TEL AVIV — Students at the Max Fein Vocational High School in Tel Aviv are used to overcoming challenges. The school long has been known as a place where students who have fallen through the cracks in Israel’s state educational system — whether due to trauma, family problems, mental health struggles or socioeconomic hardship — […]
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NEW YORK — When Rachel Dahari went back to school in September to get a master’s degree in social work, she didn’t think the excitement around generative AI would be relevant to her education. That quickly changed when she began to learn about the many ways AI was being used at her school. Social work […]
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TEL AVIV — When A. moved from Florida to Israel after high school and began his mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces, he knew it would be challenging to serve in a combat unit far from his family. “Combat service has been very difficult,” said A., whose name is being withheld to protect his […]
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RAMLE, Israel — In the heart of the central Israeli city of Ramle, where Jews and Arabs live side by side, the Yigal Alon Multidisciplinary High School is trying to spearhead a quiet revolution. The student body reflects the full tapestry of Israeli society, with students who are Jewish, Muslim, and Christian, religious and secular, […]
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Beverly was 41, had two children and was contemplating a third when her first mammogram revealed a lump. Diagnosed with breast cancer, Beverly, who lives in Portland, Oregon, opted for chemotherapy, immunotherapy and a double mastectomy. She knew the chemo would affect her fertility. What she didn’t know was that the type of cancer she […]
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Financial problems and stress almost forced Benjamin S. to drop out of college last year. “Some days I just wouldn’t eat because I didn’t have any cash on me,” said Benjamin, a student at Baruch College in New York who asked that his full name not be used to protect his privacy. But thanks to […]
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Working at MTV is not typical training for a Jewish day school teacher. But Oren Kaunfer is no ordinary Jewish teacher. The New England native had a successful career in television before deciding he wanted a more meaningful job. Kaunfer, the son of a prominent Conservative rabbi from Providence, Rhode Island, enjoyed the creativity of […]
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It’s not easy getting teens to think about God. Even if they go to Jewish day school. When one Jewish educational organization asked day school students in middle school and high school several years ago to respond to the question, “What percentage of your time in Judaic studies do you spend talking explicitly about God?”, […]
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KIBBUTZ EREZ, Israel — Under the shade of a large tree on Kibbutz Erez less than a mile from the Gaza Strip, half a dozen Israeli children play history trivia games with a counselor. When loud booms from Gaza echo across the sky, some of the kids flinch at the noise. It’s a reminder of […]
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When fifth-grader Shayna Osterweil disagrees with someone, she tries to keep in mind what she learned at religious school about the Talmudic sages Hillel and Shammai, known for their civil discourse. If something is bothering third-grader Aliza Schumer, she may search for ways to be shalem — Hebrew for a sense of peace and wholeness. […]
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