be formulated after answering the questions like ‘What kind of people do we want to be?’, ‘What constitutes an educated individual today?’, and ‘Does education make us smarter in different areas of life?’. And when it comes to Jewish education, the key role in teaching and learning is played by values. So let’s consider the core values underlying Jewish learning.
1.School is the place for hard work
Learning shouldn’t be easy. On the contrary, this process must be a challenging experience that requires efforts. Students must commit themselves to responsibility and discipline to achieve great results. For Jews, school is not a passive place in which teachers give lectures and students absorb information, but a place where everyone is expected to contribute. One of the main goals of learning is to lead into the realm of imagination and curiosity.
2.Love and respect for others
Sometimes students fail to express themselves because they don’t feel valued. Therefore, education should be based on friendships rooted deeply in the ability to see the world through the eyes of others. The Jews should believe that they can learn from each other and reshape the world through mutual understanding. The education process is a school of individual differences, wherein people not only respect the feelings of others but try to understand them. They should learn the specific languages in which people frame their ideas depending on their socio-economic perspectives. A commitment to equality helps tutors become not only intellectual and emotional role models, but people with whom students feel comfortable expressing themselves.
3.Respect for environment and property
The Jewish education system must be against the waste of resources. Students should be challenged to consider the impact of their behavior on the world around them. Thus, some programs focusing on issues of recycling and ecological concern must be implemented. Schools should manifest environmental awareness to develop an ethic of ecological sensitivity.
4.Integrity
Honesty is also a key value of Jewish education. The study process must be fair and transparent to ensure the high quality of learning. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited in Jewish schools as it doesn’t contribute to academic success. Students should check the works they submit properly to avoid problems with tutors and not to put their reputation at a risk. If you want to make sure that your work is original, you can use Edubirdie’s plagiarism checker which is an online software that identifies content uniqueness. A plagiarism checker is an effective tool to avoid copying someone’s essays or assignments unintentionally. Making sure that your ideas are innovative is a necessary step towards academic success and maintaining the highest degree of honor.
5.Being a part of your community
Forming subgroups is inevitable for students who tend to divide by gender, views, and other characteristics. The highest goal of school must be to help students engage in a wider circle of friends. To do that, students should be taught how to treat and understand people who are different from themselves. The education process should bring shared values that can serve as a bridge between different subgroups. Students must become sensitive to questions of communal responsibility, commitments, human rights, and democracy.
6.Transforming students into teachers
Making teachers out of peers can help them develop more responsibility and leadership skills. Students should be asked to teach each other in order to promote collaboration and mutual respect.
7.Sharing knowledge
Sharing knowledge and experience with others is an important part of any education as we don’t exist isolated. Jewish education should strive for perfection and create an atmosphere that will allow the surrounding community to look at school with pride. Once the high standards are accomplished, Jewish community should commit to bring value to others and serve as a common ground in times of socio-economic difficulties or crisis. Public programs, educational projects, and different social actions can shape the surrounding environment and improve society.
8.Getting benefits from criticism
Doubting can bring benefits, so there must be critics in school communities. However, the criticism must be tuned gently and not to be offensive. It must be intended to enhance life by improving different aspects of the education process.
All in all, Jewish schools should be committed to binding people despite their intellectual pluralism. They must allow students to discuss anything they are interested in and be involved in exploration of different subjects. Implementing the set of values described above can promote growth and improvement of Jewish education.
Author’s BIO
Vendy Adams is an academic coach and writer. He helps students who learn Judaism to gain new knowledge efficiently and acquire needed skills faster. In his articles, Vendy emphasizes the importance of spiritual development in the education process.
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