[HANASHIR:13009] Re: Fw:Jewish Education, Jewish continuity...

[ISP <ISP...>]

In my humble opinion, there is no one "cure all" for the lack of connected 
Jewish adults. If you recall, after the 1990 Jewish Population Study many 
communities threw tons of money into day schools. In the last five years we 
have seen tremendous growth in Jewish community high schools, even the first, 
non-Orthodox Jewish boarding high school opened its doors. (My son is a 
student there; if you want to know more about it, e-mail me privately.) 

Yet, as I often hear about as many, if not more families of day school 
families hitting the malls on Friday nights and the skating rinks or soccer 
fields on Saturday mornings. I am not seeing the building of a Jewish 
lifestyle. The graduates of day schools may be more "educated" but that is 
sometimes just the right word - they are educated, just like they are 
educated in algebra and earth science; not living a Jewish lifestyle. 

The bottom line for me as a parent (whose kids attended day school for 2-3 
years and then public school until William's high school choice), and as an 
educator, is that kids who grow up in homes where parents live a Jewish 
lifestyle - complete with celebrations and ritual, service attendance, and 
Jewish ethics - are much more likely to adopt such a lifestyle as an adult. 

A brief, nonscientific statement I can add is that 2 other students from my 
daughter's day school class (both of whom completed the school through its 
6th grade end) are at her college. Neither of them has chosen to yet connect 
with Hillel or Chabad, both of which are very open and welcoming. 

Many parents will not choose a day school because of their philosophical 
beliefs. Others will only choose it because it might be a cheaper alternative 
to secular private schools. Even at my son's school, there are teens and 
parents who are complaining that "there are too many services" and "why can't 
they go to the mall on Saturday afternoon..."

Don't get me wrong. There are those who will choose it for its Jewish content 
and teachings. However, I don't envision a time when the majority of our kids 
will not obtain their Jewish education through supplemental schools. 

So, to me, that means that at least as much, if not more resources need to be 
put there. (Currently in our community, where there is no Jewish Education 
department of BJE the only school that gets any community funding is the day 
school; supplemental schools need to rely on synagogue $.) When I say "there" 
I mean throughout synagogues (including youth groups, movement camps, and 
family retreats & Israel trips) so that there are programs that will allow 
entry points that can engage a variety of family members, not just the kids. 
For, if everyone is excited about being in the synagogue, there is real power 
for long term involvement.

OK - I am off my soapbox...

L'shalom,
Iris Petroff
Program Director
Temple Society of Concord