American Jewish education, need for change?

[Mediocrates]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309610972&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull





It is that irrefutable impact of Jewish education that moves me to make the strategic proposal that the organized Jewish community in America guarantee a free Jewish education to the children of all members of the Jewish polity. I do so against the backdrop of a 20-year effort to position Jewish education as the top priority of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Conservative movement, in consequence of which a powerful panoply of new and invigorated institutions has made Jewish education the growth sector of the movement and the guarantor of its future.

I would define citizenship as membership in a synagogue or a Jewish community center, the great aquifers of the organized Jewish community and the source of its social capital. The entitlement program should encourage unaffiliated Jews to join in order to qualify, thus enhancing both synagogues and JCCs. Parents would be allowed to choose the educational track most suitable to their circumstances - a day school, congregational school or Jewish summer camp. The Jewish community would fund their preference (limited to one track), maximally from first through 12th grade, minimally as long as the parents wish. The entitlement would include the children of patrilineal families up to the age of bat or bar mitzva, at which point they would be expected to undergo a rite of conversion. In short, the entitlement program would be administered on the basis of parity across the denominational spectrum.





What do those of you involved in Jewish education think about this? Do you have a better idea?

[Mira]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309610972&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull





It is that irrefutable impact of Jewish education that moves me to make the strategic proposal that the organized Jewish community in America guarantee a free Jewish education to the children of all members of the Jewish polity. I do so against the backdrop of a 20-year effort to position Jewish education as the top priority of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Conservative movement, in consequence of which a powerful panoply of new and invigorated institutions has made Jewish education the growth sector of the movement and the guarantor of its future.

I would define citizenship as membership in a synagogue or a Jewish community center, the great aquifers of the organized Jewish community and the source of its social capital. The entitlement program should encourage unaffiliated Jews to join in order to qualify, thus enhancing both synagogues and JCCs. Parents would be allowed to choose the educational track most suitable to their circumstances - a day school, congregational school or Jewish summer camp. The Jewish community would fund their preference (limited to one track), maximally from first through 12th grade, minimally as long as the parents wish. The entitlement would include the children of patrilineal families up to the age of bat or bar mitzva, at which point they would be expected to undergo a rite of conversion. In short, the entitlement program would be administered on the basis of parity across the denominational spectrum.





What do those of you involved in Jewish education think about this? Do you have a better idea?


I'm not "in" Jewish education, but I'm very concerned about it. I suppose the other alternative is to endorse Bush's school voucher program, which some yeshivas are doing. I don't quite understand, however, what they are endorsing in the article. Are they suggesting that if they get more unaffiliated people to join their congregations and JCCs, that they will have enough money to fund programs for K-12? I don't see that happening on a wide scale. Parents who can afford a quality education for their children want to send them to the best schools and their thinking is primarily about secular education. For anything over kindergarten, you would need an education that parallels what they can get at a private prep style school plus Judaism. Good schools need good endowments, which means a steady stream of loyal and well off graduates. You would need a very large initial influx of cash to get these schools up and running. This is already happening with the JCCs where I live because the communities here are extremely wealthy and there are big endowments that donate generously. BTW, my yeshiva closed down only a couple years after I graduated. When I was there, they refused to turn any children away and so the school was riding on the backs of a few families and the shul. My secular studies teachers were not top notch. The school couldn't afford excellent teachers and I'm pretty sure that most of them barely got paid for teaching. The rabbi's wife and mother of nine kids taught the girls Jewish studies all morning. They were always stretched to pay the rent and they needed security for the school and I guess they finally couldn't do it anymore. So they closed down. If they could have gotten vouchers, then maybe they would still be open? I think the main issue there is administrative, how to actually get the funds from the government to the schools.

[redcake]

The JCC in San Francisco replaced an old art deco building for a big graphite condominium looking box. While Jewish membership in the ocmmunity was dwindling, they figured out a way to modernize and attract new members who value Jewish daycare, and other facilities as that of substance. The new JCC now celebrates Chinese New Years. They claim their members are still 60% Jewish, which I doubt, but even so, it's nothing to brag about. 40% are non-Jews. I bring this up, because it's a lot like the whole debate around Israel... if Israel stops being Jewish, is there still a point? In New York, the 92nd Street Y is a social hotbed of lectures and other activities which do draw a heavy Jewish membership....and yet, there's hardly a trace of Judaism in their programs. They outdraw New York's JCC easily in attendance.

The crisis in my mind isn't just membership alone, but the need to keep these institutions unapologetically Jewish. I worry that when I have children, there isn't going to be a place to put my kids...and if there is, I fear it will be taught by some of the Jews who frequent this forum that barely resemble what I've known to be Judaism.

[Mediocrates]

We'll take you in Chabad.

[Mediocrates]

I thought it was interesting that most of the comments to that article on JPost were ly defensive speeches about how Orthodox is the one and only and how the problem doesn't really exist and even if it did it's none of their business because they're all so damn special. But the facts remain, all the holier than thous are living a dream world, as Mira points out. Funding is way down for even Orthdox education programs. And for Schechter schools (Conservative) some of you are familiar with, well I hope you can continue to afford them, because the ones I know about are extremely expensive. So I'm left with the conclusion that all the different Jewish organizations are completely happy with ignoring each other in a program of willfull noncooperation. But the deeper point and the one I guess most people miss is that a Jewish education is a REQUIREMENT and a RIGHT. And however you do that is a mitzvah. Sadly everyone is wrapped up in their exclusive agendas to see that. So perhaps Mira's idea of vouchers is the best one? Of course we still need to address the programs themselves and develop better education instead of throwing money at the problem.

[spike]

So what would you suggest, education-wise, for an area that has maybe 3-4 Jewish children on a good day in an age span from 2 to 15 years? This includes 2-3 family units and others who are single (interfaith family), elderly, widow/er in a congregation that can barely pay the bills to keep the heat on and a roof over the Ark.

How do you suggest we provide a Jewish education for our children? I don't see vouchers as being any kind of an answer for us unless the vouchers are worth about $1 mil each.

Can you imagine what it is like to be the only Jewish kid (or one of 2-3) in a public school system of over 7000 children ages 5 to 18 for 13 years of school .. receiving little Jewish education?

[Mediocrates]

Well I can tell you as a parent who lives in a community of maybe 5000 about half of which are affiliated among a total population of 600,000 that we manage to support 1 Reform, 2 Conservative, 2 Chabad shuls that it's not impossible to support a school system. For the folks like yourself I have little to suggest - I do know we have a few people who drive up to 70 miles for Talmud Torah classes.