The mission of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School
(FMAMS) is to provide thousands of adults worldwide with access to comprehensive
Jewish literacy through the study of classic Jewish texts.
Program
Curriculum for the Mini-School was created and is continually updated by
staff at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.
The Mini-School curriculum encompasses the following
four courses:
- Purposes of Jewish Living (30 Lessons)
- Essential Jewish theological concepts and ideas as they unfold in the Bible,
the Talmud and other sacred texts.
- Rhythms of Jewish Living
(30 Lessons) - Central ideas and texts which inform rituals daily, weekly, annual,
and life cycle observances.
- Dramas of Jewish Living Throughout
the Ages (30 Lessons) - Dramatic developments, experiences and issues
from different periods in Jewish history, as reflected in historical texts.
- Ethics
of Jewish Living (30 Lessons) - Ethical issues such as justice, life and
death, sexuality and community, with case studies from Talmudic, rabbinic and
contemporary literature.
The focus on the curriculum is "learning
for Jewish living," with the student’s presumed life concerns serving as a point
of reference for the subject matter. Material is presented in a descriptive rather
than prescriptive manner, and varied options offered by mainstream Judaism are
discussed. The curriculum is also designed specifically to meet the educational
needs of adults; active participation and critical thinking are encouraged by
interactive strategies such as text analysis and group discussion.
Growth
There has been explosive growth in FMAMS throughout the world since the first
three schools, with an enrollment of 73 students, opened in 1986. - 1992:
1510 students enrolled in 64 classes at 22 sites
- 1997: 3010 students
enrolled in 94 classes at 34 sites
- 2001: 5946 students enrolled in 197
classes at 63 sites
Sites are located in the United States, Canada, England
and Australia. Test sites have recently opened in Israel and South Africa.
Impact
According
to a study of the Mini-School, by Stephen Cohen, "The main impact of the
Mini-School upon the students' Jewish identities centers around "meaning-making,"
the enhanced ability to derive sense and purpose from every-day Jewish activities."
Cohen's study showed that the Mini-School program had little impact on the
actual behavior of the students; few people started to keep kosher or shabbat
after graduating. However, the program did have a signficant and widepread impact
on the students' understanding of the meaningfulness of their Jewish lives. One
graduate named Marina said, "I get so much more out of the (synagogue) service
because of Melton, I really do. Everything has so much more meaning."
The
Mini-School's "meaning-making" extends beyond ritual observance and
Jewish communal service; it actually embraces everyday activities that take place
in the family, business and community. 33% of graduates surveyed said that they
"more often see ethical implications in a lot of my ordinary activities."
The Melton program also succeeds to demystify Jewish learning and increase
appreciation for Jewish texts. 14% of graduates are express interest in taking
a class next year on a Jewish theme, and 21% of graduates express interest in
participating in an ongoing study group on a Jewish theme.
Another impact of
the Mini-School is to reduce alienation and antagonism toward Orthodox Jewry.
This results from the Mini-School's emphasis on pluralism and its sympathetic
treatment of a normative approach to Jewish life.
22% of graduates say that
to a great extent "I have deepened my faith in God," and 25% say "I
have become more spiritual." Thus, the Mini-School seems to have exerted,
for some, a positive influence on their feelings for God and spirituality.
Sally,
a Mini-School Graduate, said, "It has changed my whole way of thinking. It's
really hard to put it in words. It has just made me a better person. You look
at life in a whole different way."
Mini-School learners attached importance
to their roles as parents, spouses and grandparents, and they express their enhanced
sense of meaning and their augmented confidence as Judaically knowledgeable via
interactions with their own family. Graduates also reported feeling more attached
to their local Jewish community as well as to the Jewish people in general.
Taken
together, the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School program produces a change in the
students' understanding of Judaism and in their personal Jewish identities.
Margaret,
a convert to Judaism said:
And it's like my family tree. It's
like my base. It's where I come from. And it gives me a place to start. It kind
of anchors me and gives me a bit of an identity.
Judy, a clinical
psychologist, sums up her FMAMS experience:
It's a part of knowing
who I am. And I need to know more about that. I mean, I've been trying to understand
who I am, forever, in all kinds of ways... who I am in relation to my family and
my patients and my husband. And who am I in terms of my Jewishness and the fact
that everybody has been Jewish all the way back to God, you know? [She laughs].
It's my history. ANd it just didn't seem right for me not to have more information
about that.
~ Lisa
Katz
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