Teaching Jewish Scholars - Seminar Script

Introduction
Welcome to the ​Teaching Jewish Scholars​ professional development seminar. My name
is Abigail Handel, and it is my honor to be conducting this webinar today. Regardless of where
you are in the country, welcome.
I am truly excited to be teaching educators--both pre-service and in-service--about the
struggles that Jewish students may face. We also hope that by the end of this seminar you are
able to not only empathise with the students but also help their experience in the classroom as a
whole.
If you are not a classroom teacher or a pre-service teacher, we still welcome you to this
seminar because everyone should have the opportunity to learn about cultures other than their
own. It is our hope that you take the lessons learned today, utilize them in your own lives, and
share them with others. Through this, eventually we can help break cultural divides in our
community, the country, and the world.
Before we begin, please go back to the “seminar handouts” tab where you can find all of
the printable resources for today’s seminar.
Culture in the Classroom
To begin today, we need to introduce the concept of culture and why it is important to
consider inside of the classroom setting. To be sure that we are all on the same page, let’s define
“culture” for the purposes of today and break the definition up into two parts, as Kramsch (1996,
p. 2) has done. The first part of “culture is the way a social group represents itself and others
through material productions, such as art [and] literature.” The second part of culture includes
“the contributions of social sciences and involves attitudes, beliefs, ways of thinking, behaving,
and remembering shared by members of a community” (Kramsch, 1996, p. 2). Thus, culture is
much deeper than a race--it is everything that makes up how an individual and a community
behave, including religion, politics, social nuances, food, clothing style, etc.
So, why is it important to teach culture in the classroom anyway? There are several
answers to this question, and this list that I have come up with is by no means an exhaustive list.
The list I have created includes how the world is becoming increasingly diverse, what type of
teacher you would like to be, what the goal of education is, and how racism still exists today.
Increasingly Multicultural World
The first point that I want to bring up is rather obvious. As the world progresses, our
country becomes more and more multicultural and multiracial. In fact, the United States has the
opportunity to “become the world’s first truly multiracial democracy” (Clinton, 1997). This is
something that we should be proud of! But, with the wave of immigration and constant
introduction of new cultures, we have to recognize that our nation can either be strengthened or
divided by this (Clinton, 1998). When you are given the opportunity to work with children, you
have the ability to help form their thoughts about multiculturalism, and the sooner they are given
the ability to see how multiculturalism can strengthen their community and country, the less of a
chance they will have to condemn multiculturalistic societies.
Type of Teacher You Are
The second point is recognizing what type of teacher we want to be. As educators we
want to make sure that we don’t just preach the material to our students--we want to be effective
in our teaching techniques and the way we convey the information. But, in order to be a truly
effective teacher, you have to utilize the culture of your students. Jacqueline Jordan Irvine from
Emory University said it best when she said “If you don’t know anything about the everyday
lives experiences of your students--the cultural backgrounds, the dialects, the family the home,
the community--teachers tend to pull the examples for teaching from their own experiences …
hence, those connections are not made for students” (as cited by Quinton, 2013). Essentially, if
teachers are not culturally aware of the students in their classroom and do not utilize this culture
in their teaching, then they will not be able to make the same connections with the students as the
teacher that does consider it.
Goals as Educators
In considering why culture is critical to teach in the classroom, we also need to recognize
what our main ​goal ​as educators should be. While we need to ensure that our students are able to
take the content they learn in class and apply it outside of class, one of our main goals should be
ensuring that our students are prepared for “the real world.” The real world is not sheltered, and
there is not someone that is telling them what they are allowed to say and do (aside from the
law), like there is in the classroom setting. So, we need our students to be prepared for this real
world--a world that is purely decision based and a blend of cultures. Our main goal of education
should be ensuring that our students are good, knowledgeable citizens that are kind to all others
and embrace all cultures. This lesson will help them succeed in life more than understanding all
of the mathematical concepts from 8th grade. That being said, if we do not teach culture in our
classroom--whether it be explicitly or implicitly--we have failed as teachers of the next
generation.
