On Planned Ignorance

At least in New York State, private schools, a group into which yeshivot fall, must meet certain minimum requirements as set down by the Board of Education and the State and City. Students are required to be in school until they are older than 16 years of age. There are certain subjects that are required to be taught, and there are State examinations that must be passed for a State-issued Regents Diploma.

Once upon a time both male and female frum schools adhered to the State requirements in a way similar to the public schools. As regards high school, there were 4 years of secular instruction, covering all the subjects required by the State and then some. And yes, that was a full school year of that secular instruction. It was not uncommon for the high schools to offer AP courses or other advanced topic courses. No, not all students took these AP/advanced courses, but a large number of students did.

And then the male frum high schools started fooling around with the system. Why should the students--all the students--be "forced" to spend an entire senior year learning secular material? And so the first "adjustments" starting reducing the amount of time spent on secular studies in that senior year. Some schools simply shortened the amount of time in a day allotted to secular studies and increased Judaic studies to take up the slack. Other schools reduced the number of days during the school week that secular studies would be given, and again the slack was taken up by Judaic studies.

Time marched on and some of these male schools found new ways of changing the school secular studies structure. In some cases, if a subject was not going to be on an Regents Exam, the subject was no longer taught. Why give senior year math/science/history etc. if they didn't need it for the test. Other schools opted for a different solution. All the courses necessary would be given, but they would be reduced to 1-3 week "intensive seminars" that would cover all the material needed for the exams. Sometimes those "seminars" would be during the school year, and sometimes those seminars would be during the summer time, some of them taking place in summer camps.

So basically, the more to the right boys high schools don't have a senior year of secular studies. That year is devoted to learning limudei kodesh only. Yes, a few boys whose parents may insist and whose families are "dear" to the school will be offered some AP course type of instruction. It is not for the amount of time that a full-year school course would be offered, and almost without exception parents pay for what amounts to private or semi-private tutoring for these tests during school hours. A few of the schools will offer, again not to everyone and sometimes for an extra charge, "tutoring" for the SATs.

Now, what happens when you start fooling around with the senior year of high school? For one thing, schools look at the results and think to themselves "Well, there was no fallout or no major fallout from what we did, so maybe we could adjust some of the other years as well." And we see courses having their hours and days shortened, we see material not being taught at all. These boys yeshivot have taken "teaching to the test" to a new height of absurdity. Most of the schools don't eliminate secular studies altogether--not enlightenment on their part but a desire to keep getting the funds given to them by the State for various programs, money they wouldn't get if they weren't a "real" high school. But a lot of those schools also hire as secular studies instructors people who represent the "frumkeit picture" they want their students to see without any of the qualifications necessary to actually teach a subject. A lot of those instructors do not even have a college degree to their credit.

Note: elementary schools look at what the high schools are requiring from their students and they, too, "adjust" what they are teaching to their students. After all, if the high schools are not going to require certain courses, or are going to cut those courses to little bits of skin and bones, why should the elementary schools bother teaching material that the students won't need to get through high school?

What does this all add up to? Hundreds, no thousands of male students graduating high school without the knowledge, skills and attainment they need. To say that they are under-prepared to go out into the general working world is a gross understatement. To say that the majority are under-prepared for "real" colleges (as opposed to online diploma mills) is a doubly gross understatement.

Once upon a time, the frum community prided itself on the knowledge and brightness of its students in the secular studies arena. Sure, there are still some students and a few schools where that pride is not misplaced. But we can't say any longer that the majority of our male high school graduates are solidly educated in both limudei kodesh and limudei chol, because they clearly are not. And for this situation the blame must solidly fall on the schools, and then on the parents who continue to support these schools. No parents, you are really not getting what you pay for, and your children are going to pay the price down the road. Take off your "entitlement-colored glasses" and really see what is going to happen to your under-educated, under-prepared sons.

Something Fishy

Our local Pathmark had a new product I hadn't seen before. The brand is Cape Gourmet Wild Salmon fillets. It's a one-pound package. Each package has four pieces in it, individually vacuum sealed. The bones and skin have been removed, so it's pure fish fillet counted for the weight. It's under the Chof K. The package was being sold for $5.99 for the one-pound package. The fresh fish counter had wild salmon at $11 a pound, pre-frozen and thawed, skin still on--obviously the frozen package represents a bargain.

