Interest In Topics

Kahal B’raira

Results of the Long Range Planning Survey II:
Specifics on Adult Education Programming

The previous survey pointed out some areas in which there seemed to be desire for improvement or change at KB. In order to make recommendations and move forward, the Long Range Planning Committee needs to collect specific information. Given the data, two areas stood out as needing further input from the congregation: leadership and adult education. The questions in this survey focus on adult education.

Question 1	Question 2	Question 3	Question 4	Question 5
Question 6	Question 7	Question 8	Question 9	Question 10

Question 1:

Following are some suggested topical areas for programming.
Please rate your interest on the following scale:
4=very interested; 3=interested; 2=indifferent; 1=not interested.

Distribution of Interest in Adult Education Topics

	Culture	Ancient History	Modern History	Jewish and Humanistic Philosophy	Jewish Arts/Music	Traditional Judaism	Politics	Ethics	Basic ideas of Humanistic Judaism	Literature
Very interested	19	7	11	22	11	10	15	21	12	13
interested	15	16	24	12	15	15	15	14	14	11
indifferent	5	17	8	8	10	11	6	7	12	13
not interested	3	3	0	1	6	6	6	0	4	5

Distribution of Interest in Topics

Other Topics	Level of Interest
who we are, what we do, how we cope with the realities and exigencies of life in our modern times and contexts	interested
Hebrew	very interested
Holidays	very interested
Jewish Theatre or Readings	very interested
Arab-Zionist History	very interested
Practical Jewish Humanism (holidays, etc.)	N/A
dance	very interested
Yiddish	very interested
Customs and life-cycles	very interested
yiddish	very interested

Total counts for interest in Adult Education Topics

	Culture	CountOfAncient Jewish History	CountOfModern Jewish History	Jewish and Humanistic Philosophy	Jewish Arts/Music	Traditional Judaism	Politics	Ethics	Basic ideas of Humanistic Judaism	Literature
Very interested	19	7	11	22	11	10	15	21	12	13
interested	15	16	24	12	15	15	15	14	14	11
Total	34	23	35	34	26	25	30	35	26	24

Question 2:

Please describe specific topics that are important to you and that you would like to see in KB’s programming: (Use the above topical areas for ideas, but by no means restrict your thinking to those areas).

Teaching values to children.
Politics and religious zealots;
ethics, child raising/parenting,; friendships, social action,racism, dispute resolution,; community, the world of work ... i am more interested in dialogue within the community - and the sharing of ideas, ex
Anti-semitism, Jewish theatre
Archeaolgical and biblical history in context of the time and cultures of the area. Larry Stager at the Semitic museum of Harvard has just written an interesting book and has done much historic research on the historical and archeologiac development of t
I would welcome the opportunity to learn more about topical events - we seem to have maybe one program a year that touches on current issues. That could be 4 or so, I think.
Something that touches on the tenets of HJ - perhaps a perspective on how
Diaspora -- Jews living in multiple countries, cultures, languages; Yiddishkeit
I'm open to a variety of topics. I'm new to the group so part of the intrigue for me is simply the opportunity to talk about many of these topics with others who share a non-theistic take on Judaism. It often puts a whole new slant on the discussion.
If others express an interest in exploring more about issues of peace in the Middle East, I would be very supportive of this movement and would gladly be involved.
Jews in Rock & Roll
for me, a good speaker and presentation can make virtully any topic interesting. i have a wide range of interests. i think quality is much more important than topic - as long as the topics and mode of presentation (music, discussion, sl
I'd like to see more discussion on who we are as a congregation; what is it that people see as the "paste" that holds this group together and makes similar to and different from other groups - Jewish,Humanistic, etc. I also think we have for
Love sessions with Jewish music! Also interested in history of Jewish exile--e.g., what Jewish life was like in teh Asian subcontinent, or in Japan. The session on South American Jews was great this year.
Jewish culture: a reading or play Political issues particularly relevant to us as Jews (Middle East, eg) Jewish humor
Occasional sessions that deal with interfaith families; Parenting in modern times (with an emphasis on moral education, etc.) I'm a psychiatrist, work in public mental health, a parent of girls, love music and to sing, have b
Our daughter Jessica made a short 13 minute film on turning 13 for her Bat Mitzvah that was very well received. (Wren Ross did it with her) If there was ever a session on parenting it could be a good jumping off point because it is on the street interview
We have an ongoing connection with Wren Ross. Her partner Daeena Giardella does amazing one woman shows as well. If we wanted to pursue either Daeena or Wren we could do that in the future.
General Israeli culture,; including music, dance, art, speakers on topics other than the Mideast conflict
Guests from other SHJ communities or national
Poetry, music and other artistic and spiritual expression by members of the congregation
American Jewish community response to Middle East conflict
Humanistic Judaism vs. Reconstructionist Judaism; I'd like to see us explore philosophical and ethical dilemmas. In addition, more Jewish content would be great.

Question 3

A. How likely are you to participate in adult education/programming produced by KB outside of Sunday meetings, assuming it is held at a convenient time and place?

	Count
Highly likely	7
Likely	12
Maybe	5
Not Likely	13

B. If you are highly likely or likely to participate outside of Sunday meetings, what times would work for you?

	Weekday Evenings	Weekend Evenings	Weekend Days	After KB Sunday AM
N/A	14	14	16	15
can do	10	9	10	10
prefer	8	6	2	4
forget it	3	6	7	6
Total Responses	35	35	35	35

Question 4

For appropriate topics, do you agree that there is value in presentations that extend over more than one session?

