USCJ Review - Spring 2006
Leaders Win Awards for Informal Youth Education
It might be that informal Jewish education is at least as powerful as classroom-based teaching in providing young people with a Jewish identity, but because informal Jewish educators weren't always seen as professionals sometimes they didn't get the respect - or the support - they deserve.
And though informal Jewish educators often faced similar problems, each often had to puzzle through to a solution alone instead of having colleagues who could share answers. Ten years ago, six Jewish educators got together to solve both those problems. They created the North American Alliance for Jewish Youth, an organization that represents the major youth organizations across the spectrum of North American Jewish life. At a conference in Washington early this year, as it moves to strengthen its operation and increase its visibility, the NAA honored its founders. One of them is Jules Gutin, who directs United Synagogue's youth program.
The group also honored Shira Kaplan, the regional youth director for our Seaboard region, giving her the Etz Chayim award. This is the second year in a row that a United Synagogue employee has been honored in that way; last way the Etz Chayim, meant for people with two to five years of work in the field, went to Ezra Androphy. Jules and Shira both grew up in the Conservative movement and benefited from its youth programs. As a USYer, Jules was chapter president, regional president, and a member of its international board; he spent his summers at Camp Ramah; he was international president of Atid, then the movement's program for college students, and he created many of USY's programs.
He's proud of the NAA in general, and in particular of how its members bridge the divides that run through so much of the Jewish world. "The fact that 400 Jewish youth professionals from all over North America, representing every religious stream, were present at the conference, is significant," he said. "We regularly meet and work together, with no friction or turf issues.
"It's a great model to build on."
Shira was a regional USY president, and went on to be the second female international USY president (there's only been one more after her). She was a Ramah camper, counselor, and rosh edah, and says, "I do what I do partly because of the wonderful experiences I had in USY and Camp Ramah.
"I also do what I do because I feel it's important work. It's important for the future of the Conservative movement that we invest in Conservative youth today. "What we do every day changes lives."