I tried the fish and it was delicious. And it really is convenient to be able to take out only as many servings as you need. If you like salmon but don't like the price of the fresh wild salmon, you might want to look and see if your market carries the brand.

Context Counts

Words have importance, but the context of where/how/when those words are said or written will affect how the words are understood. Thanks to a colleague who told me the following.

An immigrant to the US, originally from Europe, ran into his house highly agitated. He told his family that a terrible thing had taken place in Europe: the communists had invaded Italy and were murdering priests. The family gasped and asked how he knew this. He told them that he had seen it as the headline in a newspaper, in words two inches high.

So, what did this man read in the paper? "Reds Murder Cardinals." Yup, context counts.

The Strangers Among Us

Coming up soon are Purim and Pesach. These are two holidays that are associated with company. Certainly the Purim Megillah is full of examples of people holding feasts. And we are told for Pesach to proclaim "let all who are hungry come and eat." In far too many cases, however, this 'custom' of inviting is seen more in the breach than in the observance.

Most of the large communities of Klal are filled with people who are pretty much going to be alone for these holidays. Some are singles, living here now but from other places, places where their family still resides. Many will not be able to go home for Purim or Pesach. Some will be college students, some will be older singles working here. Some will be elderly people, perhaps without a spouse or any family living close by.

Some of those people might be couples, yet still alone except for each other. Some may be young couples who have recently moved to the community and have not yet developed any kind of social circle. Some may be older couples without family living nearby, or perhaps where friends have retired and moved elsewhere, leaving these couples fairly isolated socially.

And keep in mind that some of those alone may be ba'alei teshuvah or ge'rim whose families are not religious or Jewish, giving them no place to go for a holiday.

Regardless of how these people came to be alone, yom tov is an awful time to be alone. We Jews have always made much of gathering around a table to celebrate, gathering with others.

This year, plan ahead. Really open your eyes and look around your community. Is it really going to be such a hardship to set an extra plate or two at the table? Don't make assumptions that all these people surely will have someplace to be for yom tov. Ask! You're not sure who might be alone? Ask the Rav of your shul if there is someone who might want/need to be invited.

If we in Klal truly consider each other as "brothers," then let's get in the family spirit and invite those "brothers" for a seudah to share in the joy and simcha of yom tov. Now is the time to make your plans and issue the invitations.

Where to Go on a Date

There's a new site up that has information on places to go when on a date, both in the NYC area and outside of it. It covers all kinds of places to go, including listings of restaurants. The site was begun by a couple of ex-yeshiva bochrim, and it points out that married people might also enjoy going to these places.

Kind of strange that I'd come across this site on 2/14, given the date's significance in the secular world as relates to dating.

http://www.pegishaplace.com/

Jewish History 101--WWII and the Landau Family

I still wish the mispalelim at Rabbi Landau's shul in Midwood would look before dashing across the avenue to get to minyan, but an interesting story today about WWII, the Landau family and the shul

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0212/landau_bunker.php3

Affordable New York?

Hudi, on the "Times Change--do we?" posting asked a question about which were the affordable communities in the NYC area. Keep in mind that that is affordable relatively speaking to other areas in the City that are more expensive.

I'll throw this one out to my readers. Which community/communities would you suggest? Keep in mind the following when making your suggestions: 1)rental costs/costs to buy housing, 2)real estate taxes, 3)cost of commuting and type of transportation available, 3)cost of tuition in local elementary schools, 4)type of elementary schools available (coed, male, female), 5)high schools, if available, 6)if a high school is not available locally is there organized transport to such a high school(s), 7)types of shuls in community and full and complete charges for a year for a shul, 8)is there a kosher mikvah in the community, 9)is there a kosher butcher/bakery in the community or an alternative such as kosher departments in supermarkets in the community, 9)does the community play keeping up with the Joneses, so that community members may feel pressured to spend more than they really have in order to be "accepted,", 10)is the community "mixed" as to types of religious groups present or is one type dominant or the only type represented, 11)is the community a fairly new one, just establishing itself, is it fully established and thriving, is it older and needing a new influx of people to keep going.

If you think of anything else that should be included in the affordability factor, please say so. So let's hear it--what are the affordable communities in the NYC area.