Here are two beautiful initiatives from the English teacher training track of Herzog College’s Navat Yisrael program for Haredi students in Jerusalem.
English lessons can give students important opportunities to express their feelings. This past year, against the background of frightening sirens, our trainee teachers have seen their students confused by constant disruptions of their learning routine, and left feeling anxious, depressed and insecure. They worked on projects to help their pupils cope with the emotional hardships of the war, including writing poetry in simple English within the framework of their creative-writing workshops with Dr. Shulamit Kopeliovich.
The same trainee teachers were also encouraged to create simple reading books in English, based on Jewish values and suited to Israel’s Haredi and religious school systems. This creative and moving project was created in memory of our beloved student, Lucy Dee hy”d, who was killed in a terror attack in April 2023 while working as an English teacher.
During her teacher training at Herzog College, Lucy created a charming reading book in simple English dealing with preparations for Shabbat. This year, our English-track students followed in her footsteps, learning how to teach English in ways that connect with their students’ environment and values. Their books, and Lucy’s prototype “Shabbat Shalom” are downloadable in PDF format for use by English teachers in classrooms everywhere at https://pedagogy.herzog.ac.il/21987-2/
As we help our students to create new teaching materials that speak to the emotional needs of their pupils, we continue Lucy Dee’s remarkable legacy of values-led education, sensitivity and creativity.