Investing in People, Not Programs

A third questionable assumption currently guiding the Jewish community's educational agenda is that instituting new programs will solve educational problems. Thus, if parents don't support their children's education, start a parent education program; if Hebrew school students don't have positive feelings about going to services, institute a new prayer program; if children in a religious school don't form friendships, begin a retreat program. All these may be important steps in addressing problems, but programmatic changes alone are unlikely to enhance Jewish education and make it a more positive experience for students.

To improve Jewish education, we must focus not only on programs but on teachers. As Abraham Joshua Heschel noted, the Jewish people does not need more textbooks but more ``textpeople'' so that others may learn from the rich texture of their Jewish lives and souls.

The challenge to the Jewish community is to nurture Jewish lives and souls, so that people can teach each other. This responsibility falls mainly on educational leaders (directors of education, rabbis, cantors, etc.), who must encourage teachers to realize their human and Jewish potential, and to guide them as they share themselves with others. Their primary responsibility is more interpersonal than administrative. As mentors to their staff, they must be given the organizational and material support necessary to nurture those who have direct contact with students. They must provide teachers with a vision of what is possible when Jews engage each other in learning and growing as Jews. Investing in the ``human capital'' of the congregation --- its teachers --- will go a long way in fostering commitment to a vibrant Jewish future.