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July 2, 2010
Adult education’s key
Betty Nitkin is honored for her years at Melton.
OLGA LIVSHIN
On an unusually sunny morning last month, Vancouver’s Florence Melton Adult Mini School held a double celebration – a combined 2010 graduation ceremony and a goodbye party for Betty Nitkin, the first director of the school. Although Nitkin stepped down as the director a year ago, the party in her honor was postponed until this year’s graduation.
In the eyes of many Vancouver Jews, Nitkin’s name is inextricably linked with the Melton school. Her enthusiasm for adult Jewish education brought the school to the city in 2005.
Nitkin came to Vancouver with her husband and children in 1968. At that time, she felt that her own Jewish education was not sufficient. “A friend asked me about celebrating Chanukah, and I told her about the candles and the miracle, but what else? There was more, and I didn’t know.... We all should know not only how to observe our holidays but why, where it all originates. We should know the history and the ethics.”
As she was working on her master’s degree in adult education at the University of British Columbia, she started taking classes in Judaic studies. Later, to share her knowledge and love for Judaism with others, she organized adult Jewish classes at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and at local synagogues.
In 1987, in her search for a program that would fit somewhere between academic Judaism, too intense in her opinion, and childhood memory, Nitkin participated in a professional development conference of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education.
At a workshop given by Dr. Betsy Dolgin Katz, who had started the North American Florence Melton program, Nitkin finally found what she was looking for. She immediately knew that a Melton mini school would be perfect for Vancouver.
“Melton school has a ready curriculum,” she said. “It offers professional development to teachers and supplies them with double the material for their classes. The teachers can then tailor their lessons to suit the local students.”
Nitkin started pulling strings, trying to open a school in Vancouver. Due to various circumstances, it wasn’t until 2005 that Melton opened its doors here.
“We have on average 50 students a year,” said the current and outgoing director of the Melton school, Nicole Nozick. “It’s open to all ages and all knowledge levels. Some of our students represent mixed couples in the process of conversion. Our program, like Judaism in general, is like an onion. The more layers you peel off, the more you learn. Anyone can find what speaks to their heart.”
“It is a very interesting program,” said Jana Timko, one of the students. “I learned about different ideas and different people and different perspectives from which to look at the Bible.” Another student, 86-year-old Betty Mintzberg, commented on the absence of an age limit: “I enjoyed the classes tremendously, and so did my 31-year-old granddaughter.”
Not only Melton’s current students and alumni participated in the ceremony at the Seniors Lounge of the JCCGV. Nitkin’s former colleagues, as well as the members of the school’s advisory committee and the community centre’s staff came to pay tribute.
Nitkin’s presentation at the ceremony focused on the crowning achievement of her career as an educator. With pride, she talked about her students’ commitment to the program and the relaxed atmosphere of the classrooms. “We cannot live as a Jewish community without good Jewish education,” she said. “We have to keep the school going!” Despite her retirement, her heart remains with the school.
Following Nitkin’s impassioned speech, Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan of Or Shalom, a teacher at the school, gave a talk about how animals work as symbols in the Tanach. With humor and perception, she related stories and explained the symbolism of the three heroes of her delivery: a donkey, a snake and a grass hopper, respectively representing intuition, awareness and confidence – qualities that could easily define Betty Nitkin.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She is available for contract work. Contact her at [email protected].
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