World is Still Racist
Furthermore, our world is still racist, and teaching about culture can help prevent our
students from being explicitly racist. The word “racism” is a word that we generally try to avoid
in most conversations. But in order to prepare our students for living and working in a
multicultural society, we need to help our students recognize what their racial tendencies may be
and how we can combat these tendencies. Everyone is born with an intrinsic urge to categorize
things--including human beings (Branan, 2010). This creates stereotypes. When a person is
consistently oversimplifying stereotypes and over categorizing their fellow people into these
stereotypes, racial tendencies emerge. As teachers, we are given the unique opportunity to dispel
these stereotypes. By introducing culture into our classroom as a normal, everyday occasion,
students will be given the ability to draw their own cultural conclusions, outside of the realm of
their household (where many stereotypes arise), and hopefully these conclusions will be the
recognition of how no one fits into the box they have been stereotyped into.
Intercultural Understanding
Lastly, let’s create an “intercultural understanding” in our classrooms. The Australian
educational system recognized that, while there has been much discussion around multicultural
education, there has never been an actual nationally recognized implementation plan. They
changed this by incorporating a part of the curriculum, called intercultural understanding, that
must be met to satisfaction by the time they graduate. Intercultural understanding is “the
development of social skills to interact and engage with people from diverse cultures in a
respectful way” (Asia Education Foundation, 2015). Through this program, they are also
educating teachers in this field through a variety of summer sessions. So, they aren’t just telling
their teachers “Go and be more multicultural” they are actually providing help and information
useful in implementation.
This “intercultural understanding” is what I want to teach today but through the scope of
our Jewish students. If I’m asking you to make your classroom focused around “intercultural
understanding,” I need to ensure that you are taught how to do this. My goal today is to not just
teach you about a specific culture group but also to give you the tools that you can use to help all
cultures that are present in your classroom truly thrive. Therefore, though today is focused
around Jewish students, please apply the teachings from today outside of the Jewish culture.
Why We Need to Better Serve our Jewish Students
Now the big question is: why did I decide to focus this seminar on Jewish students? Why
didn’t I want to focus on cultures that have more populations in our schools? The honest answer
is that Judaism is a culture that lives very silently under our noses. It is a culture that generally is
all around us but not very obvious. But because people of the Jewish culture and religion
typically go under the radar in society, they also frequently go under the radar in our classrooms.
Let’s go over a few of these needs and possible ways to serve these needs over the next few
slides.
Religious Holidays
One of the very first concepts that I want to talk about is the religious holidays that a
Jewish family generally celebrates. There are a plethora of holidays in the Jewish calendar, and
many of the holidays do not permit work. For example, “work is not permitted on Rosh
Hashanah, on Yom Kippur, on the first and second days of Sukkot, on Shemini Atzeret, on
Simchat Torah, on Shavu’ot, and the first, second, seventh and eighth days of Passover” (Rich,
2011). Aside from Hanukkah and occasionally Passover, there are no other Jewish holidays that
fall on normal school breaks. In fact, many of these mandatory holidays actually fall within the
fall semester of the academic calendar. Why does this matter if these do not count as excused
absences?
Absences. ​While many Jewish students attending the public school system are not
orthodox, generally their parents are a little more strict about their religion. That being said,
many parents prohibit their students from going to school during the eight days of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Depending on the family, there will be differences in rules. But, a
teacher that knowingly has a Jewish student should expect their students to not be there for every
day of their holy day.
So how do we, as teachers, combat this absenteeism in our classroom without being
culturally insensitive? One way we can address this is looking at the Jewish holiday calendar and
ensuring that no exams, quizzes, or major projects occur on those days. If this cannot happen,
another possibility is personally speaking with each student ​before the holiday occurs ​to see
when each student can make up the work after the holiday. I only emphasize before they leave
for the holiday because it will help you appear respectful of the Jewish culture and religion. It
will not only give you an extra layer of respect, but it will also show the students that they are
welcome in your classroom and so is their culture. Lastly, I think that it is important for each
teacher to talk with each Jewish student before the holidays begin and ask them if they generally
do not go to school during these holidays, so you can prepare the class schedule as you see fit;
however, if you are uncomfortable with doing this, consider discussing this matter with previous
teachers (if the student has been in the school more than one year).
