schmoozED

YCT Yemei Iyun on Bible and Jewish Thought

2008-05-12T07:51:00.001-04:00

The Lookstein Center is pleased to partner this year with Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in sponsoring the sixth annual Yemei Iyun on Bible and Jewish Thought to be held, please God, at the Ramaz Upper School in New York City on Sunday, June 29-July 1, 2008, Please join us in learning with the outstanding faculty both from Israel and the US including our own Zvi Grumet and Shalom Berger.
For more information please go to www.yctorah.org. Deadline for registration is June 15, 2008.

Jewish education/educators in the news

2008-03-29T17:27:00.000-04:00

Two interesting NYTimes articles on education have come my way recently, both of which are success stories that have drawn the attention of the general media. The first is a report on an effort in Jewish schools to stamp out gossip. You can see the story at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/nyregion/27gossip.html?

The second story relates the success of Shimon Waronker as principal of a difficult junior high school in the Bronx - see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/nyregion/08principal.html?
This story has been picked up in other places, as well - see, for example
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23590816#23590816

The Wall Street Journal on One-Year Israel programs

2008-03-01T14:20:00.002-05:00

A feature by Ben Harris in the Wall Street Journal includes some of the research that appears in Flipping Out?, which I authored together with Dan Jacobson and Chaim Waxman. I think that seeing how the experience is described to the general public offers insight into the educational experience that so many of our students and children encounter.

When posted on Gil Student's Hirhurim blog the feature attracted quite a bit of feedback.

A school competition at Google

2008-02-18T05:29:00.003-05:00

Know some creative, artistic students. Tell them about the new competition at Google: Doodle 4 Google.

In this competition K-12 students are invited to play around with the Google homepage logo and see what they come up with. This year theme is - "What if...?"

For more information see:http://www.google.com/doodle4google/info.html.

JESNA & CAJE survey

2008-01-15T16:26:00.000-05:00

JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute and CAJE are conducting a survey of Jewish educators that seeks their views on factors that affect their work as educators and that invites respondents to submit examples of new approaches to educator recruitment, preparation, development and support that are geared to responding to changing conditions in the field. If you would like to take the survey, please go to
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cEChYcr_2fgEFC3pc3w6fJjA_3d_3d

Bible stories in Prime Time

2007-12-15T16:18:00.000-05:00

I once thought about developing half hour television programs that would focus on a bored student in Humash class who would daydream about the stories that were being taught. My idea was to offer a variety of different perspectives – all based on traditional commentaries – that would play out while in the background the teacher droned on and on.

Well, I never took my idea further than the drawing board, and it appears that someone else has done it first – although a bit differently than I envisioned it.

See this short Haaretz TV spot, which describes a new initiative that will be used in Israeli schools this month.

Jewish History Timeline and More

2007-12-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

How do you present the historical narrative to the variety of students in your class? There are plenty of tools, games, and multimedia modules for general history teachers, but teachers of Jewish history have slim pickings.

Jeffrey Spitzer announced a valuable new resource today on Lookjed, based on the Simile project from MIT. It is a database of events, people, groups and periods and can be organized by any of those categories, in addition to importance (beginner versus advanced students). The information can be then viewed in several formats, including a timeline. I don't see a printer-friendly option yet, but the materials can be exported in different ways that allow further manipulation. See the tool here.

Book review: Living the Halachic Process: Questions and Answers for the Modern Jew

2007-11-21T17:15:00.000-05:00

Living the Halachic Process: Questions and Answers for the Modern Jew
Edited by Rabbi Daniel Mann
Eretz Hemdah Institute, 2007
Reviewed by Shalom Z. Berger

Before you read this review, I have a confession to make. I do not like books that present Jewish law as a simplistic set of rules. When my children bring home their halakhah texts from the local Mamlakhti Dati (the religious stream of the Israeli public school system) school, I am always frustrated that the nuance of tradition and the rich historical development of ritual practice have no place in the rote behaviors presented in their school books. From my perspective it appears that Jewish law is presented as an arcane system with little rhyme or reason.

