Last year, a group of people completed a Masters degree in Jewish Education with the Academy of Jewish Thought and Learning. In addition, there is another group currently working towards this qualification.
Cape Town had a significant enrolment — Rabbis Feldman and Thurgood, and Karen Kaimowitz*, Yael Ayache and Chaim Moch from Herzlia.
“I wanted to improve myself as a teacher and specifically as a Jewish educator. I know there was a lot to learn, and to improve upon, in terms of Jewish education in the country and I thought that this would be the first step towards understanding Jewish education at a deeper level. To work towards an improved future, you first need to understand where you are in the present and the MA provided this grounding for me in both a personal (relating to my own teaching) and a broader (relating to educational systems) way.
We were fortunate to be part of a group of South African educators and Rabbis who were also on this course with us. I was inspired to see these people, many of whom are very knowledgeable, thinking hard and working hard to continue developing their knowledge so that they can serve their communities better.”
– Chaim Moch, Head of JLL, UHS Primary Schools Curriculum Coordinator
The Academy of Jewish Thought and Learning worked with the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) to create a South African adaption of the mode of thinking, pedagogics and education that LSJS pioneered in the UK. This programme is impacting schools, shuls and various Cape Town communal organisations, with their key leaders graduating, further attesting to the impact of the programme across the Cape Town community as a whole including the direct impact in the schools.
*Karen Kaimowitz, previously of ORT, has taken over as principal of Gan Aviv preschool.
The Academy of Jewish Thought and Learning www.theacademy.org.za, email ned@theacademy.org.za
• Published in the print edition of the May 2021 issue. Download the May 2021 issue PDF here.
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