The December dilemma. ​We also have to consider something that many Jewish people
call “The December Dilemma.” This is when one of their major holidays, Hanukkah, overlaps
with a major Christian holiday, Christmas. Essentially the entire month of December is
designated to “the holidays” or Christmas and New Years. This can be problemental for the
Jewish person because Hanukkah, an equally important holiday, also occurs during this time, but
there is little recognition in the non-Jewish cultures about its happening. Furthermore, most
Jewish families--even those that are Jewish by culture only--do not celebrate Christmas in any
way, including putting up a Christmas tree. As the My Jewish Learning (2017) put it, “the weeks
leading up to Christmas are a time when many American Jews, even those who are not
religiously observant or do not think often about their Jewish identity, feel conscious of being
Jewish and not being part of the Christian majority.” Many Jews struggle with determining how
they want to spend the federal holiday, and generally opt for eating Chinese food since those
cultures often don’t celebrate Christmas either (thus their restaurants are still open).
Keeping Jewish students in mind during the holidays. ​All this is to say that Jewish
families and students are already under a lot of pressure about Christmas from society. They
should not feel that same pressure in the classroom setting. If you knowingly have a Jewish
student in your classroom and you absolutely love putting up a Christmas tree, try setting up a
fake menorah and somehow show a representation of a lit candle for each of the days of
Hanukkah (or at least until winter break starts). Avoid saying “Christmas break” and try saying
“winter break” to be all inclusive. If you really want to say “Christmas” include Hanukkah in it
as well by saying “Christmas ​and​ Hanukkah.”
If the student is comfortable,​ ask he/she if they would like to teach the class about
Hanukkah and how his/her family generally celebrates it. If they are not comfortable with it, ​you
should spend a few minutes teaching the non-Jewish students in the class about Hanukkah.
While this might take up a couple of minutes of instructional time, this will be instrumental in
allowing this student to not feel like an outcast during the Christmas time. It is important,
however, to recognize whether or not the student is comfortable with you singling them out
during class. If not, just treat it as a cultural lesson without reference towards anyone in
particular.
Dietary Restrictions
I do not have to go very far into this; however, you should always be aware of food you
bring into the classroom. There are many restrictions--depending on the school district--of food
you can bring, but it is imperative that each student can eat the food, whether it be candy as a
reward or cupcakes for someone’s birthday. While you should always take into account dietary
restrictions, many Jewish people only eat foods that are Kosher. This is not a particular style of
food, but it is simply how it is prepared. I will not go into this preparation, but I have left a few
tips in your teacher’s guide about what “kosher food” is. All I want to touch on this matter is that
your Jewish students will truly feel accepted if they are able to eat the food presented in their
classrooms. If you want to bring some sort of food into the classroom, take the extra step and
make sure that everyone can enjoy it. Look for this label on food you purchase to help you get
started with this.
Jewish Conversion from Christian Friends
Now let’s get into more of the social environment of the school and classroom. This is
where it is imperative that you as a teacher always “keep an ear to the floor,” so to speak,
because you are the best advocate for your Jewish students in a public school atmosphere. Many
Jews in the public school struggle with the religious side of their culture. They don’t struggle
because they aren’t certain in their faith; they struggle because many of them are constantly
under the pressure to convert from Judaism. This is happening all around the country.

In an affluent suburb of Birmingham, a number of Jewish high school students have

recently informed their parents of their “​conversion​” to Christianity, in a process abetted
by school policies that permit Christian “​youth ministers”​ to engage in Jewish-targeted
missionary activities on school grounds and during school hours.
In Pike County, Alabama, a Jewish student is required to write an essay on “​Why Jesus
Loves Me,​ ” and to attend a mandatory school assembly at which a minister states that all
who do not accept Jesus are condemned to hell.
In Utah, a Jewish student who objects to participating in Mormon worship during choir
class is humiliated by her teacher and ridiculed by her classmates (Levey, 2018).

If you see or hear any students doing anything of these regards, talk with the students that
are targeting their Jewish friends. There are a few ways to approach this situation. Ask that
student to place themselves in the shoes of their Jewish friends. How would they feel if they
were forced to do such things? ​If the Jewish student would like,​ they could also tell their peer
exactly how it makes them feel.
 Almost even more important, if you hear of any educator or school personnel trying to
push their religious views on a Jewish student--or any religion of that matter--it is important that
you ​speak up​. It is ​illegal​ to be doing such things in the public school system, and it is mandatory
for you to not let anything slide. Every teacher knows his/her role in the classroom and that role
is to not make sure that their students make it to the heaven that he/she believes in. Students that
are in this type of environment will not feel comfortable in the environment and will likely not
succeed to the best of their abilities. When a teacher does this, they completely eliminate any
credibility and trust that they had with that student. Essentially, they have failed as a teacher.
