Saul Kaiserman

Qualifying paper for a dissertation at the Davidson School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. I explore what the literature indicates makes for excellence in teaching and teacher-training, and then articulate distinct elements of pre-service teacher training for Jewish educators and rabbis.

Exploring Yiddish literature from Europe and later works from the United States, discusses how the schlemiel can continue to serve as a meaningful archetype in a post-Holocaust world. Unpublished paper for a class at the One-Year Program of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Sunday school has been a prominent feature of Jewish education in the United States for over 180 years, yet it has long been criticized as a failing and ineffective form of education. Despite this, the popularity and longevity of Sunday schools remain. The author argues that it is time to reexamine what is meant by failure and to seek a more nuanced understanding of what Sunday schools are and what they are supposed to achieve. Kaiserman explores the history of the one-day-a-week Sunday School in contrast with other part-time supplementary settings, examines the critiques advanced by scholars and educators, and offers a revised perspective on the importance of Sunday schools in providing a marker of Jewish affiliation and identification. The author concludes by calling for a greater appreciation of the efforts of those who work in Sunday schools and a more nuanced understanding of the role and potential of one-day-a-week schools in Jewish education.

How should an introductory course in Jewish education be different from introductory classes in education at secular institutions? Or, in other words, what is “Jewish” about such a class? In the Fall of 2015, I served as adjunct faculty at the New York School of Education of HUC-JIR, teaching such a course to rabbinical, cantorial, and education students. As practitioner research, this project was the basis upon which to critically reflect on my work as a novice professor. Yet, in the process of interviewing my colleagues and attempting to answer my practical questions regarding course content and methods, I discovered that we shared similar concerns regarding the goals of these courses, how they should reflect the changing make-up of the student body, and the overall relationship between the student’s academic experience and fieldwork.I share these initial findings and my hypotheses about their significance with my fellow practitioners, to suggest implications, and to raise questions in order to identify areas of future analysis and to begin to develop possible action steps to influence policy and create new mechanisms for collaboration. I offer questions for thought about how schools of education work with their own faculty and with the field, and suggest possible directions for increased collaboration between professors.

The article "A New Kind of Diversity: Jewish Education in a Pluralistic Society" by Saul Kaiserman highlights the challenges faced by educators in North America due to cultural and religious pluralism. The author emphasizes the need to acknowledge the diversity of beliefs and practices among students, teachers, and other individuals in learning communities. He explores the ways in which individuals participate in multiple communities with different values, beliefs, and normative behaviors. Kaiserman suggests that creating a sense of belonging and community requires a new approach that accounts for and includes the differences in practices and beliefs. He warns that trying to promote specific values and practices may inadvertently lead to alienation and devaluation of members of the community. The author provides several examples and suggestions for creating an inclusive and responsive educational environment in the face of diverse beliefs and practices.