Jews are a multiracial people who for thousands of years have bridged populations around the globe. The Jewish community thus has the opportunity and responsibility to model embracing our ethnic differences and celebrating them as the united family that we are. At Temple Isaiah, we have developed a fifth grade curriculum that provides a panoramic historical, geographical, religious, cultural, and scholarly exploration of world Jewish life, from the days of Abraham and Sarah to the present. As a result, our country has produced educators with a great need to learn of the diversity and richness of Jewish history, culture, religious traditions, and intelligentsia.
Multiculturalism is an issue central to the lives of American children, especially in California.
Addressing the issue within a Jewish framework has helped our students foster a closer personal connection to and appreciation for a concern that, for many, otherwise would have seemed removed or divisive. Our fifth grade curriculum parallels the state wide, secular study of global civilizations, complementing it with Jewish content and meaning. As such, our project has impacted students not only in their Jewish learning environment, but also in their daily lives, by making their heritage visible and relevant in their secular studies.