Liberatory Jewish Learning
At Achvat Olam, our intention is to nurture Jewish children whose lives are animated by joyful Jewish practice, ongoing curiosity, communal belonging, fierce moral and political courage, and an enduring commitment to collective liberation.
Our Liberatory Learning Standards are an articulation of our learning goals and priorities in service of this vision.
These standards 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
History and Place
Practice and Observance
Israel/Palestine Learning and Action
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.
A handful of sample standards are available for free download here. If you would like to download the full set of standards plus their teacher guides for your own community, we ask you to please make a contribution of any size to honor the value of this resource and the immense labor and care that birthed its creation. The full set will be emailed to you shortly after submission of the form.
