Learning and Community: Jewish Supplementary Schools in the Twenty-First Century

9 | Western Hebrew High

chapter 9 Western Hebrew High A Place for Social Belonging and Personal Meaning Randal F. Schnoor with Billy Mencow At the dead end of a long road, tucked at the foot of a major highway, lies a collection of trailer-like structures connected in the shape of a “T.” This modest complex serves as the Jewish Community Centre of a small western city, and is the home of the smaller of two campuses of Western Hebrew High. The building consists of an office opposite the front lobby, a boardroom, eight classrooms, and a small gymnasium with an adjacent kitchen. Billboards and posters fill the walls describing Jewish lectures and programming happening in the city and the wider region. It is a Wednesday evening in late April, the last week of the 2006–07 school year. The senior students are anxiously milling around the lobby of the jcc in anticipation of the annual “seniors’ dinner.” For them it is the culmination of four years together at Western Hebrew High. Soon most will be going off to different colleges around the country and embarking on the next stage of their lives. Within fifteen minutes the seven students, ten parents of these students, the school directors and some teachers assemble in a nearby classroom. Four long rectangular tables form a square on the periphery of the classroom where all are seated. A dinner buffet of kosher deli sandwiches awaits the group at the back of the room. It is a charged atmosphere . The students are excited and nervous to have their parents at the school with them, in many cases the first time this has happened. The parents look equally uneasy. The principal of the campus, Kyra Yermus, welcomes the group and turns the attention to the student presentations. 277 ❖ Job Name: 560670 PDF Page: txt_560670.p295.pdf denisek Kyra: Your kids have been here four years now and they want to take this opportunity to share a little bit about what the school has meant to them. They have decided to focus on their senior seminar class that they loved so much. Anna Jessin, their senior seminar teacher and known as one of the strongest teachers in the school, beams at the group in pride and tells the parents a little about the nature of her seminar in Jewish philosophy. The students take turns sharing their thoughts about the class. Tania Wagman has been accepted to UCLA for next fall. She tells the group how the class has helped her grow as a Jew and as a person. Tania: It was really nice to go every week and have a new topic of Judaism to discuss. You could just speak your mind. Everyone was there to listen. No one was going to shut you down. You could talk about anything. Hearing a lot of other people’s views was really important to me because it helps you strengthen yourself as an individual. You can decide what you agree with and what you don’t and learn new things and I thought that was really cool. And learning about Judaism—a lot of sides I did not know. And being with people I spent the whole summer with. It’s nice to see them every week. We really looked forward to class. We didn’t like it when we to missed it. Anna: They always wanted to work right through the break! Parent: Really?! This is a breath of fresh air. You don’t have to come here, but you choose to do so. In my day you stopped school at your BarMitzvah ! Another Parent: I agree. It is great that you have spent these four years together . I see that the seven of you have formed a tight-knit friendship. How are you going to keep in touch now that you are all going off to different colleges? Tania: Well, actually . . . we have a class at Anna’s house next Wednesday night! [laughter] Anna confirms that, upon the request of her students, she has agreed to continue the class in her home the following week. The formal conversations end as people move to the back of the room to get some dinner. A number of parents approach us eager to talk about how much the school has meant to their child. 278 High School Models Job Name: 560670 PDF Page: txt_560670.p296.pdf denisek “My daughter talks about this senior...