As I talk with students and teachers, drop by classes and visit with parents in the carpool line, I think often about a teaching from the Talmud: 'Education only exists when there is innovation.'
The Rabbinic charge may seem surprising, given that Jewish education is an enterprise rooted in tradition, and associated with texts that emerged from study and debate of past centuries. However, as this quote suggests, educational innovation is the core of Jewish educational tradition. Jewish schools must foster dynamic teaching and learning environments where students cultivate the skills and values they need for a lifetime.