on1foot as a classroom tech tool
BabylonianTalmud, Kiddushin 40b
| Translation |
Original |
| Rabbi Tarfon and some elders were reclining in an upper chamber in the house of Nitza in Lod when this question came up: Which is greater, study or action? Rabbi Tarfon spoke up and said: Action is greater. Rabbi Akiva spoke up and said: Study is greater. The others then spoke up and said: Study is greater because it leads to action. [Soncino translation] |
וכבר היה רבי טרפון וזקנים מסובין בעלית בית נתזה בלוד, נשאלה שאילה זו בפניהם: תלמוד גדול או מעשה גדול? נענה רבי טרפון ואמר: מעשה גדול, נענה ר"ע ואמר: תלמוד גדול, נענו כולם ואמרו: תלמוד גדול, שהתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה. |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. Which of these actions is ultimately the most important? Why?
2. What "action" is being discussed here?
3. What is the purpose of education here?
Genesis 1:1
| Translation |
Original |
| In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth [translation by Judaica Press]. |
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ:
|
Suggested Discussion Questions
What difference does it make to know that the world and heavens were created by G-d?
Mishna, Pirkei Avot, 1:6
| Translation |
Original |
| Joshua ben Perahia would say: Make for yourself a Rav (teacher), and acquire for yourself a colleague, and give all individuals the benefit of the doubt. [Translation by CAJE] |
יהושע בן פרחיה אומר עשה לך רב וקנה לך חבר והוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. Why are we told to make for ourselves a Rav? Why acquire a colleague? How is a Rav different than a colleague?
2. What is the connection between these two and giving all individuals the benefit of the doubt?
Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 111a
| Translation |
Original |
| Someone who studies on one’s own cannot be compared to the one who learns from a teacher. [CAJE translation] |
אינו דומה לומד מעצמו ללומד מרבו |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. What are the limits of studying on your own?
2. What does having a teacher contribute to your learning?
Abraham Joshua Heschel, I Asked for Wonder: A Spiritual Anthology
| Original |
|
Everything depends on the person who stands in front of the classroom. The teacher is not an automatic fountain from which intellectual beverages may be obtained. The teacher is either a witness or a stranger. To guide a pupil into the promised land, the teacher must have been there themselves. When asking themselves: Do I stand for what I teach? Do I believe what I say?, the teacher must be able to answer in the affirmative. What we need more than anything else is not textbooks, but textpeople. It is the personality of the teacher which is the text that the pupils read: the text that they will never forget. [Edited for gender neutrality]
|
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. According to Heschel, what are the most effective means of education?
2. Who is the ideal teacher? Why?
3. What is the goal of education?
Proverbs 22:6
| Translation |
Original |
| Train up a child in the way the child should go, and even when the child is old, they will not depart from it. [JPS translation . Edited for gender neutrality] |
חֲנֹךְ לַנַּעַר עַל פִּי דַרְכּוֹ גַּם כִּי יַזְקִין לֹא יָסוּר מִמֶּנָּה: |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. Is this an effective model for education? Is this a modern model?
2. Do we hope that our children "not depart" from the education, or training, that we provide?
3. What are the responsibilities of parents in teaching children?
Judah the Pious, The Book of the Pious, section 208
| Translation |
Original |
| “Train up a child in the way the child should go,” the Book of Proverbs teaches. This means, if you see a child making progress in Bible studies, but not in Talmud, do not try to push the children by teaching Talmud, and if the child understands Talmud, do not push to learn Bible. Train a child in things that they know. [Translation by CAJE. Edited for gender neutrality] |
חנוך לנער על פי דרכו (משלי כ"ב ו') אם תראה שיצליח במקרא ולא בתלמוד אל תדחוק לו השעה ללמדו תלמוד ואם יבין תלמוד אל תדחוק אותו ללמדו מקרא במה שיודע תחנכהו |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. Why should we teach children in accordance with the topics in which they excel?
2. Is this a positive educational model?
3. Are there any subjects that all students should have to study, regardless of their specific talents?
Rambam, Mishneh Torah, The Laws of Torah Study, 4:2
| Translation |
Original |
| How should a class be taught? The teacher sits at the head of the table and the pupils surround the teacher like a wreath, so that all can see and hear the teacher. The teacher must not sit on a chair while the pupils sit on the ground; either they all sit on the floor or they all occupy chairs. Originally, the teacher used to sit while the pupils were standing. Ever since the time preceding the destruction of the Second Temple, it has been a general custom to teach pupils in the fashion they are seated. [Translation by CAJE. Edited for gender neutrality] |
כיצד מלמדים, הרב יושב בראש והתלמידים מוקפים לפניו כעטרה כדי שיהו כלם רואים הרב ושומעים דבריו, ולא ישב הרב על הכסא ותלמידיו על הקרקע אלא או הכל על הארץ או הכל על הכסאות, ובראשונה היה הרב יושב והתלמידים עומדים ומקודם חורבן בית שני נהגו הכל ללמד לתלמידים והם יושבים |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. Why should the children and teachers all be seated on the same level?
2. The Rambam conveys a sense of equality between the students and their peers, and between the students and the teachers. How does this help create a positive learning environment?
3. What educational values does the Rambam’s learning environment transmit?
Rambam, The Laws of Torah Study, 4:4
| Translation |
Original |
| When a teacher’s students do not understand, the teacher should not get upset with them; rather, the teacher should review and teach the material as many times as necessary until the students understand the law thoroughly. Also, a pupil should not say “I understand” when they don’t understand, and instead should keep on asking questions repeatedly. If the teacher gets angry and excited on the student’s account, the student should say: “Teacher, this is Torah! I must study it, even though my capacity is limited.” [Translation by CAJE. Edited for gender neutrality] |
הרב שלמד ולא הבינו התלמידים לא יכעוס עליהם וירגז ג אלא חוזר ושונה הדבר אפילו כמה פעמים עד שיבינו עומק ההלכה, וכן לא יאמר התלמיד הבנתי והוא לא הבין אלא חוזר ושואל אפילו כמה פעמים, ואם כעס עליו רבו ורגז יאמר לו רבי תורה היא וללמוד אני צריך ודעתי קצרה |
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. What should a student do if they do not feel like they are being taught properly?
2. Have you ever had to fight for your education?
3. Who is responsible to ensure that a student receives a proper education?
|
