This session will describe the practical strategies and insights on how teachers supported young children in processing information about the war in Israel, focusing on both their cognitive understanding and emotional well-being. Additionally, the session will explore factors that have bolstered teachers' personal emotional well-being during these challenging times.
Facilitated by Meir Muller, Alana Gelnick, and Lyndall Miller
Rabbi Dr. Meir Muller serves as an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. His research interests include anti-racist pedagogical frameworks, socio-political consciousness, Pro-Blackness, Jewish early childhood education, and countering antisemitism. Dr. Muller has served as lead author of South Carolina’s early childhood state standards and recently co-edited the Bloomsbury text, Early Childhood Jewish Education: Multicultural, Gender, and Constructivist Perspectives. Dr. Muller is the co-founder of the Cutler Jewish Day School where he spent 30 years heading the school.
Alana Rifkin Gelnick was the Associate Principal of the Early Learning Center (ELC) at SAR Academy in Riverdale. Alana has a longstanding commitment to innovation and inclusion, and during her tenure at SAR, she spearheaded a Hebrew Immersion program for preschool classrooms and initiated the first kindergarten inclusion class to address the needs of students with learning differences. In addition, she was at the helm of the construction of a 36,000 square foot new Early Learning Center. In 2021, she was awarded the Covenant Foundation's Pomegranate Prize which recognizes emerging leaders in the field of Jewish education.
Lyndall Miller, M.A.Ed., M.A.J.Ed., M.S.Ed., is the Director of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute (JECELI), which is an intensive professional development initiative for early-career directors and teacher leaders initiated in 2011. At this time, Lyndall is also involved in developing the Jewish Early Childhood Education Research Center (JECERC) devoted to the pedagogical documentation of Jewish life and learning with Sonya Shoptaugh, an expert in the Reggio Emilia approach Over her career, Lyndall has directed the Legacy Heritage Institute for Jewish Early Childhood Educators, a site-based transformation initiative, as well as directing the early childhood education department of Gratz College.
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Lyndall has been a consultant for Jewish early childhood education for various organizations, including the Jewish Community Center Association of North America. Before her work in Jewish education, she was a specialist and classroom teacher in, public schools and self-contained settings for young children with special needs. She holds three Master’s degrees in education, including Jewish education. Lyndall has been in the field of early education for over 45 years and is now working on her Ed.D. through the Gratz College Doctoral Program in Jewish Education. Lyndall’s focus is on supporting Jewish early childhood educators as they engage with Judaism and continuously discover deeper meanings with children, families.