A child born into a world saturated by the wonders of the internet makes for a student who feels entitled to a highly individualized environment. At a back-to-school conference hosted last week by the Chabad-Lubavitch Office of Education roughly 200 educators explored strategies for transmitting Jewish knowledge and values to today's children. 

Education professionals from New York, Chicago, Jerusalem, and beyond addressed other issues such as school-wide positive communication and teaching to multiple developmental levels. The goal of the annual conference, held this year in Piscataway, NJ, is to "refocus and reenergize Chabad educators for the next school year," according to Rabbi Nochem Kaplan, Office of Education director.

Classic lessons where one child reads and translates a part of the Torah risks losing the attention of the rest of the class. In one highly regarded presentation, Rabbi Dovid Jacobson, Ph.D., of Los Angeles, shared methods to surmount this challenge via the active participation model.

 Adding their own fresh ideas to the dialogue were 22 directors of Chabad's new bumper crop of early childhood centers. Funded with grants from the Machne Israel Development Fund, underwritten by philanthropists David and Lara Slager, this new generation of educators is facing the birth pangs of starting preschools, together.

 MIDF is "invested in making the schools the best they can be," said Batya Lisker, the fund's Early Childhood Initiative Project Administrator. An exclusive early childhood Director’s workshop and one-on-one mentoring sessions were led by Mrs. Lisker at the Conference. On-site visits, web conferences, online groups, and conference calls to address issues specific to preschools are planned to keep MIDF grant recipients collaborating from their schools in 46 locations from tropical Kula, HI, to frigid Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 

 Preschool and high school teachers alike flocked to a session on protecting children in and out of the classroom. Debbie Fox, founding director of Aleinu Family Resource Center in California identified telltale signs of abuse and characteristics of an endangered child.

 "She provided us with a greater awareness of details to look out for," said Chavie Bendet of Lubavitch Cheder Day School in Minnesota.

 School prayer, a staple of Jewish life and practice was reexamined by Rabbi Shimmy Weinbaum, Tzivos Hashem program director who presented solutions that help 21st century children relate to ancient words and remove the rote out of recitation.

 Chabad representative Itta Marcus of Los Alamitos, a fourth grade teacher with 30 years of experience, found Rabbi Weinbaum's focus on quality versus quantity of prayer to be thought provoking.

 "It's worth remembering that children come to our schools not just to pray, but to learn how to pray."

 Mrs. Marcus said she came away from the conference her "mind buzzing about how I could incorporate what I learned."

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Chairman of Merkos and Machne Israel, the educational and social services divisions of Chabad-Lubavitch, addressed the conference.

 “Beyond curriculum, teaching methodology, techniques and pedagogic skills, an educator is ultimately, a role model for her students. The teacher’s conduct, demeanor, interactions, genuine concern for each student and attitude profoundly influence the development of the student’s character over and beyond the subject matter taught.”

 The annual conference, Rabbi Krinsky said later, which followed a parallel conference earlier this summer for the men’s division of Chabad educators, is illustrative of “Chabad’s focus on education as the cornerstone of Jewish continuity. Our schools must strive to provide Jewish children with a Jewish education that inspires a rich, meaningful and practicable Jewish commitment.”