What
a Jewish, holistic school in Berkeley
FOR THE MIND, BODY, AND SOUL
Children need a school where they are encouraged to connect with themselves and Hashem, to develop a healthy self-confidence, and to reach their fullest potential. Help us make this a reality.
What
a Jewish, holistic school in Berkeley
FOR THE MIND, BODY, AND SOUL
Children need a school where they are encouraged to connect with themselves and Hashem, to develop a healthy self-confidence, and to reach their fullest potential. Help us make this a reality.
Education must be addressed in a holistic way, balancing the mind-body-soul connection. Children grow at their own individual pace and it's the job of the parents and educators to support this growth. They need to be shown patience, feel respected, and given the freedom to allow this natural flow to occur. Children have a natural motivation to understand and explore the world around them and it's our job to provide a safe environment for that to occur.
Who we are
Hi! We are Rabbi Zalmy and Estee Berkowitz and we just recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We have been homeschooling our five beautiful children (or rather some sort of combination of homeschooling and unschooling) since our oldest was little.
Not yet knowing much about it, we happily dove into many different education philosophies through trial and error and a crazy amount of reading and studying; and, well here we are now, starting a school.
What is it?
Chanoch LaNa'ar will be a Torah-based learning experience, synthesizing the secular and the holy, the experiential and the conceptual. We will utilize the huge advances in technology to create a unique atmosphere of auto didacticism as well as fostering (and not G-d forbid smothering!) a child’s natural passion for learning and discovering.
Chanoch LaNa'ar will be focused on experiential learning, with an understanding that every child learns differently, at their own pace, and through ideas that excite them.
Why is it needed?
Berkeley is one of the most Jewish-dense cities in the US (over 20%!!) and as of yet has very few Jewish educational opportunities for children in grades k-12.
Known for its alternative culture, Berkeley would welcome a more alternative-minded school with a holistic approach to education.
There has been a huge resurgence of spirituality in the Bay Area, the Neshama (Jewish Soul) is crying out to connect to Hashem, though many don’t know where or even how to focus that energy.
new school
a new school for a new generation
In times of great change, learners will inherit the earth, while the learned will be beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.
-Eric Hoffer
new school
a new school for a new generation
In times of great change, learners will inherit the earth, while the learned will be beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.
-Eric Hoffer
“All knowledge you’ll ever learn, every experience you’ll have in life, are the circles. They’re not the center. If you don’t have a solid center, you’ll have jagged circles, incomplete circles, many different circles. ...you need that center before you start building your circles.”
Education Philosophy
Our philosophy is based on a set of overarching, common-sense principles.
(See our philosophy page for a much expanded explanation of the following)
FREEDOM!
Children are human (for the most part) and need to feel involved in their decision making, need to be treated with respect, need to have free time to explore, need to be challenged, and more than anything else, they need to be happy. Happy kids make happy learners. Happy learners make lifetime learners. Lifetime learners...you get the point.
holistic
We are holistic creatures. Our lives aren't divided into neat little boxes with little overlap. We read about science, and engineer software about social statistics. At Chanoch LaNa'ar learning will be relateable to the real world, Jewish studies won't be learned in a vacuum, and social and emotional skills will be a major priority.Tech
It's time to embrace the internet and personalized learning for all it's worth. Students don't have to listen to the same lecture at the same time (irrespective of their level of understanding and their unique way of learning), nor does the teacher have to be the sole question answerer. It's a brave new world out there. And it's a beautiful one.
Take Action
Take action
Hi! We're glad your journey on this cybervoyage has led you here. There are three main things we need to move this from a dream to a reality. Students, money, and lots and lots of sweat. Which one can you help with?
Take Action
Take action
Hi! We're glad your journey on this cybervoyage has led you here. There are three main things we need to move this from a dream to a reality. Students, money, and lots and lots of sweat. Which one can you help with?
“Charity transforms matter to spirit; it turns a coin into fire.”
Help us light this fire, and make this school a reality!
Does this excite you? Do you want to see something like this happen? Make sure to Subscribe to get updates, articles, news and anything else Chanoch LaNa'ar related!
“The beginning of wisdom is to desire it”