The study [of Torah] is not what is essential, but the action. (Pirkei Avos 1:17)
Most of the Torah's laws are essentially a form of "indirect advice" from "He Who is of great counsel" to improve one's character and make one's conduct upright. (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, end of Sefer Korbanos)
Dipping an apple in honey, lighting Chanukah candles, eating matza and maror at the Pesach Seder… Jewish life is full of rich experiences. Yet, these experiences are not meant to remain isolated. Instead, every mitzvah and Jewish custom is designed to inform and influence our daily lives.
The Jewish concept of chinuch (education) clearly places great emphasis on experiential learning. Certainly, the power of action to instill knowledge in the minds and hearts of students is well recognized.
Let’s say you’re teaching a unit about the bigdei kehunah (priestly clothing). Using pictures to explain the details makes the information clear. A class project like making a replica uniform that students can wear makes the students really understand and remember.
However, imparting Torah knowledge is not enough. We need to transmit the values of our Mesorah, the lessons and principles underlying the mitzvos. Unfortunately, even the most exciting hands-on lesson may remain academic and irrelevant to the daily life. The difficulty is that one cannot learn values from facts alone. Rather, a child must experience values by practicing them in daily life to truly integrate them into his or her character. We can accomplish this by infusing Torah values into these interactive lessons.
When planning your lessons, consider what values you want to impart and think of ways to explicitly teach and practice those values. Remember that the purpose of chinuch is to prepare students to live a healthy Torah life emulating Hashem’s middos (attributes).
For example, the bigdei kehunah represent (among other things) the importance of honoring important and holy things by beautifying them. Students can implement this value with a project to beautify a shul or some part of their school. Or on a smaller scale, they can design a cover for their Siddur. This value can even relate to lessons about personal dignity, such as good personal hygiene, or teaching students to respect their school work by making it nice and neat (possibly for extra credit).
Making values explicit in our teaching has many benefits: Students will be more engaged and inspired. Students will see the importance and depth of each lesson. And most importantly, students gain priceless qualities to guide their life beyond the classroom.
Ideas
Here are some of the midos tovos (good character traits) you may want to tie into your lesson.
-
Kindness
-
Empathy
-
Honesty
-
Curiosity
-
Dignity
-
Respect
-
Integrity
-
Problem solving
-
Relationships
-
Communication
Resources
-
Article about the need to experience values
https://www.yagilu.com/experiencing-values-vs-teaching-them/
-
Middos lessons related to the Parsha
http://www.chinuch.org/item_detail/Learning-Middos-Tovos-From-the-Parsha
http://www.chinuch.org/item_detail/1/557/Middos-from-the-Parsha
-
Resources, texts, questions, and activities for various middos
http://www.torahdesigns.com/middos-challenges/
-
Modeling Values in the Classroom (secular)
http://www.nea.org/tools/52062.htm
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-creating-culture-integrity-marilyn-price-mitchell
https://www.educationdegree.com/articles/25-ways-teachers-can-be-role-models
-
Teaching Life-skills and Values in the Classroom (secular)
https://hundred.org/en/innovations/teaching-life-skills-and-wellbeing-in-school
https://www.thoughtco.com/teaching-life-skills-in-the-classroom-3111025
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-08-22-to-develop-future-ready-students-project-based-lessons-teach-real-world-skills