Feb 10, 2022
INTRODUCTION
In an effort to pool the wisdom and experience acquired by our contributors’ work in the classroom, In geveb regularly polls Yiddish instructors on topics related to Yiddish pedagogy. In our Loyt Di Lerers series, we compile ideas and best practices for teachers who teach Yiddish, teach about Yiddish, and teach with texts from Yiddish sources. The responses to these polls offer a cross-section of the opinions, approaches, and experiences of Yiddish instructors from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, from children’s programs to university classes to continuing education courses, from new teachers to those with a lifetime of experience.
In our Loyt di Lerers series we have gathered teachers’ thoughts about Yiddish textbooks, focused on the question of whether and how to use Weinreich’s College Yiddish, asked teachers to describe how they conduct the first day of Yiddish class, learned how instructors teach with texts translated from Yiddish, asked Holocaust educators how they teach with and about Yiddish, and learned about Yiddish clubs and reading groups.
Zionism and anti-Zionism are on many students’ and teachers’ mind as a perennial (heated) topic on college campuses, on social media, and elsewhere. Lately, Yiddish has often come to be associated with anti-Zionist politics, particularly among a younger generation of students. We want to learn more about how teachers of Yiddish Studies approach (or avoid) teaching about Zionism and anti-Zionism in their classes, be it in its historical or contemporary manifestations. Whether you teach Yiddish language classes or Yiddish culture courses, we invite you to participate in our short survey.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with the In geveb teaching community.