When I saw the recently published Living the Halachic Process: Questions and Answers for the Modern Jew, my fear was that this would be a similar type text, albeit aimed at a more mature audience. The book is made up of responses to questions that were submitted to Eretz Hemdah Institute in Jerusalem, at least some of them via the OU's vebbe rebbe website form, with most queries answered in the space of two or three pages. While some of my concerns remain with this type of presentation of halakhah, there are several redeeming features that make this volume valuable to both the interested layman and the classroom teacher.

What is truly innovative in this book is a companion CD (that the publisher will send you upon request) that contains source sheets with background on each of the questions. The introduction to the book presents this CD as useful enabling "the advanced learner to come to his or her own conclusion and/or deepen his or her understanding of the topics." The very fact that the people at Eretz Hemdah recognize that their decisions are not the last word on the subject is a refreshing revelation in the realm of English language halakhic texts. Perhaps they were inspired by the words of Rav Moshe Feinstein who writes similarly at the end of his introduction to the first volume of his Igrot Moshe.

For the educator, the source sheets can be very useful, as they bring together a good collection of relevant sources on each question that can easily be used in a classroom setting.

Two more unique aspects of the book deserve mention. The first is an important introduction that presents the building blocks of how halakhic decisions are reached by the Rabbis of the Institute. While some of the information is very basic (e.g. definitions of Written and Oral Torah) the idea of sharing the inner workings of the process of pesak halakhah is innovative and will be eye-opening for students who were taught that halakhah was simply a collection of rules. The second is a clear decision to include topics that engage the reality of the contemporary State of Israel and its place in the world of Jewish law. The Eretz Hemdah Institute makes no excuses about identifying with the values of the Dati Le'umi (National Religious) community, thus questions about getting married on Yom ha-Atzma'ut (i.e. during Sefirat ha-Omer) or purchasing Israel bonds (and potential issues with forbidden usury) are treated as issues of real concern for the committed Jew.

Living the Halachic Process: Questions and Answers for the Modern Jew
is available from http://www.eretzhemdah.org

Lessons from Jacob and Esau

2007-11-06T07:27:00.000-05:00

While there are pedagogic lessons to be learned from every line in the Torah, the lessons from Parashat Toldot are particularly straightforward. Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch wrote a powerful essay entitled "Lessons From Jacob and Esau" in which he analyzed the educational message of this story.

I first was introduced to this essay in an article by Dr. Joel Wolowelsky that appeared in Ten Da'at that is accessible at http://www.lookstein.org/articles/moral_ed.htm; I was reminded of it today when Professor Yitzchok Levine emailed me, suggesting that it be shared on Lookjed. He has posted it at http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/lessons_jacob_esau_col_vii.pdf

Here is an excerpt:
<<
Down to our present day we have been able to observe the disastrous consequences of a one-sided approach to the unique task of being a Jew. Many a son of a pious talmid chacham has been totally lost to Judaism because his father insisted on training him to become a talmid chacham without considering whether his personality and inclinations truly lay in that direction. Thus he is exposed to Jewish life in only one context: that of a quiet existence of study and meditation for which he has neither talent nor desire. What attracts him instead is the busy, colorful life of the world outside. But as a result of the narrow view of life in which he has been trained he gets the impression that in order to participate in the active, variegated life for which he yearns, he must give up his mission as a Jew. He consequently abandons his Judaism in order to fling himself into the maelstrom of excitement and temptations offered by the world outside.

The story of such an individual might end quite differently if only, instead of forcing him into the mold of a talmid chacham, his father would raise him from the very beginning to become a man of the world who, at the same time, is faithful to his duties as a Jew; if only that father would teach this son that the activities of the world outside, too, have their place in God's plan, that it is possible to preserve and to demonstrate one's complete loyalty to Judaism even as a sophisticated man of the world. He should make his son understand that, as a matter of fact, many, if not perhaps the most important, aspects of Jewish living are intended primarily to be practiced amidst the conditions and aspirations of everyday life, in the midst of the world and not in isolation from it. He should make his son understand that the Taryag Mitzvos are not meant to be observed in the klaus [Judeo-German equivalent for a small synagogue. (Ed.)] or in the beth hamidrash but precisely in the practical life of the farmer or the public-spirited citizen. If only that father would make it clear to his son that the spirit and the happiness of Judaism are just as accessible to a Zevulun "in the world outside" as they are to an Issachar "in the tents,"—who knows whether that son might not stand by his father's deathbed and gently close his father's eyes as a loyal, pious Jew?
>>

