Events



> 2012 Mandel Center Teacher Forum

Seeing Learning, with Steve Seidel

Sunday, February 12, 2-5 p.m.

Join us for a stimulating and inspiring afternoon, as Steve Seidel shows us how we can see students' learning by learning new ways to see their work. We will explore:

  • How does student work make learning visible?
  • How can collaborative study of student work inform and improve teaching and curriculum?
  • What can this teach us about the life of a classroom?

> More information



Lisa Grant> Lunch Seminar
"Israel Matters:  A 21st Century Paradigm for Jewish Education"

Lisa Grant, HUC-JIR
March 5, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Abraham Shapiro Academic Center (ASAC), Room 204
Brandeis University

Lunch will be served. Dietary laws observed. 
RSVP to MandelLunchSeminars@brandeis.edu by February 27.

At this Mandel Center Lunch seminar, Lisa Grant will present her work with Ezra Kopelowitz to develop a new conceptual framework for Israel education in North America. Over the past decade, Grant and Kopelowitz have been among the key researchers investigating the questions about the purposes and practices of Israel education in American Jewish life.  Their upcoming book, Israel Education Matters, provides a synthesis of this work in order to help advance a deeper understanding of Israel as a resource for Jewish life. When viewed this way, Israel education must address the “why Israel for me” question head on.

Grant will provide the context and framing for Israel Education Matters and invite conversation about making Israel education a more integral aspect of Jewish education.  Their work focuses on core dimensions of Israel educational practices that provide learners with opportunities to engage in critical thinking and meaning making about Jewish life and Jewish collective belonging.

Max Klau> Lunch Seminar
"Fanning the Flame of Idealism: How City Year Develops Leaders Through National Service"

Max Klau, CityYear
April 2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Abraham Shapiro Academic Center (ASAC), Room 204
Brandeis University

Lunch will be served. Dietary laws observed. 
RSVP to MandelLunchSeminars@brandeis.edu by March 26.

City Year unites diverse young adults--ages 17-24--for a demanding year of full time citizen service. As tutors, mentors and role models, our young leaders help the children they work with stay in school and on track, transforming schools and communities across the nation. At this session, you will learn about our innovative effort to address the nation's high school drop-out crisis, as well as our comprehensive leadership development model.  The session will blend presentations, discussion, and experiential leadership development activities.  

Dr. Max Klau is the Director of Leadership Development at City Year, Inc., a national service program headquartered in Boston. His efforts focus on leveraging a year of full-time citizen service as a transformational leadership development experience.  Max received his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2005; his studies focused on civic leadership education. An alumnus of four service programs, he has completed two years of service in Israel and led service programs in Israel, Honduras, Ghana, and the Ukraine.  He has written about leadership development for the Washington Post, the Harvard Business Review, and the Huffington Post.



Nadeem Memon

> Lunch Seminar
"Islamic Schooling in America: Competing Visions"

Nadeem Memon, Islamic Teacher Education Program, Toronto, and University of Toronto

May 7, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Abraham Shapiro Academic Center (ASAC), Room 204
Brandeis University

Lunch will be served. Dietary laws observed. 
RSVP to MandelLunchSeminars@brandeis.edu by April 30.

This seminar will paint a picture of the diversity of Islamic education in America, examining settings, contexts, ideology, and other characteristics. We will ask, how do these different factors shape the competing visions for Islamic education? What do these competing visions look like? What are the ideological, conceptual, and/or practical challenges that Islamic schooling is facing?