Three widely-held assumptions about Jewish education may be more misleading than enlightening

A few years ago, I attended a meeting to plan a Jewish teacher-training program. In the course of our discussions, a professor of Education from a local university warned us not to introduce teachers to any complex ideas. ``After all,'' she said, ``they're only schoolteachers!'' When the meeting ended, a shocked graduate student complained to me, ``When my mother used the term 'schoolteacher,' she meant it with reverence. But this professor denigrates the profession, and she devotes her life to training teachers!'' The student knew that the professor's comment make a mockery of our sages, who taught: ``Let the reverence for your teacher be as great as your reverence for God'' (Pirke Avot 4:15).

Clearly, a disparity exists between the traditional Jewish ideal of the teacher and the contemporary reality. Before addressing the question of teacher status in our North American Jewish community, three widely-held but questionable assumptions about Jewish education need to be addressed.

The first of these assumptions is that education takes place solely in schools. In fact, Jewish education encompasses everything that happens when people interact within our community --- the stories they tell, the skills they share, the way they discuss current events or temple politics, the way they treat one another. Everyone who sets foot inside a temple or who participates in a congregational program is potentially a teacher of Judaism. To be an effective Jewish teacher, one must be sensitive to the educational potential inherent in every moment, be open to life-long learning, and be aware of the power of one's behavior as a model for others. The challenge to the Jewish community is to empower adults to view themselves as teachers, and to provide opportunities for them to learn and share their experiences with other Jews. Subsequently, all of these adults become part of a pool of potential teachers for congregational education programs.