Talent Parable Tested at Makor HaTikvah
Does the 2,000 year old Matt. 25: 24-30 Parable of the Talents still work in 2011? That’s what our pedagogic director Dr. Adam wanted to find out, so he put it to the test! At one of our recent middle-school morning worship meetings, Dr. Adam related the parable to our young people, giving each child an envelope containing 20 shekels (approximately $5.50). The assignment was for them to practically apply what they read, with the goal of being the “good and faithful servant.” Dr. Adam says, “ The students were quite shocked that someone had given them money, and were told the owner was coming back in two weeks to collect his money.”
At the end of the two weeks, the seventh grade class actually turned in the best results, as they pooled all their money to use it in order to have a bake sale. They nearly doubled what they had been given by holding that sale. As in the actual parable, others had a smaller return and some had no return. Dr. Adam says, “Despite some ambiguity, I still consider this exercise to have been a success, and I think I reached the goals that were intended:
1.I wanted them to internalize and apply the parable, which most did.
2. I don’t think they will ever see this parable in the same way again. They have had an experience to personally apply Yeshua’s teachings.
3.I think they have learned a little bit more about responsibility as well as common sense and money management.”
Our Parents Speak Out
It’s always nice to get positive feedback from our readers, but when we receive it from parents, it really makes our day! Here are a couple of recent emails we wanted to share with you of the role this school plays in the lives of their children:
“We’ve come a long way from the time when we took our son out of Makor HaTikvah at the end of 2009 due to a move. Putting him back in Makor HaTikvah is one of the best decisions we made. Having our daughter there now is also a blessing. As believers, I realize more and more that our convictions set us apart from society at large – now we are of course a part of that society, but the education that it offers often includes things like new age teaching which is total paganism, and it happens in an oppressive environment.” A & B R.
“I would just like to say how thankful I am that I could send my daughter L. to Makor HaTikvah. When we first returned to Israel, I tried sending her to a public Israeli school. She attended there for her first 6 months but was simply unable to continue because of the behavior and atmosphere. Even at young ages, students were starting inappropriate boy-girl relationships. Violence and bullying was a common occurrence. If not for Makor HaTikvah, this would be my daughter’s daily environment, but now she loves being in a place that is a believing environment in a small class with caring teachers where she knows she will be safe and where she can openly grow in her faith in Yeshua. She has developed strong friendships with other believing children that will help her stay strong in her faith. A big thank you to all the teachers, support staff and leadership of the school and also to God’s people in the nations who help support the school and make this education possible for my child.” H. N.
Just What The Doctor Ordered
As we reported at the beginning of our new school year, we were blessed to add a pedagogic director to our faculty this year named Dr. Adam. We are happy to list the following pedagogical accomplishments that he has already put into place:
- We purchased a subscription to a new website for all students which allows them to play educational games and receive extra help in all of their subjects.
- We are evaluating our text books to make sure that they match our educational goals.
- We are evaluating teachers and teaching methods.
- We have begun our bi-annual in-depth evaluation of each student in order to discuss his/her educational and behavioral progress.
- We are providing private tutoring for many of our students that need extra help both during and after.
- We are providing both educational and behavioral counseling for students who need it.
- We are checking into standardized, state-wide tests in order to compare the level of our students to that of the rest of the country.
- We have completed one teachers’ seminar and have a team building activity planned for next month.
Our Website Is Expanding
Very soon we will have multiple language capabilities on our website, meaning that with just a click on the appropriate flag, you will be able to read our website in one of those languages. We hope to have Hebrew and Russian completed by the end of the year.
We have also posted a new article on our website www.makorhatikvah.org (see articles) called, “Ideas and Guidelines for Teachers and Parents” by Warren Graham from Medallion, a Messianic literature publishing company whose goals are to assist believing Israeli youth in their study of the scriptures with culturally appropriate materials. If you click the “Articles” tab on our website and then click on PDF, you will be able to access the Hebrew translation of the article posted.
Ways To Be Involved
- Joseph Reserve Project: Helping financiallychallenged families with their monthly tuition.
- New Window Project: Helping to replace rotted windows so winter rains won’t flood classrooms. The cost of this project includes replacing panels and frames, and installation of new double-pane windows, 70,000-90,000 NIS ($20,000-$25,000).
- Teachers’ Continuing Education: Helping our teachers to further their education and complete their teaching degrees. Average course of study per teacher is 13,000 shekels per year ($3600).
- Middle School Library Project: New shelving and new books for our middle school students.
- More Laptops Needed: We praise God that we were recently able to upgrade our server, allowing us to add more computers. We would really love to add a few more laptops for our middle school, so if you would like to donate the funds to purchase one or two, please let us know. Note: Laptops here must have Hebrew characters and be Hebrew enabled.
- Playground Unit: Helping to purchase a large playground unit for our kids to enjoy during recess and/or gymnastics, which is quite costly.
A Note From The Principal
Operating a Messianic school from 1st to 9th grade is definitely challenging, and not without its ups and downs, but this year we feel so blessed to have already received so much prayer and financial support from many of you who are actively involved in the scholastic and spiritual education of the children who attend Makor HaTikvah. I was just recently telling a dear supporting friend that the Lord has poured out His “shefa” (the Hebrew word for abundance) upon us. As this man walked through our building, viewing first hand many of the dramatic changes that have taken place here over the past two and a half years, he said, “This is the kingdom of God being built right before our eyes.” It occurred to me that he was right! When God’s purposes are being accomplished, the kingdom of God is truly being built. That means that the Lord is literally using each one of us to build up His kingdom – what could be better than that? Having a part in the only Messianic Jewish day school in Jerusalem is an awesome privilege. Working together with each of you is a wonderful blessing which we do not take for granted but for which we praise the Lord who has faithfully brought you to our school for such a time as this.
In Yeshua’s Matchless Love
Cookie Schwaeber-Issan
Principal, Makor HaTikvah Messianic Day School
Along with all of the Staff