thoughts on the news of the day: manicures

hmmm…..

            Midrash manicures? Apparently a Rabbi in a Jewish day school in New York City is teaching middle school girls the Torah through painting their fingernails.  When I first read about this, I imagined little scrolls with Hebrew writings painted on nails.  That would require some detail!  The products of this Midrash Manicure Club are almost as ornate.  As part of their education, the girls read the weekly assignment from Torah, and then design pictures to paint on their nails as part of their examination of the text.  For example, the story of Noah’s Ark could have a bearded Noah on one fingernail, animals two by two painted on several nails, a large boat and a rainbow at the end digit of the hand.  Get the picture?

            Now, that’s an innovative way to educate!  I guess you could get carried away with that idea.  Say maybe put the shapes of states with their state capital on each nail. It would take 5 weeks or so to complete the project.  How about algebraic or chemistry formulas, one on each finger?  Or maybe organs in the body for biology?  Yes, I am getting carried away here, but what is the harm in making education fun?

            In my daughter’s American History class, the students pick a popular song and rewrite the lyrics of it to interpret an event they have studied.  I know a Social Studies teacher who used to bring left over cotton from the fields in Mississippi to illustrate how difficult it was to pick cotton if you were a slave in the South.  With their pricked and bloody hands from pulling the cotton out of the boll, the students got it.

            Teaching children today is a challenge; it requires engaging them in activities that keep their attention.  I am grateful for creative and innovative teachers who continually keep education alive.

            hmmm…..