Addressing Evaded Issues in Jewish Education

On July 1, 2006, through generous seed funding from the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York, Dr. Shira D. Epstein commenced a project initially titled “Addressing the Evaded Curriculum in Jewish Education.” She gathered both practitioners and organizations dedicated to the development of resilient, healthy Jewish girls and built the project’s Advisory Group. Their charge: to name the issues and initiate systemic change in the field of Jewish education by focusing Jewish educators on these critical, unaddressed needs.

Evaded Issues in Jewish Education: A Resource Guide for Jewish Educators

• History and research to equip Jewish educators with a context and content knowledge ...
  URLwww.jtsa.edu/Documents/pagedocs/Communications/Add...

  Resource Type

  • Databases and Resource Centers - Curriculum Banks
  • Reference
  • Interactive Resources

Banishing Bullying Behavior: Transforming the Culture of Pain, Rage and Revenge

SuEllen Fried and Blanche Sosland (yes, that Sosland!) bring their combined experiences together to present a blueprint to reduce the pain, rage and revenge cycle of bullying. Their strategies have been captured from hands-on interaction with educators, parents and students. The authors offer materials for educators, administrators, legislators, PTAs and more.

Bullied: a free documentary for schools

In response to mounting reports of vicious anti-gay bullying and student suicides, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project is making a new documentary film and educational kit available – free of charge – to every school in the country.

Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case that Made Historychronicles the powerful story of a student who stood up to his anti-gay tormentors and filed a federal lawsuit against his school district. The suit led to a landmark federal court decision holding that school officials could be held accountable for not stopping the harassment and abuse of gay students.

Bullied is the seventh film produced by the SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance program. Four of the program’s past documentaries have been nominated for Academy Awards®, and two films – “A Time for Justice” and “Mighty Times: The Chi ...

DIY: Fighting homophobic bullying

An article from Repair the World by author Jay Michaelson, founder and executive director of Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, addressing practical strategies for combating homophobic bullying in the Jewish classroom and community.

Family Acceptance Project

The Family Acceptance Project is a community research, intervention and education initiative to study the impact of family acceptance and rejection on the health, mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay and bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Results will be used to help families provide support for LGBT youth, to develop appropriate interventions, programs and policies, and to train providers to improve the quality of services and care they receive. The project is funded by The California Endowment, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and individual donors.

GLSEN Anti Bullying Resources

Through research-based interventions, GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) provides resources and support for schools to implement effective and age-appropriate anti-bullying programs to improve school climate for all students. While many schools show a willingness to address bullying generally, effective efforts must address the pervasive issue of anti-LGBT bullying as a crucial element of the problem. Listed here are programs and resources to help all members of the school community address bullying in inclusive and effective ways.

GLSEN Educators' Page

Lesson plans, curricular tools, information and email list for educators from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, sponsors of National No Name Calling Week and the National Day of Silence. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes in creating a more vibrant and diverse community.

If Only Tyler Clementi Had Been to a Gay Synagogue

An article by Rabbi Victor Appell, URJ Congregational Specialist for Marketing, Outreach & New Communities, in response to the recent spate of bullying & suicides of LGBT teens.

Jewish Community Pledge

This website was launched by Keshet as a pledge to speak out against homophobic bullying in our synagogues, schools, and throughout the Jewish community. Includes a resource page for educators, a blog with articles of interest and a forum for discussion, as well as a Hebrew language page.

JQYouth

JQYouth is a New York-based social/support group made up of frum/formerly frum* gay, lesbian, bi, and trans Jews ages 17-30. (*Frum includes: "modern orthodox, yeshivish, chasidish and traditional-conservative.") Website includes resources, links for further study, history and contact information.

Love Your Neighbor, Love Yourself: Building Healthy Relationships

USY is pleased to offer resources and activities to help Jewish educators respond to bullying through a Jewish lens through discussion, interactive activities and texts. This PDF is an excerpt from a 2009 publication, Love Your Neighbor, Love Yourself: Building Healthy Relationships. A joint project between USY and Jewish Women International, this educational sourcebook is engaging and interactive, yet covers serious topics prevalent in the lives of teens. Adaptable for pre-teens and for any setting, this book is packed with discussion, texts and interactive activities on the following topics:

· Friendship

· Love, dating and marriage

...

Make It Better Project

An interactive site created by the Gay-Straight Alliance Network for students, teachers & parents to view and create their own videos in support of LGBT youth & diversity. Special pages for parents & educators include tools for the classroom.

Some of the great videos posted by Jews include: Sarah Silverman, Rabbi David Bauer,Kate Bornstein, & David Levy.

NFTY Bullying Guide

The North American Federation of Temple Youth's official response to actual, virtual and viral bullying, teasing and harassment. Includes links to the entire collection of Reform Jewish resources regarding GLBT inclusion.

Podcast: Young, Queer and Orthodox

Listen to a free podcast from the Jewish Daily Forward, here interviewing Mordechai Levovitz, co-founder of Jewish Queer Youth, a support network for queer Orthodox Jews under 30. Podcast discusses coming out to his parents, the pitfalls of reparative therapy, and how he’s learned to live as a gay observant Jew.

Project CARE at Yeshiva University

Resource page for CARE (Comprehensive Abuse Response Education Initiative) at Yeshiva University's Institute for University-School Partnership. Page includes an executive summary as well as links to webinars and related communities of practice.

Standing Up for Our Gay Kids

An article on The Huffington Post by Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, Spiritual leader of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in Pasadena, California.

The Respect for All Project

GroundSpark's Respect For All Project facilitates the development of inclusive, bias-free schools and communities by providing media resources, support and training to youth, educators and service providers. Its central goals are:

To challenge stereotypes and to help children, youth and adults make the linkages between a variety of prejudice and bias issues;

 

To promote respect and equity at the earliest age possible and on an ongoing basis, before negative attitudes and prejudices become entrenched and harmful;

 

To reduce the number of acts of bullying and violence among youth; and

 

To help create inclusive, welcoming school and community environments where young people and families of all backgrounds and experiences can thrive.

The Strength Through Community Project: A Jewish Response to Hate, Bullying and Suicide

The Strength Through Community Project started in the fall of 2010 as a response to the widely publicized bullying, torture, and suicides affecting the LGBTQS community. In recent months we have witnessed the tragic suicides, torture, and bullying of LGBTQ youth. Unfortunately, this is not a new situation for our community, but it is new that the media has picked up on it.

New York's Congregation Beit Simchat Torah has launched a sustained online video messaging project, building on the success of the "It Gets Better" project, aimed at providing not just the stories of individuals, but the power and support of our entire community, as a Jewish community, to those in crisis, and based on advice from suicide prevention experts.The project is centered on a sustained video message program that is guided by three principles:

1. To offer a specifically Jewish ...
   URLwww.strengththroughcommunity.org/

   Resource Type

   • Organizations - Religious
   • Databases and Resource Centers
   • Interactive Resources - Blogs
   • Audio
   • Video

Webinar on Creating Effective Bullying Prevention Policies

Archived webinar by Dr. Rona Novick on the topic of Bully Prevention in Jewish Day Schools. Visit the Institute's homepage to view other archived webinars from The University-School Partnership as well.