Sherry Fredman is a mentor for AJU’s Early Childhood Graduate program. She is a veteran elementary and early childhood teacher and administrator, who is fortunate enough to be able to continue sharing her love and passion for early childhood education.
She previously sat on the Bureau of Jewish Education’s Early Childhood Director’s Network, and was on the Clinical Faculty as a visiting professor and mentor for graduate students at The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on the USC campus. Additionally, she is a lifetime member of the National Early Childhood Educator’s organization for the Reform movement.
We caught up with Sherry and asked her a few questions.
Describe your work mentoring at AJU:
As a mentor in the program, I am given specific goals for our mentees that supplement as well as enrich their classroom experience. However, I am also given the freedom to include additional information that I, as a seasoned educator, feel will greatly support their future endeavors. Being that AJU is a Jewish institution, I typically include a Jewish component whether it is holiday related or Torah inspired. Lastly, during each session, my mentee and I will have a shared conversation on something they want to discuss, or I will share a leadership or advocacy article, book, quote, or activity that is relevant and enriching.
What do you love about mentoring AJU students?
By the time our AJU students begin the MAEd program, they have already made a two-year commitment towards a serious, educational, interactive, research-based, collaborative journey with the intention to support their next step in their professional career. By this time, the mentees have personally determined their passion for early childhood, thinking about setting some personal, professional and civic goals, and sharing many of their ideas with me to achieve more clarity!
Is there anything unique that AJU offers that you think others should know?
From the beginning of the two-year program, I truly believe the experienced administrators and mentors of the program cultivate a trustworthy, mutually respectful, motivating and collaborative learning environment that makes it very safe and congenial for our students to learn, share, and develop into future leaders or advocates in early childhood education.
Can you share an impactful mentoring experience?
I have had the most incredible experiences as a mentor in both early childhood and elementary education. Fortunately, many of my mentees have kept in touch with me for many years. They continue to call me to bounce ideas off of me, ask me for advice, and when I observe them in their new professional leadership or advocacy roles, it makes me happy and proud of their success!
What’s one piece of advice you have for educators?
For anyone who knows me well, it is very difficult for me to give just one piece of advice. So here goes. As a leader or as an advocate in education, it is your responsibility to always base your decisions in the best interest of the child or children you are representing and to consistently maintain a mutually respectful, compassionate, empathetic, safe and kindhearted working environment!