In preparing for Monday's webinar with Cyd Weissman of the Jewish Education Project I came across an interesting paper by Jack Miller, Professor of Curriculum at the University of Toronto. In his paper entitled, Education and the Soul, Miller writes:

We can reclaim our souls. Instead of denying and oppressing the soul we can learn to let the soul manifest itself in the world. Instead of confining the soul we can learn to celebrate soul. By reclaiming soul we find that the classroom, or any educational encounter, takes on a new vitality and purpose. Students and teachers no longer go through the motions, but instead feel alive and nourished in what they do. In a word, learning becomes soulful.

The paper explores the needs and means for soul based education. When we as Jewish educators look at whole person learning we have an obligation to look at all aspects of the learner, including a focus on spirituality. Miller offers some great points to think about.

www.hent.org/world/papers/Education_Soul.doc

Education_Soul.doc