It had been quite a while since we were all physically together in the same place. During the summer, the whole Cohort is together, but during the year we are each placed at our various site schools and only “see” each other every Thursday for classes at HUC. I have to write “see” in quotation marks because although each member of the Cohort attends Thursday classes in some fashion, we only see the Northern California fellows through a video conferencing screen and it simply isn’t the same as sharing the learning experience with them in person.

On February 24th, the Northern California fellows flew to Los Angeles and we experienced the reunion that we had been waiting for! The schedule went a little something like this… On Thursday, we shared a day of classes at HUC, on Friday during the day we received tours of Sinai Akiba Academy and Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School from the fellows who are placed there, and later that night we all went to Bob Tornberg’s house for Shabbat dinner. We rested up on Saturday and then met at the Skirball Cultural Center on Sunday for a day of learning, where we engaged in text study and learned about the history of Jewish Day Schools. Our day at the Skirball was not complete without a tour of its latest exhibit, Noah’s Ark. (If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it because it’s beautifully done and fun for all ages!)

Although our official DeLeT itinerary for the day was over, we all went out and got snacks and then reconvened at one of the fellow’s houses to watch the Academy Awards. When all of us get together in one room it is virtually impossible to hear the TV, or anything else for that matter, but we certainly had a good time and enjoyed each other’s company! J On Monday we visited Pressman Academy, Temple Israel of Hollywood, and Brawerman Elementary School and then it was time for all of us to go home. The experience of visiting other schools and learning about the unique culture of each one proved invaluable. We have been told repeatedly that we should take advantage of every opportunity we can to visit other classrooms because once we are lead teachers we will predominantly be in our classrooms and will have limited time to explore elsewhere. This Kallah gave us the opportunity to do just that.

In the coming month we will begin planning an integrated unit and will continue to complete various homework assignments and state requirements needed to obtain our California Credential in July. Speaking of July… it isn’t that far away and with the program roughly two thirds of the way done, I am left asking myself where the time has gone. Kallah left me excited for this summer but not because I want the program to be over, rather because I want our whole Cohort to finish the program the way we started it—together.

Love,

Michelle

            On February 16^th my uncle passed away very suddenly. He died less than a month before his birthday and he would have been 62 years old. This was not an uncle whom I saw once or twice a year at holidays—Uncle Bob raised me and this loss has been a heartbreaking one, to say the least.

My uncle used to take me to the park as a child and on the way he would stop to point out and explain every flower, plant, and rock that we passed. In later years, he further exposed me to a love of the outdoors as we ventured on a two-week camping trip to Yellowstone before I went off to college, just the two of us. At an early age he introduced me to the wonders of the public library and fostered in me not only a love of reading but also more importantly a love of learning. I can recall every school project I ever did, and all the memories I have somehow include how my uncle helped me complete the task. Together we made a papier-mâché Thomas Jefferson, a mini sukkah complete with tiny paper chains, a TV set out of cardboard so that I could present the 1950’s to my classmates, and countless others. I particularly enjoyed doing a research project on orangutans with my uncle, where we discovered we had been pronouncing it wrong for all these years. Each time he helped me with a project or a homework assignment, I made sure to thank him, but he quickly thanked me right back. He always said me going to school was the best education he ever received and he meant it!

            When the rest of my family was convinced I should become a lawyer my uncle disagreed. It comforts me that he knew what path I was heading down and that he was so excited for me to become a teacher and do what I love. Last year, when I called Uncle Bob to momentarily complain about being assigned as an assistant in Kindergarten as opposed to an older grade, he quickly jumped in and said, “you are going to teach them a lot more than you think. You are going to teach them how to be in school and you will give them their foundation. Don’t you remember your Kindergarten teacher? These kids will never forget you either.”

            I want to be angry that my uncle is gone but the truth is that I really just feel blessed to have had him at all. How lucky would we all be to have one person in the world that loves us unconditionally and serves as our personal cheering section, friend, mentor, and confidante? The pain of his loss is still palpable but the memory of all the times we shared together is equally as strong. I consider my uncle to be one of the best teachers I have ever had and my goal is to try and be that teacher that he described above and embodied every day of his life—the one that you will always remember even into adulthood.

            Throughout this sadness came a great sense of joy as I reflected on the love and support offered to me by the community. Pressman not only told me to take as many days off as I needed, but also referred me to the Executive Director of the Temple who, in the end, helped me obtain a burial plot for my uncle. Bob Tornberg, Michelle Shwartz, and all the teachers at DeLeT also went above and beyond the call of duty. They told me that no deadlines applied to me during this time and they called, emailed, and sent me cards regularly to check up on me and send their love. The people in my Cohort have been my rock and I am eternally grateful to them for all of their support and kindness. I’m still taking it one day at a time but having such a strong support system makes each day that much easier.