The above is from RSRH's essay "Lessons From Jacob and Esau" that appears on pages 319 - 331 of his Collected Writing VII. This volume deals with his thoughts on Jewish Education. For the rest of this most insightful essay on Chinuch, see http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/lessons_jacob_esau_col_vii.pdf

Biblical characters in your life (and classroom)

2007-10-28T05:25:00.000-04:00

I was recently directed to a blog that presented the following questions:

Which biblical character do you feel you are most like?
Which biblical character would you marry?
Which biblical character would you want on your team (or on your side, during a war?)
Which biblical character would you want to be close friends with?
Which biblical character do you think would make an excellent Disney villain?

While the author presented these as a sort of brainteaser, it strikes me that it would be a great exercise for the classroom – try it!

Ask Wiki now in alpha

2007-10-25T04:44:00.000-04:00

AskWiki -- a natural language search engine for the English Wikipedia entries -- is now in alpha. A great tool for students and teachers.

Curricular integration in the courts

2007-10-24T14:58:00.000-04:00

Rabbi Jack Beiler sent me the following email:

One of my students as well as several friends involved in the legal profession have called my attention to the fact that one of my essays that appears on the Lookstein site was referenced in a Second Circuit Appellate Court Decision re: a dispute between a day school and the village in which it is situated.

The issue involved is a novel legal application of the concept of integration between Judaic and general studies. I have been told that the Second Circuit is quite prestigious and influences the legal decisions of other courts as well.

Larry Kobrin forwarded to me the relevant reference and suggested that it be shared in the context of the Missions Statement discussion that took place on Lookjed this past summer. If I understand correctly, in this case the school's presentation of all of its in-school activities as involving integration with Judaism was an important part of its argument that its expansion plans were protected by laws guaranteeing freedom of religion.

The excerpt reads as follows:

B. Westchester Day School's Aims

As a Jewish private school, Westchester Day School provides its students with a dual curriculum in Judaic and general studies. Even general studies classes are taught so that religious and Judaic concepts are reinforced. In the nursery and kindergarten classes no distinction exists between Judaic and general studies; the dual curriculum is wholly integrated. In grades first through eighth, students spend roughly half their day on general subjects such as mathematics and social studies and half on Judaic studies that include the Bible, the Talmud, and Jewish history.

In an effort to provide the kind of synthesis between the Judaic and general studies for which the school aims, the curriculum of virtually all secular studies classes is permeated with religious aspects, and the general studies faculty actively collaborates with the Judaic studies faculty in arranging such a Jewish-themed curriculum. For example, the General Studies Curriculum Guide describes how social studies is taught in grades 6, 7, and 8, explaining that WDS tries "to develop an understanding of humanistic, philosophical thought, the nature of cause and effect in history, and the application of ethical Judaic principles to history and daily life" (emphasis added). The Guide further notes that "[s]tudying the history of Eretz Yisrael [the land of Israel] has become an increasingly prominent feature of assemblies and social studies lessons." And, the Guide's Science Curriculum Map notes that in science class first graders are taught about "the world around them [and] the seasonal changes and connections to the Jewish holidays" (emphasis added).

The school's physical education teachers confer daily with the administration to ensure that during physical education classes Jewish values are being inculcated in the students. This kind of integration of Jewish and general culture is made possible when a school actively and consciously designs integrated curricular and extracurricular activities on behalf of its student body. See Jack Bieler, Integration of Judaic and General Studies in the Modern Orthodox Day School, 54:4 Jewish Education 15 (1986), available at http://www.lookstein.org/integration/bieler.htm. Thus, the school strives to have every classroom used at times for religious purposes, whether or not the class is officially labeled Judaic.

A Jewish day school like WDS exists, at least in part, because Orthodox Jews believe it is the parents' duty to teach the Torah to their children. Since most Orthodox parents lack the time to fulfill this obligation fully, they seek out a school like WDS.

An open letter to the teachers and principals of the Modern Orthodox school system

2007-10-02T12:39:00.000-04:00

A young man with whom I had the pleasure of meeting while working on an educational program a short while ago, asked that I share this with the community of Jewish educators.

