“Well At My Temple in Scarsdale …”: Teaching Beyond the “Heritage Student” in Three Institutions

Jennifer Caplan discusses teaching the Introduction to Jewish Studies course at three very different institutions and considers how she changed the course for different kinds of students, from “heritage” students to those from under-recruited populations. She examines the problem of the classroom as a confessional space where non-heritage learners might lose interest and shut down, and analyzes which aspects of Jewish culture and tradition and which readings are most appropriate for each class’s mix. Caplan answers fundamental questions such as Who are we as teachers? How do we teach? and What is the learning environment like? The article includes two sample syllabi.