94: Empowering Students with Methodology and Technique with Dr. Abraham Unger

Dr. Abraham Unger has been the Tikvah Fund’s Director of Regional Education since 2021. In that capacity, he has managed the launch and growth of the Millstone Scholars National Honors Program in Jewish Thought for middle school students across the country. This weekly afterschool program in Jewish ideas covers the Biblical through contemporary periods and meets in-person in discussion-driven seminar groups in all regions of the U.S.  Before joining Tikvah, Dr. Unger served for 15 years as Director of Urban Programs at Wagner College, where he received tenure as a professor in Wagner’s Department of Government and Politics. He oversaw the Public Policy and Administration major while managing numerous community partnerships. While at Wagner, Dr. Unger was Project Manager of a major U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He received appointments as Senior Fellow at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management and as a Visiting Research Scholar in the Political Science Department at Fordham University. Dr. Unger has developed the Conservatory model of education, in which students start each phase of their education, from middle school through high school and university, with majors and rigorous specialized curricula alongside traditional distribution requirements. This curricular model weaves together theory and practice. Whether students stay with their majors or not as their interests evolve, the self-empowerment they experience as emerging specialists serves them for a lifetime. Dr. Unger is the author of numerous articles and three books examining the structure and implementation of public-private partnerships.

 Gems:

Engage middle school students in serious Jewish thought through the text and great ideas.

• Deep knowledge and deep immersion in the sources give students strength, confidence, and a connection to their past.
• The whole world benefits from Jewish values.
• The teacher encourages discussion between the students.
• To have real freedom intellectually, one must know methodology and technique.
• Put in the work with vigor and learn how the text sees itself in its own interpretive principles.
• Know the material.
• Once you know the text, it never leaves you.
• It is empowering to know the text and commentaries.
• Training students to see the text clearly.
• There must be something to focus on.
• Nothing is more empowering than helping students recognize their potential.
• Don’t give up on young people!
• Allow children to find one thing to focus on and with seriousness.
• Prioritize your children’s Jewish learning.
• You must love teaching.

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