I welcome your reaction to it.

Mo'adim Le-Simcha!
Shalom

<<
This past summer I was a counselor on a prominent Israel touring program for eleventh graders. Most of the participants hailed from the New York metropolitan area where they attend a variety of Modern Orthodox schools. I am writing to you because I was deeply disturbed at the complete apathy of these professedly Modern Orthodox teenagers towards their religion and its values. To them, Halakhah was a burden to be thrown off at the turn of the counselor's back, or even in front of him, spitefully. Besides for the typical Zionism espoused by Jews of their background, these teens had no sense of Jewish mission, responsibility, or experience.

Not only did they not want to daven, many of them did not even know how. Tzitzit were not worn. Tzniut and shemirat negiah were non-existent. It is almost laughable that in just a few years many of these same kids will be deciding between various one-year yeshivot in Israel, because now they can hardly be distinguished as Jews, save for the few that wear kipot on a consistent basis. Finally, and some would consider most distressing, was the severe lack of midot and derech eretz displayed by so many of my campers in so many different venues. This disrespect was directed not only towards their counselors, but towards the staff and property of the hotels and sites we visited. One look at the squalor left on the bus for the drivers to clean up would be telling enough in this respect.

An anecdote is quoted in the name of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, to justify, as it were, the Modern Orthodox lifestyle. This story has a group of Haredi youngsters hesitate to help out a non-religious merchant whose car had gotten stuck, based on a discussion from a relevant gemara. “Children of that age from our camp would not have known the gemara,” wrote Rav Lichtenstein, “but they would have helped him.” I cannot know for sure, but sometimes I found myself thinking that my kids would neither help the driver nor know the gemara.

Where does Modern Orthodox education go wrong? Why does Judaism have to be a “winter sport,” all religious conscience shedding with the good weather? What is it that nine months in Israel can do that we can't do in twelve years? Unfortunately, I can't say I have the answers to these questions. However, there are two topics that I think were missing in my education (a mere two years ago) and, from my conversations and sessions with them, sorely missing from the education of my campers.

The first issue is that of “the why.” Any grade-schooler knows that the first class of a good history course is “why do we learn history?” Is there a similar “why do we learn gemara” lesson built into the Talmud curriculum? Or, for that matter, is there ever a “why be Jewish” session given to a group that is largely disinterested in Judaism? How can a sixteen-year-old with the ever-present distractions of modern culture be expected to sit down and learn hours of ancient texts on a daily basis, without understanding or feeling the importance and excitement of what he or she is doing?

Secondly, there is little to no exposure to our hashkafa. Yes, we are modern: secular subjects are taught, the arts and humanities are valued. Yes, we are orthodox: Torah is taught, Halacha is enforced. But is there any attempt at teaching and explaining the synthesis of the two? The same goes for Religious Zionism. Instead of teaching students medieval Jewish philosophy, why don't we expose them to the names and schools of thought on which their entire lifestyle is based. The few of my campers who had heard of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik knew nothing about him. Every mamlachti dati high school student in Israel is at least familiar with seminal works such as Kol Dodi Dophek and the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Why can't we do the same?

I do not intend to imply that we will be able to imbue every single student with eagerness and enthusiasm by appealing to their intellects. The occupants of the school system come from such varied backgrounds and levels of religiosity that it would be nearly impossible to design a curriculum that will cater to everybody's religious needs. But we must at least give them a chance. A chance to see what lies behind our religion, instead of just showing them the sometimes dry and difficult exterior. A chance to see that being frum should not be something exclusive to those who have spent a year in Israel, and maybe giving them a little taste of what the Israel experience has to offer.

When Bnei Yisrael accepted the Torah unconditionally, it was only after having been witness to the hand of God in the Ten Plagues and the Splitting of the Sea. And even then, they sinned. How much more so must we work to show the Bnei and Bnot Yisrael of today the Godliness that is all around them, so that they too can accept the Torah.

Sincerely,
Julian Horowitz
>>

Church versus State

2007-08-26T06:01:00.000-04:00

The doors opened to the Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School last week, but already there are problems. The school board has rejected the Hebrew language curriculum, saying that it overstepped the bounds of the church-state divide, and now the school has suspended Hebrew classes.

