new non-Orthodox Jewish schools, especially high schools,
has been expanding throughout the country as a result of
this new-found commitment to Jewish education.

Why has the Jewish community chosen to focus on Jewish
education especially during the high school years? Many
Jewish educators have begun to realize that the high school
years are the time when young adults develop more sophisti-
cated ways of perceiving and understanding the world
around them. During the ages of approximately fourteen to
eighteen, teenagers develop tremendously significant new
capacities to absorb new information and modes of thinking
and, perhaps more importantly, the desire and ability to
forge a sense of their own individual and communal identity.
Jewish education during the high school years--whether it
comes in the form of a full-time Jewish day school, syna-
gogue confirmation class, communal Jewish day school, or
supplemental Hebrew high school--is the most propitious
and effective time in which to try and instill in Jewish
teenagers a love and passion for Jewish learning and living.

However, little effort has been expended on improving the
quality of this education. Despite the interest in the field of
teenage Jewish education, the investment of the Jewish com-
munity will be in vain unless it addresses the problems of
classroom management, teacher training, and the develop-
ment of quality Jewish Studies curricula. This book is dedi-
cated to the discussion of these topics and providing sugges-
tions for improvement.

Why did I write this book? When I first entered the world
of Jewish education, I was surprised to discover how few
books there were that even acknowledged these problems, let
alone that were devoted to issues of practical pedagogy for
the Jewish teacher. Many of the Jewish educational journals
published today are aimed at administrators, particular
organizations or institutions, or are written for an academic
audience in education. While such journals are vitally impor-
tant to the burgeoning field of Jewish pedagogy, I recognized
that, despite my own extensive rabbinical education, I
needed more materials that offered me practical advice and
guidance about how to develop my own strategies for effec-
tive classroom management and how to grow as a teacher

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