It’s fascinating to think that these manufacturing terms, originally dealing with inventory, have been recrafted for the digital environment.
They are getting another makeover in being re-envisioned for approaches to Jewish education.
But then again, how far-fetched is it….we are in the business of ‘manufacturing’ committed Jews, aren’t we?
Old school supplementary Jewish education for teens was based on the premise of “Just in case” i.e. let’s put everything in the pot: hebrew language, Jewish identity, Israel education, Holidays and customs, synagogue skills…mix it all up just in case this would be relevant and meaningful at some point in the future.
The ‘just in case’ attitude seemed to be based on a hit or miss approach to education, or rather,” let’s throw enough Jewish stuff in, and something will stick!” Years later, it didn’t stick very well at all.
The approach of “Just enough, Just in time” is a new paradigm that looks at output that is not separate from input.
To be frank, though we’re not creating a car here, we need to really pay attention to the ‘manufacturing process’ as it relates to the consumer in order to have a lean and agile Jewish educational environment. Then we can provide ‘just enough’ really spectacular educational offerings, ‘just in time’ when the student is ready to learn, to be meaningful.
That doesn’t mean teaching fluff, it means ultimate teaching–teaching with a sense of urgency.
For that to happen, we need to do some things that are not very trendy at all; we need to listen.
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