The challenge is teaching Hebrew and Jewish culture without teaching Judaism. Some critics insist that there is no way to do this. Others argue that schools that teach foreign languages do not necessarily teach an associated religion.

Is it possible to teach Hebrew without teaching Jewish culture? Is Jewish culture another way of saying Judaism?

Read the New York Time's article here.

Solution for day school tuition?

2007-07-24T12:41:00.001-04:00

Rising tuitions are a constant issue of concern for Jewish parents with children in day school. For what it's worth, the Jerusalem Post asked some of the leading Presidential contenders for their solution to the tuition crisis. Read their answers here.

Meditation and learning

2007-06-20T06:10:00.000-04:00

A new stress reducing program, "mindfulness training", is being tested in classroom across the US:

"Dr. Saltzman, co-director of the mindfulness study at Stanford, said the initial findings showed increased control of attention and “less negative internal chatter — what one girl described as ‘the gossip inside my head: I’m stupid, I’m fat or I’m going to fail math,’ ” Dr. Saltzman said.

A recent study of teenagers by Kaiser Permanente in San Jose, Calif., found that meditation techniques helped improve mood disorders, depression, and self-harming behaviors like anorexia and bulimia."

What do students remember?

2007-06-16T15:59:00.000-04:00

After all is said and done, how much of what students learn in school do they remember?

In the classes I took with Nechama Leibowitz, she often said that students do not remember anything (if memory serves, her point was that teachers should spend more time teaching methods of study, rather than content).

In any case, for those of us who wonder about this, I thought that the "Five minute University" might be something to consider. See it at http://www.cs.washington.edu//info/videos/asx/5minuteU.asx

who runs the show

2007-06-12T14:46:00.000-04:00

One of the perennial questions I struggle with is who should be running the show in Jewish day schools. On the one hand, schools are started by and designed to serve the community. As such, the community should determine what is appropriate for it - policies, educational agenda, pedagogical approach, etc. On the other hand, community people and lay leaders are neither religious authorities nor are they educational professionals (I assume the principals and heads of school are educational professionals). Then again, are the parents the ultimate consumers, since they pay the bills, or is it our students?

Another way of viewing this is the question of the nature of schools. Are schools communal organs, part of the religious establishment, or professional environments in which the professionals direct the show?

In the ideal there would be convergence between the groups - communities would hire leaders and educators who are completely in sync with the community. But we don't live in an ideal world.

The Gay Parade and Orthodox Judaism

2007-06-11T08:37:00.000-04:00

The Jerusalem Post reports that rabbis have enacted a curse against any involved in any way with the planned Gay parade that is due to take place in Jerusalem on June 21st (see http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1181228589549&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull).

While the paper puts the onus on extreme anti-Zionist Hareidi rabbis, Jews from many streams of Orthodox Judaism were involved in threatening last year's attempted parade with violence. The parade was eventually changed to a rally at the Hebrew University, as the police could not otherwise guarantee the safety of the participants; they feared there would be loss of life.

Many orthodox Jews saw the cancellation as a victory. Essentially however, it was a black day for Judaism. Orthodox Jews proved that they had lost the debate, that their arguments were unpersuasive and that they lacked a common language with the general public.

If we want Orthodox Judaism to be taken seriously we must remove the stain of barbarity and threat. Let us use logical persuasion rather than violent threats – and if our logic loses, then let us wear sackcloth and mourn; but let us not dishonour Judaism with threats of violence against our fellow Jews.

Anti-Semitism: Good for the Jews

2007-06-06T15:18:00.000-04:00

Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA, wrote a provocative piece in today's Wall Street Journal, arguing that moderate anti-Semitism is good for the Jews and for Israel. He writes:
<<
Publicly visible anti-Semitic advocacy is, at least in America today, an important informational tool: It informs American Jews of the value of Jewish institutions, and it presents this information in an especially emotionally effective way.
>>

I would like to think that people should identify with the Jewish community for positive reasons – that is the way I think that children should be educated – and his claim that it is negative statements that carry the most weight in creating group identification among Jews is profoundly disturbing to me, especially since I fear that it might be true.

Is Live and Let Live Enough?