Anti-Semitism
On that note, it is very important to recognize that anti-semitism still exists in our nation
today. Anti-semitism is hostility or prejudice against Jews or more specifically “a certain
perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews; rhetorical and physical
manifestations of anti-semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or
their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious faith” (Plenary in Bucharest,
2016). While the definition is still evolving, this concept of hating the Jewish culture and faith is
an ancient one and can be seen as far back as the beginning of mankind when the Egyptians
enslaved Jews and treated them the way our country used to treat African slaves.
In the history of our nation, we have seen extensive amounts of anti-semitism. During the
first wave of Jewish immigrants during the 1880s, Americans grouped the Jewish together in
small homes and a town, wanting nothing to do with them. When the Jews decided to
“Americanize” themselves by dressing more “American” and modifying their last names to be
more “American names” (Takaki, 2008, p. 282) they found themselves shunned by the American
people, accused of taking jobs. Jump a hundred years later during World War II. Even when the
Jewish council had a confirmation of the genocide that was about to take place in Germany,
America ignored this (Takaki, 2008, pp. 371-80). ​At the time, America would rather limit the
refugees entering the country than allow these innocent people to live. Consequently, nearly 6
million Jews were murdered in horrible, horrible ways. Both of these examples are how Jews
have historically been treated in our nation. This is anti-semitism at its finest. And we still see it
today.
Anti-semitism in colleges. ​In fact, when looking up some ways that anti-semitic attitudes
have been seen in our schools, I found that there are many universities that are notorious for
making their Jewish students feel un-welcomed and hated. In the ​40 Worst Colleges for Jewish
Students, 2016​ (The Algemeiner, 2016) we have some famous universities, like Columbia,
University of California (Irvine, Los Angeles and Berkley), University of Washington, Oberlin
College, Brown University, Stanford, Northwestern, Rutgers, Ohio State, Georgetown, Harvard
University, University of Texas at Austin, and many more.
But these colleges and universities do not have to be a “‘cesspool’ of anti-semitism” (The
Algemeiner, 2016). Like I mentioned with culture earlier, when we create positive atmosphere in
the classroom for expressing culture and accepting culture, we have a real potential to prevent
people like this from even beginning their anti-semitic ways. So, let’s focus on the anti-semitism
that we see in schools, how we can combat this, and how we can make a positive learning
environment for our Jewish students that are currently experiencing this. Taking a closer look at
anti-semitism in our schools, we can see it in name calling(specifically around physical features),
so called “Jew jokes,” and even neo-nazism.
 Name calling. ​Name calling is something that many students fall victims of. This can
happen for a wide variety of reasons, including weight, acne, hairstyle, skin color, the clothes
they wear, the way they look, they hobbies they have, learning disabilities, health problems,
religion and much, much more. Let me be clear when I say that I am not for any type of name
calling because name calling is hurtful and can really scar a child or an adult. Though I will be
focusing specifically on names that Jewish students may encounter in the school setting, it is not
my intention to say that any of these names are worse than other examples. All name calling
should be denounced and reprimanded.
Greetings like “Hey Jew” are relatively frequent in the life of a Jewish student where
anti-semitism is present. In the experience of one Jewish boy in a public school, “God bless Jew”
was a common phrase he heard when he sneezed (Stern, 2013). While these play on words may
seem harmless to the student saying it (and perhaps even funny to onlookers), these phrases stick
in the heads of anyone. I encourage you to close your eyes and think about the time that you may
have been called something that seemed trivial to everyone else. Think about the way it felt and
let that feeling fester for a moment. Let it sit in your stomach and make you feel a bit upset
again, perhaps even a bit sick. My example is from when I was in 5th grade. I was in a new
school, and I was trying to do all that I could to blend in and just sit quietly in the background,
unnoticeable. One day we were learning about acute and obtuse triangles. Our teacher compared
the acute triangle to someone that was really skinny. The class then erupted comparing students
in the class to the acute triangles. I was ​not​ one of those students. He then compared the obtuse
triangle to a person that was ​fat​. His exact words. I then waited for the students to compare me to
an obtuse triangle. It did happen. My teacher did nothing to stop these awful comparisons to
human beings, and it stung. It still stings when I think about it. Now, go back to the feeling in
your gut and imagine allowing that feeling to happen to our Jewish students on a regular basis
for these seemingly harmless names. Are they really that harmless? Other names to look out for
are ones relating to facial structure and about Jews being frugal. These may include horrendous
phrases like “big-nose,” “kike,” “big-nosed kike” (as one girl from Alameda High School
encountered [Hegarty, 2017]), “cheapy,” “Mocky” or “Moch” (which stems from the Yiddish
word “plague” I might add), and more. These names are the equivalent to the n-word that many
African Americans and Blacks encounter. If the n-word has zero tolerance in your school or
classroom, these names also should have zero tolerance.
