Student Finish 'Wise,' All Ready to Teach

"Our class had been one of the biggest classes to go through [Congregation] Kol Ami, and we were a very tight group," said Tino. "I decided I still wanted to see them within the context of Jewish life and learning."

As such, he was one of 60 high school seniors from 14 local synagogues this year to graduate from the Isaac Mayer Wise Reform Teaching Certificate Program.

The Wise program is a "two-year, post-Confirmation program that enables students to continue their formal Jewish education, and to become exposed to thinking about Reform Judaism on a higher level and in a different way," explained Rita Siegel, the program's director at the Jewish Community High School at Gratz College.

The curriculum is comprised of courses in Bible study (with an emphasis on a Reform Jewish perspective), the history of Reform Judaism, Hebrew and educational methods (including lesson-plan preparation, classroom management and theory of instruction), as well as classroom observation and stints of student teaching.

Participants are further required to spend two hours per month studying with their congregational rabbi or educational director, "so that we can keep the relationship going between the home congregation and the students at Gratz," said Siegel.

All this emphasis on education and student teaching serves a purpose: Upon completing the program, students earn a Reform Teaching Certificate, which Siegel said is recognized nationally by Reform synagogues, and can be used to teach in Reform congregations after the students matriculate to college.

"I definitely got a new appreciation for what our teachers did and how difficult it can sometimes be, just in general, [when] working with kids," said Tino.

Another Wise student from Elkins Park's Kol Ami, Bryan Appel, echoed that sentiment: "The fourth- and fifth-graders can get a little rowdy at times, and they're not always the best disciplined, but when you try to relate and talk to them -- try to talk with them, instead of talking down to them -- you get along with them pretty easily."

Despite the occasional difficulties, both graduating seniors had high marks for their teaching experiences.

"You could tell how happy [the kids] were to have someone our age there working with them, and not just another teacher," said Tino, adding that he felt he made a strong connection to his students.

The best part of teaching, according to Appel, was "seeing that 'a-ha' moment when the light bulb goes off in their heads" as the students catch on to a new concept.

While some Wise students go on to teach at synagogues in their college towns (where Siegel said that the average rate for these graduates was $12-$16 per hour), Tino said that he didn't currently have plans to do so when he attends Bucknell University in the fall, where he plans to study environmental science.

Appel, who will study international finance this fall at the University of Miami, noted that he would likely begin teaching after his first semester.

Siegel said that the Wise curriculum was revamped a few years ago to better reflect what kids needed to know about Judaism when they go off to college. Additionally, students who receive grades of "B" or better in their education and Bible courses can receive college credit for their efforts. She called participants in the Wise program the future leaders of the Reform Jewish movement, and emphasized that their participation helps keep the community growing.

Part of what drew Tino and Appel to the Wise program was following in the footsteps of their peers, which Siegel said aided the program's success.

"In some synagogues," she said, "the rabbi and the school director really push it and it becomes a minhag -- a 'tradition' within the synagogue."