Our mission is about building creative capacity across the Jewish community, but also beyond. Members range from people in their 20s to people in their late 80s, from orthodox Jews to people who are learning Hebrew words for the first time. Some are active in their local synagogues, while others are members of Unitarian Universalist churches or have active meditation practices, and JSP is part of the matrix of spiritual practices for them.
In a Nov. 18 email to a parent, Rusch said Steigmann's presentation wasn't right for the school "given his messages around Israel and Palestine." In video obtained by CBS News New York from a virtual PTA meeting on Dec. 9, Rusch said she would arrange for students to visit museums that teach about the Holocaust and defended her decision about Steigmann. "When I reviewed the speaker's website ... I found the slides to be political in nature," she said. "DOE's policy is that students should learn in a politically neutral environment."
This is a striking decision at a moment when public confidence in higher education is eroding. It is also puzzling because rigorous research and evaluation have demonstrated, over and over, the value of the work of centers for teaching and learning, including positive impacts on student learning outcomes, institutional effectiveness and faculty development.
