The JOI curriculum refers to all the learning, community-building, and mentorship components that JOI provides to our Fellows. The curriculum is designed to complement and deepen the experiential learning that Fellows do at their full-time organizing placements.
Framing Questions
The JOI Curriculum challenges Fellows to explore central questions, rather than prescribing any one path for their journey as Jewish organizers. These four questions provide the frame for all the exploration that fellows do throughout the year.
- Who am I as a leader?
- How and why do I organize?
- Who am I, Jewishly?
- What can I/we uniquely contribute as a Jewish organizer(s)?
Curricular Modules
The JOI curriculum is structured around eight modules, consecutive series of training and learning sessions framed around a common theme.
- Four Organizing Modules: Storytelling and Relationships, Leadership, Action, Reflection; plus a retreat on Power.
- Four Jewish Learning Modules: Exodus as an Organizing Narrative I and II: Yetziat Mitzrayim/Leaving a Narrow Place and Brit/Covenant; Judaism and Social Justice I and II: Jewish Texts, and American Jewish History and Contemporary Landscape
Approach to Organizing Training
We believe that one learns the work of community organizing and working for justice primarily by doing the work and reflecting on how the work is going, what is effective, and how we personally fit in with this work. Sometimes we call the learning “training in community organizing” but it is not “training” in the sense of an easily reproducible set of skills that will always work. We think that organizing for justice is much more complex and effective work varies among communities and historical and political environments. There is also a deep personal relationship to this work that is important to explore. So, although there are certainly some practical skills one can learn to be a more effective organizer, long-term success is dependent on a much more complex set of understandings and abilities.
Master Teachers
JOI employs a model in which highly experienced organizers and Jewish leaders create in-depth learning environments with the Fellows over a number of consecutive sessions, or at several key points during the year. Master Teachers for 2009-2010 include:
- Meir Lakein, Greater Boston Synagogue Organizing Project
- Meredith Levy, Somerville Community Corporation
- Rabbi Alissa Wise, Mussar Institute
- Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Just Congregations of the Union for Reform Judaism
Friday Sessions
These sessions are the “glue” of JOI’s program. In general, fellows learn together about social change, Jewish heritage, and community organizing. The sessions draw on both Jewish and non-Jewish texts, and connect fellows with JOI’s inspiring network of trainers (community organizers and Jewish leaders). In addition, they provide a space for fellows to discuss their work and provide and receive support on specific issues.
Typical JOI Friday Session:
8:40 Arrive, get settled, schmooze
9:00 Check-Ins on organizing work and Mussar practice (Jewish reflective Practice)
9:30 Case Study led by Co-Facilitator OR Open Space discussion OR Mussar Va’ad/Check-in
10:00 Training
12:00 Announcements, Evaluation, Key Learnings, Closing Song
12:30 Adjourn
Co-Facilitation:
Each week, a different Fellow will work with the Program Director as the Co-Facilitator for the session. Fellows will each take on this role 3-4 times during the year, and will sign up at the beginning of the year.
Retreats
There are four group retreats over the course of the year, which take place at a rustic ecumenical retreat center in Stoughton, MA. Retreats are an opportunity for group members to reconnect with one another and with themselves, away from the busyness and distraction of everyday life and work. They provide a chance to delve more deeply and continuously into a particular focus area than any one Friday session affords. Retreat themes over the course of the year include Power, Passover, and Reflection.
The JOI program officially begins with a five day Orientation Retreat, usually the last week in August or first week of September. The gathering revolves around community-building activities, trainings, and study of Jewish and secular texts, and includes unstructured time for the fellows to get to know each other. The first community Shabbat celebration also happens at this retreat. The goals of the retreat are as follows:
- for fellows to develop the foundation of a Jewish and learning community that will support fellows and foster learning throughout the year,
- for fellows to begin discussion about Jewish identity, Jewish tradition, and justice that will continue throughout the year,
- for fellows to begin engaging with some of the basic theories of organizing through interactive trainings and reflection on their experiences.
Shabbat Celebration
JOI Fellows celebrate Shabbat together once a month, following an afternoon learning session. These sessions usually take place in Fellows’ homes. Each Shabbat experience starts with some kind of shared Shabbat observance created and led by two Fellows, and is followed by a group potluck meal. Though the observances may range from traditional to quite free-form, each should include the following core elements: gratitude, singing, reflecting, teaching/learning, and eating!
Mussar Practice
Mussar is an age-old Jewish practice focused on cultivating an ethical way of life.
The practice of mussar offers many opportunities to professional organizers to cultivate important character traits — such as humility and equanimity — that can be useful to them as organizers and social change leaders. JOI fellows will be introduced to the practice of mussar and core mussar texts, specifically framed for social justice leaders and anti-oppression activists. They will have opportunity to work with another JOI fellow through the course of the year to cultivate these mussar traits and reflect on the role of these traits in their personal and work lives.
Written Reflection
JOI emphasizes reflection to help cultivate this crucial habit of organizers and to prioritize this important but not urgent work. Regular and brief contributions to the private JOI Blog will help Fellows reflect on the “primary text” of their on-the-job experience and on their Jewish journey as it evolves over the year.
Mentorship
Fellows will receive regular coaching and mentorship sessions with the JOI Program Director. Fellows also will have a peer mentor relationship with a JOI Alumnus through the JOI Buddy Program. Both types of meetings will happen approximately every six weeks. Additionally, JOI can help Fellows connect to additional mentors through the extensive JOI network of organizers and Jewish leaders.
Evaluation
A core value of JOI, evaluation is integrated not only into our curricular content but also the process. JOI evaluation components include:
- A pre-program survey, extensive mid-year evaluation with each Fellow, his/her supervisors and JOI Program Director, and end of year evaluation including a survey and individual exit interviews with the Program Director.
- In-person evaluations of each session to help garner key learnings, and to determine what worked well and how to make the learning experience even better next time.
- A learning module emphasizing the importance of reflection as a means of learning from experience and evaluating progress toward goals.
Fundraising and Recruiting for JOI
As organizers, Fellows need to learn recruitment skills: how to both identify the values and self-interest of others, and how to get people to act. We require fellows to participate in recruitment, and challenge each Fellow to recruit 5 applicants to the Fellowship program for the coming year. This can be done through social, campus and professional networks.
As organizers and social justice leaders, Fellows also need to learn development skills and how to organize money. These skills are essential for anyone who wants to work for social change in the long term. Each Fellow must raise at least $1,000 by the end of the Fellowship year. This can be done in any number of ways. In addition to writing letters to family and friends, Fellows have often joined together as a group to raise the required funds through house parties, events, and other innovative development methods.
