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April 13, 2001/Nisan 20, 5761, Vol. 53, No.28
'Child at heart' honored for 20 years as educator
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Karen Ringel will be honored for her 20 years as an educator at Beth El Center for Childhood Education at an April 22 luncheon. Here she poses with puppets Irving and the Passover Parrot after a storytelling session.
Photo by Leisah Namm |
Karen Ringel sits on the floor with a mock seder table spread out in front of her while she reads a story about a Passover seder. Kindergarteners, one-by-one, add appropriate items to the "table" as she reads.
Through reading books to the children at Beth El Center for Childhood Education each week, Ringel hopes to share her love of literature with the children.
It is her love of children's literature - and her love for children - that brings her back to Beth El week after week, even after retiring last year from 15 years as the center's director.
Beth El honors Ringel for her 20 years as a Jewish educator at the school, with a luncheon 12:15 p.m. Sunday, April 22, in the Beth El Social Hall, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix.
Before she was director, Ringel taught kindergarten at the school for four years. This past year she served as family educator, assisting preschool director Carol Bell and education director Tziporah Altman-Shafer in family programming.
All proceeds from the luncheon will be used for educational materials for the Beth El Center for Early Childhood Education.
Dietary laws will be observed.
Ringel grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the Bronx, N.Y. In 1971, she and her husband, Barry, drove from New York to Arizona. The Ringels have two children: Halley, 27, who lives in Seattle, and Dana, 23, who lives in Phoenix.
When she graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in Early Childhood Education, she says she had no intention of working in Jewish education.
But when both of her children attended Jewish preschools, she became comfortable in the Jewish setting as she learned about Judaism through her children. Even now she encourages Beth El parents to not be intimidated by a lack of Jewish knowledge. The school sends materials home to help them feel involved with what their children are learning.
"We make it really easy," she says. "That's one of the goals of the Beth El Center - to make it very comfortable."
Even during her years as director, she visited classrooms on a weekly basis to read stories. "I didn't want the children to think, 'oh, that's that person in the office,' " she says. "I was always very hands-on because that was my love - teaching and being with the kids."
To Ringel, children's literature "is the key to early childhood education," which is why she taught kindergarten. "That's the magical age when they're starting to put it all together and starting to read," she says.
"She is a master storyteller," says Beth El teacher Sue Cohen. "She uses props and visual aids and involves the children. The kids love her."
Former students of Ringel's may remember Irving, a mouse puppet she incorporates into her storytelling.
When her daughter Dana was young, Ringel used to tell stories of a family of mice, and the youngest, most mischievous one was Irving. Later, she started telling the stories to children in her classroom. About 15 years ago, she found a gray sock puppet at a boutique and it became Irving. "It's wonderful because older kids - kids whom I taught 10 years ago - will come over to me and say, 'I remember Irving.' "
In addition to storytelling, about eight years ago Ringel established a one-on-one birthday reading club.
On a child's birthday, Ringel pulls the child out of class and allows him or her to select a book. Ringel reads the book to the child, affixes a gift label inside the cover and gives the book to the child.
"She makes it a point of getting to know every single child in the school individually through her stories and through her birthday book club," says Cohen, who has taught kindergarten at Beth El for 20 years.
Cohen calls Ringel her mentor and says she's "a unique combination of organized and creative."
Cohen says one of the most important things that Ringel did was to encourage each teacher to try new things. "To me, that's the most important thing a director can do - to encourage the teachers to try new ideas and be creative."
Cohen says the reason she's stayed at Beth El for so long was because Ringel made her "feel so loved and supported. Who wouldn't want to work in that environment?" she asks.
Hadassah Sokol, who works with Beth El 2-year-olds, has worked with Ringel for 15 years.
She "knows what the teacher needs and I always feel supported by her," Sokol says. "She's wonderful."
Ringel reads a lot and pulls ideas from workshops or magazines and passes them to the teachers, Cohen says. "First and foremost, she's innovative and creative ... she's always searching for new ways of doing things."
As an example of Ringel's creativity, Cohen cites the handmade gifts she gives each teacher every year.
Cohen planned the luncheon to honor Ringel for "her years of work and dedication and love for the children."
During Ringel's tenure as director, she initiated and completed the process of accreditation with the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
"That I'm very proud of," she says.
Earning NAEYC accreditation means that the school meets the highest standard to which preschools can adhere - in terms of programming, safety and education in general, Cohen explains. NAEYC officials observe the school to make sure its guidelines are met.
Ringel calls Beth El her "second family," and gives the credit to the teachers. "Educators are what makes the program," she says. "It's the people who dedicate themselves to young children that really makes the program what it is." She also thanks the parents "for trusting their children with us and making it the best experience that they can have."
Her emphasis on early childhood education is "letting children be children, letting them explore, letting them use their senses and have fun."
She says her approach to everything, and the teachers' approach, is experiential and hands-on. "Kids need to laugh, they need to have a good time. It's their nature."
She calls herself a child at heart. "I think I never grew up," she says. "I was able to stay young in my mind and in my spirit being with young children.
"That's the gift they give to us," she says. "You learn more from the children than you can teach them."
Details
What: Luncheon honoring Karen Ringel
When: 12:15 p.m. Sunday, April 22
Where: Beth El Congregation, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix
Cost: $18 adults, $6 children 4-12. Children under 4 free.
Call: 602-944-2464
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