Jew jokes. ​“Jew jokes” are also way too common in our school system. These “jokes”
have a tendency to focus around the Holocaust. From my personal educational experience, Jew
Jokes were pretty common. One that I can remember fervently (because it disgusted me beyond
no end) was “How many Jews can fit in a car?” the answer to the question was “Two in the front,
three in the back, and 6 million in the ashtray.” One that I came across in my research was
“What’s the difference between a Jew and a pizza?” with the answer of “A pizza doesn’t scream
when it goes into the oven.”
Take a moment and think about these sayings. Let it sink in a little bit and anger you. If
you are not angered by these sayings that face our Jewish students way too often, then you aren’t
thinking hard enough. These aren’t jokes. This is racism at its finest, and it goes unnoticed
regularly.
Explicit racism. ​Stepping out of the realm of “jokes,” we also have very explicit racism
that is commonly directed at our Jewish students. Natasha at Alameda High School was
constantly harassed via social media and text messaging. For example “an image of the
advertising logo Mr. Clean in a Nazi uniform with ‘Mr. Ethnic Cleansing’ added in bright red
letters … appeared on the 14-year-old’s phone” (Hegarty, 2017). She was also told that “Hitler’s
biggest mistake was in not killing her family” (Hegarty, 2017). Natasha admitted to feeling
afraid to go to school. But any comments even remotely similar to these would instill that very
same fear. Alameda high school has done nothing to change the atmosphere for Jews in the
school, which has caused Natasha (and some other Jewish classmates) to be afraid for their
safety.
But this isn’t the only accounted time of a school doing nothing to protect their Jewish
students. In one example of students ​on trial​ for harassment of Jewish students at North Point
High School, some boys were caught by a teacher while he was harassing his classmate. All the
teacher “said to the offender was, ‘Boys, I can get you in trouble for this’” (Stern, 2013). That
Jewish student approached the teacher the next day and the teacher “promised to tell the assistant
principal. Nothing happened--not even a follow-up call to the student’s parents” (Stern, 2013).
These are just two examples of many that we could go over. But the fact of the matter is
that we need to do something. So, how?
Fixing the Issues
There are two approaches that I would like to focus on in this.
Step 1. ​If you hear any form of anti-semitism in the hallway, whether it is directed at a
student or just said in passing to other non-Jewish peers, make it stop. Instruct the students that
they are not going to say that again, ever, and explain that it is not only hurtful but that these
racist words will not allow anyone to respect them. If the comments are directed at a student, try
turning the comments around on them to show just how hurtful it could be.
We should also always be watching the blind corners of the school. If your school has a
passing period, this should already be happening. But, let it be known that many Jewish students
that have been harassed in schools “reported being harassed by peers when alone in an isolated
hallway at the schools, but never by a group of students” ​(Garland, 2009)​. These blind corners
should never actually be blind.
If this sort of bullying becomes a more frequent issue, consider having a classroom
meeting about bullying, what words are allowed and what words are not allowed, what ways
bullying looks (including name calling and jokes that seem trivial) how the anti-semitism hurts
everyone (not just the Jews--e.g., Blacks may feel as though the Holocaust was similar to how
their ancestors were treated here in the United States). If issues persist, encourage the school to
hold an assembly about World War II and what happened to the Jews then. Bring in empathy and
make WWII not just part of their textbook--try to make it real to them. Also encourage the
bystanders to stand up for their Jewish peers when they do hear something, like name calling, so
it does not fall under the radar.
You could also help out in the classroom. For example, classes could have a cultural day
or a cultural project where they are assigned a culture to “get to know.” Encourage them to spend
time with people of that culture. If more students become knowledgeable about the Jewish
people living in the United States today, they will likely become more accepting of them as well.
