Liberatory Jewish
Learning Standards
Learning Standards are an articulated set of learning goals by subject and grade level. They express the “what” and “why” of what we’ve chosen to prioritize in terms of skills, knowledge, and ways of being .
The “how” (lesson plans, projects, field trips, etc) will be shaped by our future teachers, whose expertise and relationships with their students cannot be prescribed.
Rooted in an inquiry and project-based approach to learning, they encompass seven areas of study across Kindergarten through 8th grade:
Tefillah (prayer)
Tanakh and Talmud
Mysticism and Myth
Jewish Languages
Histories and Place
Practice and Observance
Israel/Palestine and Palestinian solidarity.
Though organized by subject area, the standards are intentionally interdisciplinary, reflecting the integrated nature of Jewish life. They do not include Achvat Olam's future secular academic program, which will be equally intentional and rigorous.
No set of learning priorities can fully capture the breathtaking scope of Judaism and our communities, but we believe these core competencies cultivate Jewish literacy that facilitates not only knowledge, but embodied practice, positive identity formation, confidence and ownership, and bold action-taking for a freer world.
Sample standards are available for free download (insert here, here, and here). If you would like to download the full set of Achvat Olam’s Liberatory Jewish Standards for your own community, you can do so here. We ask you to please consider a suggested donation to honor the value of this resource and the immense labor and care that birthed its creation.
“Diasporism embraces diaspora, offers a place where we might join with others who value this history of dispersion; others who stand in opposition to nationalism and the nation state.”
— Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz