We are just a week away from Family Exploration and Celebration! The community will come together to celebrate the amazing work our children do and all the steps that go into it. Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) is our current theme. Many children in Anafim v’Alonim (“Branches” for 2nd-4th grades and “Oak trees” for 5th grade) have focused on what needs to happen for the world to be as it should be and how their vision of a better world differs from the world we are currently living in.
In texts and stories we’ve read, an important question has come up over and over, “what does it mean for the world to be perfect? Is it possible?” None of the children believed the world could be perfect. However, each child did see rich ideas about how and why people should continue to work towards a better world.
These four words: listening, partnership, courage, and persistence were the foundation for our exploration of what needs to happen to make the world as it should be. Children chose problems they found in the world like homelessness, racism, gun violence, and climate change. Each of them named what needed to change and the steps it would take to get there.
One way children have shown their ideas is through flowcharts. These flowcharts walk you through the steps it takes to work towards making something in the world better. For example, one child is exploring climate change. He starts with one single person and how it takes many people to make change. For example, door knocking and calling your local representatives are all steps to ultimately get a bill pushed that would help to make a difference.
Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) reminds us of our responsibility to make the world as it should be. Even though Family Exploration and Celebration is next Sunday, I know that our exploration of Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) will continue as Pesach (Passover) approaches. The conversations of what children see as their individual responsibility in different social issues, as well as collective responsibility, will continue far beyond Sunday.
