Welcome to Kalanit! (that's the name of our class and a lovely flower). My name is Aaron Gertz, and I'm the teacher. As you may have inferred from the blog title I grew up in Tallahassee, FL. I went to college at Washington University in St. Louis and graduated with a degree in economics in 2007. Afterwards I came and worked as a madrich for EIE before making aliyah and becoming an Israeli citizen in January 2009. I did a 5 month ulpan (intensive Hebrew class) while teaching math for EIE and joined the Israeli Army as a Combat Engineer in November 2009. After being released from the army in May 2011 I spent a few months traveling in southeast Asia. I am now engaged, living in Be'er Sheva and taking the course to become a licensed tour guide.
This blog, hopefully, will serve several purposes. First of all, I will briefly summarize what we cover each day in class. We have four months to cover 4000 years of history, with several breaks in the middle for things like Yam el Yam and Gadna, so hopefully having a short summary of each class will help keep us organized. Also, it's a great way for parents to see what we're doing. It turns out that even when high school students are thousands of miles away learning and experiencing amazing new things the answer to the parental question, "How was school today?" is still often just, "Fine." Here parents can get a slightly more detailed answer.
Many of our class periods involve some sort of discussion. I'll often mention the subjects of those discussions here and sometimes require students to share their different views, especially students who are less likely to share in class. I would love for any parents (or other friends and family) who have something to say on the subject to feel free to leave a comment as well. One of the major goals of this class is to expose the students to the idea that there is a constant conversation among the Jewish people and to encourage them (and you!) to be a part of it.
Another way the students will be a part of this conversation is by keeping their own blogs, for which you can find links on the right side of this page. Sometimes I will require them to blog about something specific: their thoughts on our most recent tiyul, or a response to an article from The Times of Israel or Mosaic Magazine for example. In other instances I'll encourage the students to write about whatever Jewish issue they'd like, whether it's a conversation they had with a madricha (counselor) about her experience in the army, a review of a Hebrew song they like, or a new appreciation for a biblical story. The students will also get extra credit based on the number of views and comments their blog receives, so don't be shy about sharing it!
I look forward to forming a new community of learners with you this semester. If you have any comments or concerns please don't hesitate to be in touch with me. Let's have a great semester!
This blog, hopefully, will serve several purposes. First of all, I will briefly summarize what we cover each day in class. We have four months to cover 4000 years of history, with several breaks in the middle for things like Yam el Yam and Gadna, so hopefully having a short summary of each class will help keep us organized. Also, it's a great way for parents to see what we're doing. It turns out that even when high school students are thousands of miles away learning and experiencing amazing new things the answer to the parental question, "How was school today?" is still often just, "Fine." Here parents can get a slightly more detailed answer.
Many of our class periods involve some sort of discussion. I'll often mention the subjects of those discussions here and sometimes require students to share their different views, especially students who are less likely to share in class. I would love for any parents (or other friends and family) who have something to say on the subject to feel free to leave a comment as well. One of the major goals of this class is to expose the students to the idea that there is a constant conversation among the Jewish people and to encourage them (and you!) to be a part of it.
Another way the students will be a part of this conversation is by keeping their own blogs, for which you can find links on the right side of this page. Sometimes I will require them to blog about something specific: their thoughts on our most recent tiyul, or a response to an article from The Times of Israel or Mosaic Magazine for example. In other instances I'll encourage the students to write about whatever Jewish issue they'd like, whether it's a conversation they had with a madricha (counselor) about her experience in the army, a review of a Hebrew song they like, or a new appreciation for a biblical story. The students will also get extra credit based on the number of views and comments their blog receives, so don't be shy about sharing it!
I look forward to forming a new community of learners with you this semester. If you have any comments or concerns please don't hesitate to be in touch with me. Let's have a great semester!
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