Sylwia Denko Contexts of Schooling Cultural Inquiry October 4th 2011 As a teacher it is very important to be both understanding and

knowledgeable of different religions and cultures. Teachers should be required to learn about all these differences that children possess to help themselves refrain from judgment. When a person is not knowledgeable about differences, this can cause problems. In my case, I have been brought up in a strict Catholic household. My family and I go to church every Sunday and I have never been inside, let alone participated in a different religion's service. I decided to participate in a Jewish service because it is something very different than my own religion. Also, I have interacted with many Jewish people and I will more than likely have Jewish students, so I was interested in learning more about this very common religion. The synagogue that I attended was located across the street from Rider University at1958 Lawrenceville Rd, Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The ceremony itself was in a large room where I found out other ceremonies are held. It was similar to my church in the sense that we also use a grand room with pews and an alter for our big ceremonies and mass as well. However, an aspect that was different between the Catholic religion and the Jewish religion is that their mass was held on a different day and a lot later than any of my church's masses would. Catholic masses are traditionally held on Sunday which is the Catholic day of rest. However, as time passes, it is not always possible for strict Catholics to go to church every Sunday so most churches have extended masses to Saturday night. This Jewish service that I attended was on a Friday night, which is their day of rest. They started at 7:30, but not promptly. I was talking to a girl there

before the service and I asked her what time it was supposed to start and she said "Around 7:30, whenever most people get here", this shows a more casual approach to service. At my church the priest does not wait for anyone, once it hits either 5 PM on Saturday or 8 AM, 9:30 am, or 11 am on Sunday that is when the mass begins. The service started out with a song and the Rabbi walked up to the front and stayed at a podium. Everyone received a book and was expected to follow along. The ceremony consisted of mainly a combination of songs and prayers. Everyone had their own book to follow along with where page number one was the last page of the book and the page numbers would increase from left to right. For every different song or prayer a member of the congregation was called to stand at a podium lead a part of the service. Some of the service were in English and the rest were in Hebrew and all of the songs were in Hebrew as well. For most of the songs and readings the congregation was seated, however there were a few times where the congregation was asked to stand. There was a special prayer that only the people who were in mourning would stand and everyone else would sit. Towards the end of the service the Rabbi recognized all of the teenagers that actively work in the synagogue, announced the recently deceased, and other announcements that he had. Then he lead a closing prayer, walked to the back of the synagogue and stood at the entrance to shake everyone's hand before they left. Before I attended the service I only had one frame of reference and that was the one from my church which is where my expectations for the Jewish service originated. Before attending, I assumed that I have to cover my shoulders because we were not allowed to show our shoulders at my church. I decided to wear what I would have worn to my church: a nice top and some dark jeans. When I arrived I left completely out of place. Everyone was either wearing a dress, a skirt, dress pants, or a suit. I was the only one in jeans. Because I felt out of place and slightly

embarrassed of my attire I sat in the back hoping no one would notice. As I sat in the back, a younger girl approached me. She noticed that I had a small note pad with me and her exact words were "whatever you do, do not take notes." She explained that Friday is their day of rest and taking notes during the service would be going against that and therefore, disrespectful. There were two other aspects that I was curious about before attending the synagogue. My church conducts mass entirely in Polish, would the service I'd be attending be completely in Hebrew? It turned out that about half of the service was in English and the other half in Hebrew; therefore, I was not completely lost. The other portion that I was wondering about was if people of the Jewish religion received sacramental bread every week? I am used to being welcomed to the alter to receive a sacramental host. I assumed that this would be the same at the synagogue because Catholicism branches off of Judaism. As I sat through the service I noticed there was so time to do so. Later I was informed that a similar idea happens only during Passover where people of the Jewish faith consume matzah. Teachers need to know that all students have different ways of life and they should work hard to learn and understand these differences to help a child fit in and succeed. There are many lessons that come out of an assignment like this. When I was sitting at the synagogue, I felt very uncomfortable. There were many differences that I was aware of and I did somewhat feel like an outsider. I imagined how a child would feel on perhaps their first day of school, alone an confused. Children enter school districts from various countries and communities where the culture and "norms" could be very different. If a child who entered into a school where books backward to them, if everyone was dressed differently and spoke a different language they would feel completely lost and confused. They would need the support of the teacher to help, guide, and mostly, accept them.