This hatred is stemming from ignorance and the unknown. Let’s not make cultures, specifically
the Jewish culture, one of those unknown that the hatred is pointed to.
Step 2. ​There is also an issue of anti-semitism in some faculty members. This can be seen
through the marginalization of Jewish students and their religion, holiday views, not attending
school through because of holidays, and more. “One student was harassed by teachers and peers
so badly, he manifested acute physical symptoms of stress from the bullying he had experienced,
such as being blamed for killing Jesus, the principal of the school not allowing him to wear a
kippah during a Christmas program, and the teacher even telling the student he wouldn’t be
punished in school if he was Christian and didn’t miss school to observe his Jewish holidays”
(Garland, 2009)​. My advice to the teachers who witness this is to stand up for those students.
There are laws against this sort of behavior and if a communicative nudge from you does not
convince them, find that law and do something about it. Do not be a bystander for a bystander is
just as bad as the person committing the fault. Furthermore, if teachers are gossiping about the
cultural aspect of a Jewish student not in the presence of said student, then you should stand up
for that student and their culture even when they don’t know that they are being made fun of. By
letting that teacher recognize that you are watching their behavior towards their marginalization,
the chance of them actually causing harm to the student’s emotions is much lower. Additionally,
by not allowing the teacher to do this in private, they might decide to be more respectful towards
other cultures in general.
There is not one “right” answer for stopping anti-semitism in our schools. But it is our
duty as educators to ensure that our classrooms are comfortable and create an environment of
collaboration and learning. If we do not ensure that all our cultures represented in the classrooms
are being properly represented, than the chance of that culture succeeding to the best of their
ability is slim to none. We owe it to them to make sure that they feel safe and comfortable in our
rooms.
On the other side of the spectrum, we also owe it to our students with racial tendencies to
reprimand them for their behaviors and teach them about how other cultures make our country
that much better. I think that Steve Wessler (2017) summed up my opinions on this subject well,
so we will leave this section with his words.

I worry about the impact of anti-Semitic language and conduct on non-Jewish students
who know very little about Jews and Judaism, and may not even know a Jewish person. I
worry that years of hearing degrading language and stereotypes about Jews will infect
them with bias. How will they react as adults if anti-Semitism rises significantly across
the United States? Will they join the anti-Semites? Will they stay quiet, thinking that
those stereotypes may be accurate?

Since we did not have time to go over other anti-semitism examples in our school system,
if you would like to read Natasha’s story and others like her, please refer to the links on the
“Reference” page of this website.
Jewish Population
Let’s now shift into something a little more light hearted and discuss the amount of
Jewish people in the world, the ratio of the United States to other places in the world, and the
distribution of Jews across the United States.
World and United States
Jews only make up less than 1% of the world’s population (Hall, 2012). With only about
14 million Jews in the world (Hall, 2012), the populations of New York, Chicago, and Los
Angeles combined surpass this number at 15.3 million. In other words, they do not have a huge
population. ​Keep in mind that 6 million were murdered during the Holocaust, so their population
has been trying to recover ever since.​ But when you look at the distribution of Jews in the world,
the United States is about equal to Israel with the amount of Jews that live here. With 5,275,000
Jews living in the United States (Volokh, 2013), we can say that 2% of our population is Jewish
(Hall, 2012). In considering Jews that are not just cultural Jews but also religious Jews, the
religiously Jewish people make up 0.2% of the United States religious people groups (Pew
Research Center, 2015). Thus, they find themselves quite often in the position of the minority,
whether you are discussing their culture or their religion.
Regardless of the fact that there are relatively small number of Jews in the United States,
we still need to be mindful of the Jewish students that live in our communities and attend a
public school.
Communities
So now we need to go over just how many Jewish students are in our schools. Like other
cultures, there are pockets of Jewish communities spread throughout the United States, and then
there are also just general population with Jews mixed in. This map help shows just how many
Jews are dispersed throughout the country. Like the map says, places with the green circles have
a more dense Jewish population. The areas that are pale yellow, however, have very, very
few--less than 1,000 people.
