Name Mira Angrist | ||
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Mira Angrist (born 1960) is a Hebrew language and Jewish culture specialist. She is the head of the Hebrew Language Program at Boston University. Angrist has taught at the Modern Languages and Comparative Literature Department in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University since 2008. Angrist is best known for her integration of authentic Israeli and Jewish cultural material and use of advanced technologies to stimulate classroom learning. She further specializes in writing Hebrew curricula and training Hebrew teachers.
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Early life and education
Angrist was born in Acre, Israel in 1960. After serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Angrist attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem where she received a Bachelor of Social Work in 1985. Angrist obtained a Master of Social Work from Rutgers University in 1987. In 2005, she also received a certificate from the Senior Educators Program at Hebrew University.
Career
After ten years in social work, Angrist made a career change, discovering her passion for promoting Jewish culture and teaching the Hebrew language. From 1997-2007, she taught at Rashi Jewish Day School in Newton, Massachusetts. In 2000, Angrist began consultation for the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), where she continues to consult on Hebrew instruction, training Hebrew teachers, and produces Hebrew instruction curricula. She has trained and supervised Hebrew teachers nationwide in the Hebrew language curriculum for Jewish day schools called Chaverim B’Ivrit. Angrist is particularly notable for her work developing and delivering Chaverim B’Ivrit, a national curriculum used for teaching modern Hebrew as a second language to elementary students (grades 3 and above). It is linguistically sequential. Angrist uses the curriculum to teach the Hebrew language in contexts relevant to children’s lives and cultural backgrounds, using such motifs as family, food and music. Each theme is presented from three perspectives: Jewish, modern Israeli culture, and general world knowledge. Angrist's work has revolutionized the way Hebrew is taught in Jewish Day Schools across the country, yielding significantly higher interest in the Hebrew language as well increased Jewish cultural awareness.
In 2005, Angrist also began working at Hebrew College with the Prozdor program, where she still lectures. In 2008, Angrist started lecturing in Boston University's Modern Languages and Comparative Literature Department as a Hebrew instructor, and was recently appointed head of the Hebrew Program. Angrist has also served as the Director of the Israeli Complementary School in Lexington, Massachusetts since 2009.
Personal life
Angrist lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. She is married to Joshua Angrist, the Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has two children.