When Will They Ever Learn?

Typical Charedi students (TOI)

The rhetoric on both sides of the Limudei Chol (secular studies) issue has gone beyond all reason. Each side accusing the other of nefarious motives. Meanwhile the core issue of assuring all of our children get the education they deserve remains unresolved.

The Jewish world, in particular the Orthodox Jewish worlds needs to face that reality and stop fighting attempts to resolve the issue. So that all of our children will be better able them to function to the best of their potential in a 21^st century world.  

That is what a decent Limudei Chol curriculum is all about really - and nothing else. It isn’t just about jobs. It is about entire communities that are unable to read or write beyond a 3^rd grade level. Making the kinds of spelling and grammar mistakes those 3^rd graders would make. 

Now we are all guilty of making those kinds of mistakes occasionally. But when it is shown to be a pattern among a group it becomes embarrassing to the Orthodox community as a whole. Especially for those among them that somehow manage to become public figures. It may not rise to the level of a Chilul HaShem. However, it does not make the most religious Jews among us look very bright.

That said the mess that has been created by certain schools shirking their duty to properly educate their children is real - as noted in an article in the Buffalo News (HT - Leah Zagelbaum). That has to be taken care of. I don’t really dispute the fact that some of the rules proposed by NYSED (New York Education Department) are not realistic. NYSED’s focus should be on the negligent schools. Not on the schools that have been in basic compliance with their rules all along - and actually do provide a curriculum that is substantially equivalent that of the public schools. Most of their students do quite well - in many cases surpassing the academic achievements of their public school counterparts 

My point has always been to keep our eyes on the prize. Which is to get schools that had no Limudei Chol curriculum to install one on par with most other Orthodox schools.

Although my concerns have revolved around what’s going on here on this subject - a similar situation still exists in Israel . Only there the problem is much more extensive. Because it isn’t just few Charedi schools that completely ignore Limudei Chol, it is the vast majority of them. 

Israel has been on the back burner because of the immediacy of the problem here, and because the situation in Israel seems to be improving internally somewhat. But it has not been forgotten.

The truth is many Charedim in Israel are taking advantage of opportunities to get educated as adults after they leave the Charedi educational system.  Many programs have in fact been established to help those that are capable of catching up - to do so. It has been a slow process but at least it’s happening at some level.

However, I  have always maintained that this new phenomenon is not enough. There are far too many Charedim that had no formal Limudei Chol curriculum  and are unable to succeed in those programs. While it is true that there are  more Charedim than ever participating in the work force, apparently it is not anywhere near enough. From YNet: 

Though there has been an increase in ultra-Orthodox students in academic institutions, they are more likely to drop out and are limited by their lack of basic education in English, Mathematics and the Sciences…

According to (a study conducted by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel) there has been since the 1970s, a decline in ultra-Orthodox boys' schools teaching of subjects conducive to employment in the modern job market such as English, Mathematics and sciences and that the gap in this kind of education is never closed affecting the number of students achieving highschool equivalency or higher education.

The study concludes that these students must be directed to subjects such as English Math and comprehension if they are to succeed but goes on to say that there is no desire on the part of this community to study these subjects which they perceive as a waste of time.

Dr. Neri Horowitz who was advisor to the ministry of Education on ultra-Orthodox studies said the rate of students dropping out of academic studies among this population is extremely high and can be tied directly to the lack of non-religious studies in the course of their schooling. 

Need I say more? This report speaks for itself. That there are more Charedim working now  in productive jobs than at any time in history may be true. But apparently the vast majority of them do not.

The problems in Israel are in my view much more serious since there are a lot more people involved. But the problem itself is the same. Which is the perpetuation of a view that Limudei Chol is a waste of time and should be avoided as any part of a school’s curriculum. That is what needs to be fought. It is a  fight worth fighting.

HT: Marty Bluke