Both types of places might present their own challenges to the Jewish student in the
public school system. If they are in an area with a large Jewish community, they may be able to
find more Jewish friends. They also may not be targeted as much because Judaism isn’t as
foreign to those non-Jews in the school. These non-Jews might, however, reflect some of their
parents ideologies about Jews and anti-semitism. So just because there are more Jews in the
school does not mean that there is going to be any less issues with anti-semitism. On the other
hand, if they are in a place, like the middle of Kansas for example, there will likely be very few
Jewish students. That being said, these students will probably not have many Jewish friends in
school and thus may feel isolated. These students need an extra set of eyes on them, especially if
general racism is present in the school already.
All of this is to say that there are separate challenges that public schools with high Jewish
populations and public schools with low Jewish populations may face. It is important to always
be ensuring that name calling and bullying have zero-tolerance in your school, regardless of the
culture it is directed out.
Take a few moments to consider where you live and look at the map. Is there a high
Jewish population in your area or a low Jewish population? What might that mean for your
schools? Do you know of any Jewish students in your school? In general, what is their attitude
towards school?
Goals
My goal for telling you all of this information was not to tell you everything about the
Jewish culture. My goal was for you to learn about some of the hardships that Jewish students
face on a regular basis. Additionally, my goal was for you to start brainstorming how utilizing
culture in the classroom can help each and every one of our students. So I’m going to leave you
with some questions to seriously consider. If you look at the teacher’s note sheet that is provided
on the reference page of this website, the questions are written down with spaces provided to
answer. Some of them are very personal and others are pedagogical. Please deeply consider each
answer and consider the Jewish culture before you decide.

1. What is the attitude towards Jewish populations in your community? Do you have
tendencies to agree or disagree with this attitude?
2. What are some rumors that you have heard in your life about Jewish people? Have you
met any Jew that has fulfilled this stereotype?
3. If you do not have many Jews in your community, look how other cultures are
represented. Do you think that they struggle with racist comments or attacks?
4. How should a history teacher approach WWII when they have a Jewish student(s) in their
class?
5. The holidays are coming up and there are quite a few students of a variety of cultures in
the class, including Muslim and Jewish students. You really love the holidays because of
how festive it is; however, you are concerned that your students that do not celebrate
Christmas might get offended or feel out of place. How could you be sure to make your
classroom inclusive during this time of the year?
6. There are a couple of Jewish students in your class, and though you have not seen any,
you have heard murmurs that there is some anti-semitism dialogue occuring in the
hallway. You have not personally heard it, and the students that have been accused of
saying this are not in your class. What, if anything, should you do to address this
situation?
7. You have a colleague and friend that has said some negative things about their Jewish
students missing so much school. They just don’t understand how their parents could be
so reckless in allowing this to happen. Additionally, they feel that Jews are only
“half-Christians” and should just commit to a religion or not have one at all. What do you
do in this situation?
8. There are quite a few holidays on the Jewish calendar that prohibit working. Depending
on how orthodox the family is, Jewish students may not be able to come to class that day.
If the student can’t come to school that day, how might you address this? If the student is
forced to go to school (whether it be the school district or the parents), how might you
still find ways to respect their holiday?
9. What are some other ways that you can promote the culture of Jewish students?

Action Statement for Teachers

I hope today that you have learned something about the Jewish culture. I hope that you
can see that anti-semitism is alive and well, frequently in our school system, and I hope that you
recognize that we are the first line of defense for both our Jewish students and our students with
racist tendencies. For the student with racist tendencies, they may have a family who is very
pro-racism and expresses anti-semitism frequently within their household. It is up to us to teach
these students about culture, how all cultures are unique and special (including their own), and
how the world is a truly unified and beautiful place when all cultures live and work together.
Essentially, it is up to us to help ensure these students don’t go into adulthood as racist
anti-semites. For the Jewish student, it is up to us to make sure that we are creating a positive
learning environment for them--one that is welcoming of their culture and embraces their culture.
Without this, we fail as teachers.
So here are my action statements for you today.
1. Do not allow any form of bullying in your classroom. Even if it seems trivial, it probably
isn’t to the student being targeted.
2. Stand up for students that are being targeted, even when other teachers and administrators
do not.
3. Know the federal laws and laws in your state that involve this sort of discrimination
(religious and cultural) in schools.
4. Create a culturally positive environment in your school and classroom.
5. Acknowledge each culture represented in your classroom, not just Jews.
6. Recognize that though this presentation was made about Jews, it could really be directed
towards any other people group of immigrants in the United States. Take each one of
these action statements and apply it to all cultures represented in your classroom and
school.
7. Always consider culture.