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Twice a year, for the last two years, an elementary school teacher at the Tenderloin Community School walks a mile with her class to visit The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM). Even though the San Francisco school’s population is diverse, there are almost no Jewish students in her class. This excursion, led by a teacher who is not Jewish, has become a vital part of her dedication to building a foundation for students to become open and empathetic citizens of the world, especially during a time when antisemitism is on the rise.

“Coming to The CJM,” the teacher explains, “is an excellent opportunity to uplift all cultures as we share Jewish stories.”

The CJM has pioneered an innovative approach to its education model by creating a new paradigm for teaching Jewish culture and history in K-5 secular classrooms in the Bay Area and beyond. Over the past five years, and in particular since October 7, 2023, the drive to shift perspectives and inspire and support the teaching of Jewish culture has become much more urgent.

Through its educational work, the Museum emphasizes a cross-cultural understanding by integrating Jewish stories at a critical stage in youth development that has been missing in schools across the nation. Using CJM classroom resources, students get the opportunity to ask questions and share their own stories through lessons about Jewish culture and heritage. During Museum tours, students can look at Jewish symbols alongside contemporary art, spurring connections and creativity. In teacher trainings, professionals are supported in building welcoming classrooms that uplift heritage. These perspectives add depth to the more difficult lessons taught in middle and high school about the atrocities of the Holocaust and is an approach woven holistically throughout the Museum’s tours, resources, partnerships, and national collaborations.

Countering Antisemitism

Antisemitic incidents have been rising steadily across the U.S. in the last decade. In 2022, the FBI noted that 63% of religiously motivated hate crimes targeted Jewish citizens. In the first months after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and subsequent war in the Middle East, the Anti-Defamation League reported that antisemitic incidences spiked by 360% compared with the same period a year earlier. In the Bay Area, three major school districts (San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) are now under federal investigation for possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act related to antisemitism.

In the midst of all this, many Jewish students and families report that they feel less safe, with some even deciding to hide their Jewish identities at times.

“It often falls on Jewish kids, who are a minority and might be very young, to educate their peers about being Jewish,” says Fraidy Aber, the Director of Education and Civic Engagement for The CJM. “Bias begins young. We need to think about teaching Jewish culture earlier and in a more integrated way to the classroom experience.”

The CJM seeks to take the burden off Jewish students by bringing Jewish cultural connections and stories to educators, administrators, and directly to classes.

A New Jewish Education Movement

In most K-5 schools, teachers typically focus on a culturally responsive pedagogy, celebrating students’ diversity through welcoming their language, heritage, and family traditions. Yet Jewish stories are noticeably absent in most elementary school classes. The CJM has built and offers resources to address this, working in collaboration with school leaders, teachers, and parents. Its education team has honed an approach to teach about Jewish culture that affirms cultural identity including supporting Jewish families who want to share traditions in the classroom, building book lists about Jewish culture for teachers and libraries, offering curriculum for biographies of diverse Jewish American leaders, and sharing resources for integrating celebrations of holidays. 

In addition, The CJM’s program puts an emphasis on inclusion and anti-bias education by emphasizing the global and racial diversity within the Jewish community.

“Jewish people come from all over the world. They are Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latino,” Aber says. “This diversity should be part of cultural understanding that transcends one-dimensionality and honors intersectional identities.”

In 2023, The CJM’s educational focus on teaching Jewish culture attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of Education. The Department approached the Museum to be the site for launching its Antisemitism Awareness Campaign as part the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.

After shadowing a school tour at the Museum and interacting with teachers and students, Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten convened a roundtable with Bay Area school district leaders and Jewish community colleagues focused on countering discrimination and fostering inclusive learning environments. 

“We were honored to be selected by the Department of Education, as museums are one of the key spaces where culture can be learned in an authentic way,” says Kerry King, Executive Director of The CJM. “We are uniquely positioned to be a resource for schools to fill the gaps in teaching K-5 students about the richness of Jewish culture and tradition.”

In the year since the Deputy Secretary’s visit, thousands of elementary children have visited the Museum on tours and hundreds of teachers are engaging in the program’s many in-school resources, including utilizing The CJM’s co-created books lists, Museum-generated holiday guides, and teacher toolkits. Over the summer, the Museum convened the first in a series of online meetings for educational leaders across the country, launching a national network for collaboration and growth on the teaching of Jewish culture in secular spaces.

A Call to Action for a National Movement

“The CJM is now looking to the future focused on a broader goal to expand the initiative and build a coalition among museums, educators, curriculum and content creators, and funders to identify and fill the critical K-5 educational need,” says King. “We’re developing a powerful model that will reach far beyond our walls, and from which others can draw and expand upon. The program is a meaningful way to actively contribute to combating antisemitism, and together advocate for systemic change.”

The CJM invites teachers, parents, administrators, and community and educational leaders to partner in this effort. Countering and preventing antisemitism through education requires collaboration, resources, and a commitment to telling stories of Jewish life and culture.

RESOURCES CREATED BY THE CJM

Book Lists: Co-curated by The CJM and the San Francisco Public Library, these lists celebrate Jewish culture through literature for young readers. Learn more here.

Rosh Hashanah and Other Holiday Resource Guides: These tools help teachers bring Jewish culture into the classroom during Jewish holidays. Explore more here.

Notable Jewish Figures Curriculum: Educational materials feature Jewish historical figures and their contributions, including Ezra Jack Keats, Levi Strauss, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with a focus on their Jewish heritage. Learn more here.

School Tours: Free in-person and virtual tours at The CJM explore Jewish culture, history, and contributions through art, architecture, and literature for K-12 students. Explore more here.

Teacher Trainings: Free in-person and virtual trainings focus on topics such as celebrating holidays, teaching about Jewish figures, exploring culture with arts, and preventing antisemitism. Get more information here.

For more information, contact Fraidy Aber, The CJM’s Constance Wolf Director of Education and Civic Engagement at [email protected].