Harry Garfinkel founded the New Method Hebrew School in Milwaukee in 1914. Born in Russia in 1897, he immigrated to the United States in 1912. To finance his education, he began giving lessons in Hebrew in Milwaukee private homes. In 1914, he established the New Method Hebrew School as a part-time, co-educational school conducted after regular school hours and on Sundays. The purpose of a Hebrew school was to teach Jewish children enough of the Hebrew language and history so that they can intelligently read their prayer books at religious services. Jewish children normally attend Hebrew school until about age 13 when the community celebrates their initiation into adulthood with the Bar Mitzvah (for males) or Bas Mitzvah (for females). Before the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was considered a dead language which was used only for religious purposes.
Garfinkel's “new method” involved creating a learning environment in which the students were not intimidated by the teacher and in which they felt free to ask questions. Garfinkel evolved this method out of his dissatisfaction with the methods of the more authoritarian rabbis who had been his teachers in Russia. Garfinkel also felt strongly that Hebrew schools should not be a full-time, parochial alternative to public schools because he felt such segregation would stunt the students' overall development.
To supplement the study of Jewish language and history, the school also organized three student groups for children of specific age groups, including the Young Children of Israel (1919), the Hatikva Circle (1924), and the Junior Jewish Forum (circa 1934). These groups provided varied social and educational opportunities for the students, such as weekly debates on current events.
In 1932, the parents and Garfinkel organized a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to bring both parties into closer communication as to the aims and progress of the school and the problems of particular students. The PTA engaged in various activities, such as forming Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in 1940, and their annual picnic appears to have been an important event for the Milwaukee Jewish community.
When Garfinkel first organized the New Method Hebrew School in 1914, he himself was still studying for his high school diploma. By the time he finished studying at Marquette University and later at the State Teachers' College, where he received his degree in education, the school's enrollment was so large that it consumed all of his time. Garfinkel continued to run the school until his death in 1964, after which it closed.
