Today is July 27, 2026 /
Today is July 27, 2026 /
“When you expect good you will get something good.” This is what my son’s teacher told me when I thanked her for encouraging him to do something hard at school a few months ago. She has an amazing ability to motivate students and to get the best from them. She sees within them what is Continue Reading »
Jerusalem, Israel, April 9, 2018 – Ayeka: The Center for Soulful Education today announced that Michal Fox Smart has been hired as its first Director of North America, effective August 2018. Michal Fox Smart is currently Associate Principal of Judaic Studies at Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, CT. A recognized leader in innovation and curriculum Continue Reading »
He said he wasn’t going to fast on Yom Kippur. She traded in her long-sleeved shirts and skirts for tank tops and shorts. He got a second earring, this one on the top of his ear. She was tired and annoyed by the rules. Shabbat meals became optional. And so their parents came to me. Continue Reading »
Ayeka: The Center for Soulful Education has selected eight schools from a strong applicant pool to participate in a new cohort, funded by Jim Joseph Foundation. The schools chosen are Adelson Educational Campus, Beren Hebrew Academy, Carmel Academy, Katz Yeshiva High School, Luria Academy of Brooklyn, Maimonides School, Pressman Academy, and Solomon Schechter of Long Island. Continue Reading »
Experiences of pain, confusion, and depression are inescapable. Just as God created a world with light and darkness and day and night, we have times when we are open to hearing and feeling gratitude for the voice of the soul. We have other times when life seems confusing and bleak and the voice of the Continue Reading »
Can a person ever really change their nature? Can I? There are moments as a parent — and as a person — when I feel I have had it. When patterns of behavior (mine or my children’s) make me feel like I am locked in an endless repetitive cycle. Why are they behaving this way? Continue Reading »
Ayeka: The Center for Soulful Education today announced that it has selected eight schools from a strong application pool of sixteen to participate in a new cohort beginning August 2018 funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation. The schools chosen are Adelson Educational Campus, Carmel Academy, Katz Yeshiva High School, Luria Academy of Brooklyn, Maimonides School, Continue Reading »
I hesitated many times before writing about #MeToo. My inner voice said: “Who are you to write about this? First of all, you’re a guy. There’s no way you can truly understand the pain of those hurt. Secondly, You’re just an educator, not an authority familiar with any research or studies about the effects of Continue Reading »
NEW YORK — Eighteen months ago, students at the Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, Connecticut, received a relatively flat account of Moses and the 12 spies. They learned the who, what, where, when and possibly the why of the story: Moses sent out 12 spies to do a little reconnaissance in the land of Canaan. Continue Reading »
We, religious Jews, are caught in a searing conundrum. On the one hand, we want to raise strong independent kids who make their own decisions; on the other hand, we are crushed when their choices are different from the ones we hoped for and wanted them to make. But the real crisis and tragedy is Continue Reading »