After I was accepted into the DeLeT program at the end of last school year and was notified about my placement, I was fortunate enough to have the chance to meet my mentors and visit the classroom that I would be working in this year. It was the last week of school and my mentors had already begun packing things away for the summer. Essia said she was looking forward to the year ahead and gave me the Writer’s Workshop book as well as the Third Grade Social Studies textbook—a little light summer reading. She told me to look through it if I had a chance and see what I might be interested in teaching. She mentioned that in years past she had focused on Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest but that I should feel free to teach whatever stood out to me. I laughed because at home I was busy making arrangements for a road trip to the Pacific Northwest for later on that summer. I was scheduled to leave for Portland and Seattle the day after our DeLeT summer session ended.

I thought I would have to go out of my way to try and find some artifacts or Native American books to bring back for the third graders, but signs of the culture were all over the Pacific Northwest. A totem pole towered outside Pioneer Square as I waited for a tour of the Underground in Seattle. Every museum and shop I entered had a prominent display of Native American materials—even a small children’s bookstore in Portland had an incredible selection of age-appropriate books on Native Americans of the region. In fact, a great majority of my trip became an opportunity to collect materials to share with my future students.

Flash forward to this week…

I am now in the process of planning a social studies unit on Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest for a bunch of energetic third graders. I am finding that putting everything together is in fact much more difficult than I had originally thought. In spite of all the work, the overall process is enjoyable and rewarding. I know that people learn best through experience and I feel like I can teach this unit better because I can bring in my own experiences from my summer vacation. My hope is that I can provide my students with the opportunity to learn by having hands-on experiences of their own. I want to bring this unit to life and make it something that will stick with them beyond the next two weeks. We’ll see how that goes!

In the coming weeks I’ll be planning and teaching this unit, meeting with the Head of School at Pressman and the Elementary School principal to coordinate all the details for the upcoming Southern California Kallah, and continuing to teach in the classroom while also doing lots of DeLeT homework. Just another day in the life of a DeLeT fellow. :)

Love,
Michelle

The weeks leading up to winter break have been busy yet rewarding. In these past few weeks I have truly begun to realize what it means to work fulltime and be a fulltime student and let me tell you, it isn’t easy.

We have had a tremendous amount of assignments due for DeLeT and in an effort to take on more responsibilities in my classroom at Pressman, I have planned and taught many lessons for the third graders as well. Given this massive undertaking, I looked at our teacher in shock when she told us of an additional assignment we would have—to write a children’s book. I would have never dreamed of writing a children’s book in the midst of trying to complete DeLeT assignments and working full-time; however, once it became an actual assignment, now seemed like as good a time as any! After countless hours of brainstorming and revising, what resulted was a piece of work that I am incredibly proud of and one that I will treasure forever—Shmueli Mousekowitz: The Mitzvah Maker. When I read my story to one of the first grade classes at my school who participates in Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop program, I began by saying that I was excited to share my story with a group of fellow authors. The students looked at me with such excitement when I called them authors and I must have had a similar look on my face when I called myself one.

The main thing that stands out to me from my experience of working and going to school thus far has been the love and warmth of my students. They are caring, inquisitive, and insightful children and I learn something from every interaction that I have with them. At the beginning of the year, my mentors provided me with my own desk in the classroom, which is both incredibly kind and rare. My general studies mentor had recently visited the Apple store and came back to class with a great idea. We too would have a “Genius Bar” where students could come and ask for expert help. Coincidently the Genius Bar is conveniently positioned next to my desk and I have the opportunity to interact with students and really see their strengths and needs, both academically and socially. After a recent visit to the Genius Bar, I had a third grade student write my cat a Hanukkah card where she introduced herself and told my cat that his “Mom” was the best. I can’t tell you how much something so silly and lighthearted meant to me. My students and I are having fun and learning together, which is just what I had hoped to gain from this experience.

I am looking forward to a restful and rejuvenating winter break and I hope the rest of you enjoy the same!

Love,

Michelle

So much has happened since my last entry. I participated in Student Learning Conferences at my school, attended the DeLeT Kallah in the Bay Area, went on a field trip to Underwood Farms with my students, and planned and taught several lessons with the help of my mentors and clinical educator. I finally feel as if I am getting into a routine and I can’t believe how quickly time is flying.

Last Sunday I flew to San Francisco for the DeLeT Kallah and could hardly control my excitement as I landed—partly because I had just experienced the most turbulent flight of my life, but mainly because I knew the members of our Cohort would be together for the first time since the summer. The DeLeT Kallah provides an incredible opportunity for the members of our Cohort, or CoHEART as we affectionately refer to ourselves, to observe other Jewish Day Schools and see other fellows’ placements for the year. We are given the incredible gift of an all-expenses-paid trip to meet our DeLeT classmates’ mentors and administrators and learn something about the culture of other Jewish Day schools. The Northern California fellows will visit Los Angeles later on in the year and I can’t wait to return the hospitality and show them around my school!

