She Makes Teaching a Joy

Let’s say you’re 5 years old, and Heidi Kahn wants to teach you about Noah and his ark. Here’s a tip: Come to class hungry.

Because Kahn will give you some pita bread for the ship. She’ll hand you animal crackers for the critters who walked two by two onto the ark. And she’ll dish out some vanilla frosting to stuff inside the hull, which will keep the giraffes, elephants and lions upright.

Kahn will then tell you the biblical story of Noah, and you’ll get to build the ark and play with the animals--just before you eat them.

And that’s how she’ll get you--a first-grader at the University Synagogue’s Religious School in Irvine--to remember what you’ve been taught.

“I believe in using all senses to teach,” said Kahn, the school’s head teacher, who describes her students as “beyond delicious.” “What could be better than teaching these kids? I try to be creative, do different things, be fresh.”

It works. The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation gave Kahn, who is from South Africa, one of two national Master Teacher Awards at its convention last month in Philadelphia.

“I was particularly impressed with Heidi’s commitment to children, which helped them find joy and meaning in their Jewishness,” said Dr. Jeffrey Schein, the federation’s educational director. “I also have been impressed with what an eager learner Heidi is when we bring Jewish teachers together. The only way to model good teaching is to be an enthusiastic learner oneself.”

The University Synagogue is part of the liberal reconstructionist movement, which observes some Jewish traditions but describes its members as religious naturalists. According to the synagogue’s rabbi, Arnold Rachlis, they believe God is not a supreme being who can part the Red Sea but is a force within the universe and humans that moves people to loving and caring behavior.

“It’s an honest approach and very inclusive,” said Kahn, a former Reform Jew. “It’s OK to question. Everyone questions. I want the children to feel safe enough to ask questions and take risks. When I went to school, there was only one answer--the one you were supposed to give.”

On Saturday mornings, Kahn arrives at the synagogue two hours early to set up her classroom. She always brings along huge shopping bags filled with costumes, murals, props and handmade toys for that week’s lesson.

“They only come to school once a week,” said Kahn, a 41-year-old mother of two. “I need to give them something so they can continue to enjoy what they learned throughout the week.”

When teaching--or even just talking about teaching--Kahn’s eyes grow wide, her arms wave and she can barely sit still.

“With no exaggeration, she is the most creative teacher I have ever observed in my entire career of teaching and directing Jewish educational programs,” wrote Jessica Schroeter, the synagogue’s educational director, in her nominating letter. “Her teaching is infused with enthusiasm.”

Her students put on impromptu biblical plays for any class that will watch.

They build makeshift rafts from paper towels, grass seeds and a strawberry container. Inside goes a tiny plastic baby, depicting how Moses’ mother floated him down the river to escape the pharaoh’s death order.

And Friday during the temple service, her students sang “What a Wonderful World,” part of a lesson on creation--both in voice and in sign language.

“Totally sweet” is how Kahn described it.

“They’re honest, loving, fresh and ready to be molded,” Kahn added. “I try to take that responsibility seriously.”

After Saturday class, a still-wired Kahn goes alone to a local restaurant, where she brainstorms for her next class.

“I start cooking in my brain what went right and what went wrong,” Kahn said. “I’m most creative right after class. I always make notes. Maybe I’m concerned about a child, so I need to call mom. When I leave class, I’m on a roll.”

Said Gail Shendelman, a parent whose child, Laura, graduated from Kahn’s class: “She’s the neatest, sparkle-iest person I’ve met in my life. She has a zest for teaching that I’ve never seen. She can’t wait for her next class. She can’t wait to see the kids again. She makes every child feel like a million bucks.”

Her daughter Laura, now a worldly third-grader, summed it up nicely: “She’s a really good teacher. She likes to hug people, and she’s just really nice.”