I received an excited phone call last November from an East Coast religious school. The educational team was almost breathless. Construction had displaced school for a year and they had to reduce Hebrew instruction to one day per week. Why be excited? They had compensated with additional 10-minute one-on-one video tutoring sessions for each child, using our Kol Yisrael software and Skype videoconferencing. And…
… learning and retention rates rose dramatically!
Why do I mention this?
Change is everywhere. The economic landscape is shifting—industries that were once our economic bedrock have failed. Solid careers don’t seem so safe anymore. The job market is as bad as it’s been in our memories. Yet people wait for things to “come back.” They wait for a return to “normal.”
I think that’s a mistake. We need to prepare for the New Normal.
That’s what the Skype story is about: Acknowledging the present—the New Normal—and adapting. Just as Jewish communities have done through the ages.
Technological change is here. Our kids use the web and bring their phones everywhere. We need to learn that technology, and reach them through their phones. That’s part of the New Normal.
All around us people are redefining their needs. Less consumption. More emphasis on community, on core values, on meaning. We need to offer our kids and families the community they need, and answers to the new questions they have. That’s the New Normal.
Today’s financial pressures are here to stay. Perhaps the families in your congregation are looking more carefully at optional spending. That’s the New Normal.
Time pressure too, and and demands on children’s and families’ time. We need to use technology to bring education into the home, using software that engages kids. That’s also the New Normal.
There are some things that you can still count on from the Normal you’ve been used to, things that come from Behrman House. We will continue to bring you the tools you need to bring the best education into your school. We will help you move from the Normal we’ve all known to the New Normal that arrived so abruptly.
Welcome to the New Normal. Let’s explore it together.
