Dr. Mitch Parker

Rhythms, Purposes
Detroit, Michigan

Dr. Mitch Parker

"The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School is one of the high points of my week," says Mitch. "I always look forward to it. No matter how tired I am when I get to a session my energy level always increases dramatically once I get started."

Mitch Parker's decision to make the transition to becoming a Jewish Educator came after working in the field of special education in a hospital and a school for many years. Besides having a Ph.D in psychology, he is also the founding director of the Tikvah Program for children with disabilities at Camp Ramah in Canada. Mitch is originally from Toronto and moved to Buffalo, for graduate work, where he ended up staying for close to 30 years. He taught in the Mini-School in Buffalo for two years and this is now his second year teaching in Detroit. Mitch became involved in adult Jewish education through his synagogue, working with adult study groups. He was originally on a committee to help establish Melton in Buffalo and enjoyed it so much decided he wanted to be a teacher.

The things Mitch enjoys the most about teaching in the Mini-School are the enthusiasm of the students, and the curriculum which stimulates discussion. "I believe that a major part of teaching is enthusiasm," says Mitch. "I want the students to feel as excited about the learning as I am. I want them to feel that what we are about to do is challenging, important and fun." In the past, Mitch rarely used roadmaps, but now finds them very helpful and uses them with other adult groups as well. He finds that students become more confident in tackling and challenging texts as they experience the Mini-School. They become more independent Jewish learners and their Jewish self concept improves.

"Dr. Mitch Parker is highly regarded by his students," says Judy Leder, former Detroit Mini-School Director.

"He brings a depth of knowledge and a genuine enthusiasm for teaching as well as for the subject matter. In his own special way, he is making Melton the learning adventure his students are looking for."

Mitch finds the greatest challenge is teaching all the material in a meaningful way in the time allocated. "I bring in practical stories and anecdotes from the day school which highlight what we are talking about," he explains. He describes a seventh grade student that decided an action figure toy was Kadosh because they cherished them and took good care of them. "I will bring this up in class as we discuss Mitzvot and Kedushah."

Mitch is married to Cheryl whom he met on an El Al Flight en route to a junior year abroad program in Israel. Dr. Mitch Parker can be reached by email at: abbadoc@comcast.net.

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