Sokol Hebrew High School
American Jewish Experience
Joyce Witt
Spring 5768



This course is designed to build on the U.S. History courses that students are taking in their public high schools. We will investigate U.S. history from the Jewish perspective. Emphasis will center on Jewish contributions to the United States from colonial days to the present. Through the semester, we will cover Jews arriving in the New World, Jewish thought in American documents, Jews in the American Revolution, Jews in the Civil War, Westward Movement, The New Immigrant, Jews and the Labor Movement, Jewish Women, Jews and Hollywood, Anti-Semitism in America, The Jewish American Experience.

There is no single text for the class. Discussions will be based on handouts from texts and primary source materials.

At the completion of the class, it is my expectation that students will have gained the following skills:
§ To identify significant personalities in U.S. Jewish history
§ To understand the contributions of Judaism to U.S. history
§ To recognize and understand the unique relationship of the Jewish community to American society
§ To recognize their own responsibility as citizens of the American Jewish community

There are basic expectations of the students in this class. Nothing can duplicate their presence in class on a consistent weekly basis. Although I can give them makeup work and projects this cannot replicate the classroom experience. After a third absence, students can expect an assignment, in addition to completing missed work, which will involve writing and research. Teaching is a team effort. I cannot teach without a class of students, and I expect that each of them will consistently participate in the dialogue within this class. That means that they are not only actively speaking, but actively listening to each other as well.

Parents can learn more about this class from your child by asking them about the topic that they are discussing each week. Since all of us are part of the Jewish American Experience, each family has a story to tell. A dialogue between you and your child that will most certainly enhance learning.