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Registration in Progress
Classes:
Tuesday Nights from 7 PM - 9:15 PM
Goldring Woldenberg Metairie Campus, beginning September 9th
Thursday Mornings from 10 AM-12:15 PM
Uptown JCC, beginning September 11th
Melton School Frequently Asked Questions
For answers to some of the more frequently asked questions, please click over to our Frequently Asked Questions section
"SEEKING STUDENTS - NO PREQUISITES, NO GRADES, NO EXAMS!"
How many of your kids would jump at the chance to take a class like this? How many of you ever wish you could take a class in Judaism, but just don't think you have the time?
Wish no further! Classes are now being formed for the 2007-2008 Florence Melton Mini- School. All classes require only one 2 1/2 hour session per week with nothing required, except an open mind, curiosity, and an interest in learning more about Judaism.
As one Melton graduate put it, "Give Melton two hours; they'll give you 5000 years!"
The Florence Melton Mini School was founded by Florence Melton, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, active in Jewish educational initiatives, who decided that she needed a better Jewish education, and perhaps other Jewish adults felt the same way. The Melton Mini-School was established in 1980 and the first classes started with three sites and 74 students. The Melton School now boasts of over 60 sites with over 25,000 graduates.
The Jewish Community Center is delighted that the New Orleans Jewish Federation, has requested that the Florence Melton Mini School now be coordinated through the JCC.
Debbie Pesses, who oversees informal education at the JCC as the Director of Jewish Enrichment, has been appointed as the coordinator. Classes will begin in October.
The Florence Melton Mini School is:
* A unique, pluralistic, informal education program that brings adults of all backgrounds together to study texts of Judaism. It is an educational approach that is non-denominational.
* The goal of the Melton Mini School is to provide Jewish adults with a class that enhances the students' Jewish identity and knowledge with an interactive, stimulating dialogue between the faculty and their fellow students.
* A class that will provide students the opportunity to obtain a basic - yet comprehensive and sophisticated - core of Jewish knowledge, regardless of their level of knowledge or practice. Melton participants gain Jewish literacy in an informal but challenging setting.
* A curriculum, based on Jewish texts read in English, which draws on both classical and modern Jewish texts to explore Jewish practices, history, theology and ethics.
The focus of the first year of study is on Jewish ritual, life-cycle events, and essential Jewish concepts and ideas. In the second year, students learn about Jewish history and follow a text-centered approach to understanding Jewish ethics. Students study with Rabbis as well as other learned faculty members.
There are no prerequisites for enrolling; neither are there homework, or exams. Upon completion of the two-year course, graduates earn a Certificate of Jewish Study from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
The New Orleans Melton Advisory Committee, consisting of a cross section of members of the entire Jewish community, carefully choose those faculty members that they believe can best communicate the principles of Melton.
As a former Melton graduate, Pesses was very familiar with the program, and was delighted to have the opportunity to coordinate the program. "The Melton School gave my husband and me the opportunity to study Judaism from a unique point of view, and learn from wonderful teachers and our diverse set of fellow students. Initially, we looked at it as a gift we gave ourselves. In the end, the Melton faculty and our fellow students gave us a far greater gift."
Prospective students may contact Debbie Pesses at the Jewish Community Center at 504-897-0143 or by e-mail at debbie@nojcc.org to get more details. Registration information will be available soon.
And watch for an invitation to "A Taste of Melton", a program that gives prospective students an opportunity to try out a mini class of Melton.
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