2007-05-31T05:17:00.000-04:00

A debate has been raging in The Times (London, of course) between believers in God and atheists, in the wake an article by Professor Richard Dawkins, defending his book "The God Delusion" see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1779771.ece. It was followed up by an interview of him, counter articles by other columnists and of course, reader talkback.

Much of the reader debate has not centered on proving or disproving God's existence. Both sides seem to admit that it cannot be done. Rather, much of the debate has centered on why either side feels the need to promote their views to others. Why can't we all live and let live. The believers feel the need to save others, while the atheists feel the need to reveal the folly and even danger of the believers.

I must say that I have sympathy for both arguments. On numerous occasions I have been accosted by Christian missionaries wanting me to see the light and be granted a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Annoyingly, they have even prayed in front of me to the Nazarene, that I accept him into my heart. I don't like it when I see Jewish kiruv workers doing similar things.

And yet, I believe I have something precious in my faith, which I would like my fellow Jews to feel. While, I think "saving" a person has more to do with being moral than religious, I still cannot help to want to teach the beauty of Judaism and yet, I do not want to impose my views on others.

Can a religious Jew really accept the doctrine of live and let live?

I believe that the answer is yes and no. We must be involved in the world and we must work hard to make it a better place; but not because we are right and because others are wrong. Not because we have the truth and because the others must be saved from falsehood.

We must interact because we all have so much to learn from one another. We must interact with respect, with an openness and as equals.

Privacy and the generation gap

2007-05-31T02:43:00.000-04:00

Andy Warhol said "In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. With Web 2.0, myspace, facebook, etc., it's certainly becoming true. But is it a good thing or bad - or are we even asking the right questions?

From New York magazine:

"And after all, there is another way to look at this shift. Younger people, one could point out, are the only ones for whom it seems to have sunk in that the idea of a truly private life is already an illusion. Every street in New York has a surveillance camera. Each time you swipe your debit card at Duane Reade or use your MetroCard, that transaction is tracked. Your employer owns your e-mails. The NSA owns your phone calls. Your life is being lived in public whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.

So it may be time to consider the possibility that young people who behave as if privacy doesn’t exist are actually the sane people, not the insane ones. For someone like me, who grew up sealing my diary with a literal lock, this may be tough to accept. But under current circumstances, a defiant belief in holding things close to your chest might not be high-minded. It might be an artifact—quaint and naïve, like a determined faith that virginity keeps ladies pure. Or at least that might be true for someone who has grown up “putting themselves out there” and found that the benefits of being transparent make the risks worth it." [say anything]

Homework - do we really need it?

2007-05-29T04:46:00.000-04:00

As a child I hated homework and now that I'm a parent I hate it even more. It seems to rob the kids of having any opportunity to spend time running around outside after spending all those hours at schools. Even more so in Israel, where children study 6 days a week.

But now I feel like someone's proven what I've been feeling for years. According to Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish in their book "The Case Against Homework" , there is almost no evidence that homework helps elementary school students achieve academic success and there is little evidence that it helps older students. Yet daily, children around the world are heavily burdened with homework. This is even harder for the day school child with longer school hours. Do we really need to put our children through the angst of daily homework? Are we needlessly robbing our children of the sleep and play, and exercise time they need for proper physical, emotional, and neurological development?

Five hundred million dollars

2007-05-29T04:04:00.000-04:00

We all like to dream - If I were a rich man ... If I had a million dollars ...

Suppose someone offered you five hundred million dollars to some something transformative for American Jewry. What would you do with that money? Build day schools? Fix those that are already there? Design outreach programs for the less affiliated? Expand Birthright? Setting up learning centers on college campuses? Build a "Foreign Ministry" for the Jewish people?

OK, I don't have that kind of money to throw around. But to dream of what we would do with extraordinary resources should help guide what we do with more limited reources. So let's dream - what would you do with it?

Public Enemy #1: Your local Jewish day school

2007-05-25T15:25:00.000-04:00

The topic of day schools comes up every so often at jpsot.org, but it is usually only in passing, while advocating public school education. This week, however, there was a passionate (and sometimes bitter) debate about whether supporting day schools undermines the values of an equal and just society. Having never thought about day schools in quite this light before, I found it to be an interesting read. I won't give away the conclusion, but I think our neighborhoods are safe. Read the debate here and here.