	Count
agree	29
indifferent	6
N/A	3
Total Responses	38

Question 5

Please indicate your preferred level of discussion relative to lecture by rating KB’s current Sunday 11am-12pm programs

	Count
good_balance	24
more_discussion	7
more_lecture	4
N/A	2
Total Responses	37

Question 6

A. Currently on Sunday mornings there is a service from 10-11, followed by a one hour program. Would you be interested in having the option to attend either the service or an adult education session held during the same time slot?

	Count
no	22
yes	9
indifferent	5
N/A	2
Total Responses	38

B. If you answered yes, approximately what percentage of Sundays should this be?

Percentage	Count
100	4
50	4
25	3
75	1
Total Responses	12

Question 7

Do you have a special interest and/or knowledge in a particular topic that you would be willing to provide leadership and/or coordination for? (Your role might be to lead a discussion, procure a speaker(s), etc.)

I am interested in hearing more from other members of the congregation sharing their life stories, passions, interests. Maybe people are not comfortable being that intimate. I'd like to see a round table of KB physicians discussing their pra
For me it is more the quality of the speaker that is important. For example,; three years ago a woman spoke about postcards. Who would think this would be interesting?? She had a nice way of talking about the history, cultural aspects of t I also e
I don't understand what you were asking in question #6. Do you mean we would have more than 1 session running at the same time? It really would depend on the content! When I was a member at Eitz Chayim (Cambridge), there would be "breakout sessio
I do not think it is a good idea to split the community during the service; I think that Sunday mornings should be for the entire group.
Thanks for doing all this. It is a lot of work. It is one of the greatest things about KB, interacting with and learning from so many dedicated people.
The newsletter session
relationship between KB and SHJ
Basic ideas of Humanisitic Judaism

Question 8

Please recommend speakers and presenters whom you think would be appropriate and engaging to KB members. Please note their area of interest/expertise.

Jewish rabbis from other flavors of Judaism
Program at Brandeis bringing together Israeli and Palestinian college students (I think it's a new major at Brandeis)
I'd like Don Pollack to come back a lot and talk . He has great biblical knowledge and biblical literature background. I'd like to see Ellen Kushner present on one of the topics of her program Sound and Spirit. There is also a good speaker from Brandeis
Tom Friedman. Isreal/middle east.
Zamir Chorale - excellent Jewish vocal musicians; repertoire spans centuries
Professor William Green of the Religion Dept at the University of Rochester. (I was a student there many years ago and took a class of his. A few years ago, as an alum, I saw a special presentation of a PBS film that was made of a U of R grou
James Carroll
Performance music
professors knowledgeable about Jewish history or history of Middle East
Marty Federman or Alice Rothchild - critics of Israeli policy towards Palestinians
When we have speakers from SHJ, maybe we should include an adult ed piece. In addition to speakers from other religions, how about speakers from other Jewish demoninations--to learn about our differences and similarities?

Question 9

If you are willing to help arrange a contact with one of the speakers/presenters listed, please give us your name and contact information, and which individual you know (or send under separate cover, if you prefer, to Eliot Jekowsky, ejekowsky@attbi.com).

Regarding Tom Friedman... perhaps I along with a few other Brandeis alumni and/or faculty, could cajole him into a KB visit next year. (Joshua Ostroff, joshua@vmr.com)
I'll be doing the newsletter and as such could help with contacts. Maybe it would be possible to get a little blurb in about the upcoming program with some quotes from the speaker.

Question 10

Please include any additional comments, suggestions, criticisms, thoughts, etc. that will help the LRPC provide guidance for improving adult education/programming at KB.

I hate to cut into the presentations, but I really love the discussions and they're always frustratingly too short. Would be great to go upstairs earlier!
I can think of more than a dozen people off the top of my head - without naming names - from within the congregation who I would like to hear more from and learn more about what they do and what consumes their lives.
I suppose it is evident from my comments, that I am less interested in being "educated" or lectured to by those outside the community and more interested in tapping and exploring our own resources and our own lives. Most of the programming presenta
I think we need more adult ed. I think there are many people in need of the basics of Judaism or reviews of such. I'd like to see 3 ongoing sets of classes: basic Judaism including holidays, Hebrew and/or Yiddish, Jewish literature.
I don't find this at all clear. What is "culture?" How is it different from "Literature" or "Arts and Music?". Is "Jewish and Humanistic Philosophies" different from "Basic ideas of Humanistic Judaism"? Or from Ethics -- should I assume "this is about J
Music programs seem less appealing to me the longer I have been in KB. I feel that they are the least compelling and the first things that I would schedule to happen at another time. I'd like to see more opportunities for talented member contributions wh
For us, a limiting factor for attending adult ed sessions is the availability of baby sitting for our kids. Might the youth group be able to provide baby sitting during adult ed activities (for a fee, of course).
On Question 5. I have felt the spectrum on this one. There are times where I would like more discussion and times where I would like more lecture. I think the problem usually is that for some topics 1 hour is simply not enough time. This speaks to the lim
Question 6. This is an interesting idea. I am sure I would be torn because I enjoy both the services as well as adult education discussions. I think it would be worth setting aside a few Sunday sessions to try this format and see how people like it. The c
Adult Ed is a broad banner indeed. I consider myself to have fairly broad interests. However, committing time to be at any activity is an ongoing challenge for me, one that was not as apparent when I was young and the Jewish community was w
I think that this is already a great strength of KB; I really enjoy the programming for adults.
I think that the service is a good time for adult education as it was when Dennis was leading the services. I think that we should try to have meaningful topics and focused discussions for the service.
I think our programming is too didactic and we need much more interactive discussion. Having a 50 minute presentation and then 10 minutes of questions isn't interactive and doesn't allow us to learn from each other. Also, instead of bringing in out