For this particular Kallah we had the privilege of visiting Brandeis Hillel Day School in San Francisco and Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City. I was instantly attracted to how welcoming the schools were and how accepting they seemed of all parents, students, and teachers regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation. I marveled at the size of the classrooms and the scenery surrounding the campuses as well as the layouts of the campuses themselves. Chaim Heller, the Head of School at Brandeis Hillel, spoke with tremendous kindness and candor as he gave us advice on how to stand out in faculty meetings and present ourselves in a manner that will assist us in getting job placements for next year. He mentioned that he personally holds DeLeT alumni in high esteem and noted that he sees us not just as potential classroom teachers, but as the next generation of leaders in Jewish Day Schools. It was moving and very reassuring to hear his words and his confidence in our abilities. After a short but meaningful two days, I returned to Los Angeles with renewed enthusiasm and an excitement for the possibility of becoming a leader in Jewish education.

The day I returned from an education in how Northern California independent schools operate, it was time for an education of a different sort—a lesson in how to pick vegetables and how to teach an energetic bunch of third graders that food does not in fact originate from the supermarket! My students greeted me with an incredibly warm welcome and asked about my trip up north. They think it’s pretty neat that their teacher also goes to school and has homework just like them. I had explained that my DeLeT classmates and I had gone on a field trip and that when I returned we too would go on a field trip of our own. My Judaic Studies mentor, Julie, arranged a field trip to Underwood Farms because so many of the Jewish holidays we celebrate and teach center around agriculture and my General Studies mentor, Essia, took the opportunity to tie the trip into our literature book, which takes place on a farm in China. It was so wonderful to see the excitement in the students’ faces as they rode on a tractor and stopped to pick carrots, beets, and butter lettuce, which they then brought home for dinner. I too had a great time on the trip and got to see my students in a different light. I also observed the role environment plays in learning and the value of field trips as a means of enhancing the curriculum. It seems that I am learning something new everyday and as Thanksgiving approaches I realize that I have quite a bit to be thankful for this year. Until next time…

Love,
Michelle

Hi everyone! My name is Michelle and I am a proud member of DeLet Cohort 9. I have lived in Los Angeles my whole life: I grew up at Pressman Academy, went on to attend Hamilton Academy of Music, and received my B.A. from UCLA. I just can’t get away from the sunshine and the feeling of home!

I didn’t always know I wanted to be a teacher. When I was accepted to UCLA as a political science major, I decided to sign up for just one Hebrew class my freshman year but soon that one Hebrew class turned into four years of Hebrew, Yiddish, Jewish History, and any other Jewish Studies class I could get my hands on. As I continued learning, I realized that my love of Hebrew and Jewish Studies was more than just an interest in the subject; it was a passion for discussing and sharing the subject with others. Needless to say I changed my major from Political Science to Jewish Studies and abandoned my dreams of law school for a career much more suited to my personality. When I started to consider teaching, I knew exactly who to call. I was fortunate enough to have received an incredibly strong and meaningful foundation having grown up at a Jewish day school and I knew that was the sort of environment where I would feel most comfortable teaching. In my interview, I was asked about my future aspirations and when I remarked that I hoped to one day become a Jewish educator, the administer asked if I had heard of DeLet. I must have looked at her with such a puzzling stare, “DeLet as in door?” She smiled and began explaining the program that has already become my door and gateway into the world of Jewish education in just three short months.

After researching the program, I was instantly amazed and applied immediately. It just seemed unreal that a program almost tailor fit to my needs actually existed—a program that would allow me to gain a full year of hands-on teaching experience, receive free tuition, and get a California teaching credential while studying Hebrew, Judaism, and education. I first met the other members of Cohort 9 at an orientation at the end of June. Since then we have taken five weeks of summer classes, finished one Teacher Performance Assessment (due to the state of California), taken several standardized tests, completed an array of homework and assignments, visited Rivka and Shira’s sukkah, and developed a bond unlike any I have ever experienced. Not a day goes by where we don’t email each other to ask technical questions about an assignment or simply to ask how things are going. The support system we have created for ourselves has already enhanced my learning experience both personally and professionally.

I currently work at Pressman Academy in a third grade General and Judaic studies classroom four days per week and then attend classes at HUC every Thursday. During the week I learn from my mentors, my Clinical Educator (a representative from HUC), other teachers at the school, and most of all from my students. In the evenings I do homework, work on lesson plans, chat online with the other members of Cohort 9, and still try to have some semblance of a personal life, although slowly I see the lines between school, work, and home blurring into one incredible experience that will undoubtedly change my life. I am so excited for all that this year has in store for me and look forward to reflecting and sharing my thoughts with you along the way. Thanks for reading!

Love,

Michelle