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August 24, 2007
Adult education is growing
Jewish learning is facilitated through community programs.
REBECA KUROPATWA
More adults than ever are hitting the books and heading back to
the classroom. Adult learning programs are popping up across Canada,
in proportion to a growing demand.
One such program runs out of Toronto's Koffler Centre, through its
umbrella organization, the UJA Federation. It is a Jewish cultural
centre with schools of visual art, music, dance, public performance
and exhibitions.
"For the last 10 years, there has been a resurgence of interest
in Jewish history and culture," said Lori Starr, the Koffler
Centre's executive director.
One reason she sees for this is "the rise in the importance
of Jewish institutions, like New York's 92nd Street Y, Winnipeg's
up-and-coming Canadian Museum for Human Rights, with its Jewish
soul, the Skirball Cultural Centre" and the Koffler.
Starr commented that she sees a new trend in "Jewish learning
and knowledge through the lens of Jewish culture – poetry,
Jewish space, visual arts and more. Even in Krakow, Poland, there
is a revival in Jewish culture, history and learning. As well, since
9/11, there has been a global increase in world affairs and cultural
engagement – of Jews within the Jewish community and in other
communities. Another new trend is that families are going together,
exploring Jewish culture with a resurgence of going to festival
events."
She added, "Research shows that a significant number of young
Jews don't necessarily want to come to a place that's exclusively
Jewish, but rather, they are seeking varied experiences with a diversity
of audiences. While they may be interested in Jewish culture, they
prefer it to be more broadly contextualized. They are seeking to
be more connected to global issues and world cultures, while examining
historic roots and issues of memory and identity."
The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School offers pluralistic adult Jewish
learning and is sponsored by Jewish federations, Canadian Friends
of Hebrew University and, in Winnipeg, the Asper Foundation.
"Social justice is not enough. You need the daily observances
and reminders of Judaism," said Rabbi Lawrence Pinsker, associate
rabbi at Winnipeg's Shaarey Zedek Synagogue and a teacher at the
Melton school.
A project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the school was
developed in 1986. It now has 5,500 students in more than 60 cities
in Canada, the United States, Britain and Australia. It was named
after Philadelphia-born Florence Zacks Melton, a philanthropist
and longtime Jewish activist.
According to Pinsker, "no one person's solution ever has permanence.
That is why having a broad mix of denominations integrated into
the teaching and reflected in the diversity of the students is so
key."
"People in their 40s to 60s are eating this learning up,"
said Loretta Tannenbaum, director of the Toronto Melton school.
"The interest in adult learning is on the rise, because people
care and are interested. There is an amazing amount of knowledge
out there. Jewish learning is necessary because it ensures the future.
People are not so much interested now in how-to courses. They are
looking for [a] greater understanding of the bigger, transformative
concepts."
Betty Nitkin, director of the Melton school in Vancouver, said the
purpose of the school is "to instruct adults in an adult fashion,
using texts, and not interpretations, as tools, broadly and inclusively."
The Vancouver school opened its doors in June 2005. "We expected
to see maybe 20 or 25 prospective students," said Nitkin. "Instead,
we had 35 people register on the first day, followed by two more
50-person classes opening up."
What we are now seeing, conveyed Nitkin, is that "a lot of
people want to learn more, but on a more sophisticated level –
to be able to think, discuss and get involved – not just to
be spoon-fed information."
This year, Nitkin said the Vancouver school has 85 students. "The
youngest is 26 or 27 and the oldest is 85. Anyone can get something
from this program, as long as they come in with an open mind."
At Melton, the method of teaching is unique. "The teacher introduces
the material, but a big part of it is chevrutah (group learning),"
said Nitkin. "It can take students a few classes to get used
to this type of learning, but it doesn't take long for them to get
into the rhythm of it."
Last year, Melton started up a first-year, 18-person class at Congregation
Har El. This September, the school will open in Victoria, at the
request of Congregation Emanu-El. This year, the school will offer
10-week graduate programs in disciplines like Israeli literature
and ethics.
"Knowledge is critically empowering," said Nitkin. "With
it, you can learn who you are and where you fit. Vancouver alone
has so many different kinds of synagogues. There is a place for
anyone to fit."
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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