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    Default Jewish educational question

    I just read the following article.

    (Excerpt) The school I attended while growing up as a Chabad Orthodox Jew in Crown Heights, Brooklyn did not teach any formal, academic subjects -- no reading, writing, literature, math, science or history. I cannot say that I was all too surprised by the many people trying to defend this broken system or even by the criticism of me. Still, it is painful to realize that my peers and fellow victims of the same system are so willing to defend handicapping thousands of young people by not teaching kids fundamental, academic subjects.....

    Some chose to interpret my article as attack on the Chabad movement: "While it is true that secular studies aren't taught at Oholei Torah, the same can be said of almost all ultra-Orthodox schools around the world, so bashing Chabad alone isn't fair," as if the educational failings of Chabad -- the only aspect of Chabad I criticized -- are minimized by those other communities around the world. The same people even claimed that Jewish "holy studies" were enough alone because they produce smarter brains. Many responses were racist, and some, downright rude, simply because I chose to blow the whistle on a reality that still haunts me and others who are striving to attain higher education despite being denied the basic foundation for that.....

    At the end of Chabad yeshivah (high school), I knew no more than how to solve simple fractions, no science, no history and was far from able to formulate just one paragraph in English, let alone a whole essay. .....

    At the age of 17, I had a formal education more comparable to a third grader. Without a solid formal education, I lacked the opportunity to function as an informed, educated young adult. I managed to pass a GED test after great difficulty at the age of 18 out of my own initiative; ......

    The corruption at Oholei Torah has provoked a frustrating, painful memory, which I had not planned on mentioning. In third grade, my classmates and I watched our teacher brutally beat one of the students for what seemed like at least a half an hour.....

    Parents, while you may want to send your kids to such a school understanding that it is your right to limit your children's education strictly to religious studies, there is a very real chance that it may harm your children. One day, your child may very well demand to understand why you denied them a basic education; one day, your children may be outraged at being denied their right to a basic education and the resultant opportunities to find a decent job, secure a promotion or provide for their own families. My parents have indicated that sending me and my siblings to Oholei Torah was a mistake and would not make the same choice now. Ironically, many people have left the community because of the failings of schools which would cultivate only yiddishkeit (Jewishness and observance). Parents want the best for their children and want them to go far in life.

    As Kahlil Gibran wrote in his poem "On Children," parents are the bow from which children as living arrows are sent forth. Children need a solid bow in order to fly. Children need an education to succeed in life. (End)
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chaim-...ncid=webmail12

    Question: Is not teaching a standard level of education mandatory in all US schools?
    "May your reality be as pleasant as mine."

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    Quote Originally Posted by apple0154 View Post
    I just read the following article.

    (Excerpt) The school I attended while growing up as a Chabad Orthodox Jew in Crown Heights, Brooklyn did not teach any formal, academic subjects -- no reading, writing, literature, math, science or history. I cannot say that I was all too surprised by the many people trying to defend this broken system or even by the criticism of me. Still, it is painful to realize that my peers and fellow victims of the same system are so willing to defend handicapping thousands of young people by not teaching kids fundamental, academic subjects.....

    Some chose to interpret my article as attack on the Chabad movement: "While it is true that secular studies aren't taught at Oholei Torah, the same can be said of almost all ultra-Orthodox schools around the world, so bashing Chabad alone isn't fair," as if the educational failings of Chabad -- the only aspect of Chabad I criticized -- are minimized by those other communities around the world. The same people even claimed that Jewish "holy studies" were enough alone because they produce smarter brains. Many responses were racist, and some, downright rude, simply because I chose to blow the whistle on a reality that still haunts me and others who are striving to attain higher education despite being denied the basic foundation for that.....

    At the end of Chabad yeshivah (high school), I knew no more than how to solve simple fractions, no science, no history and was far from able to formulate just one paragraph in English, let alone a whole essay. .....

    At the age of 17, I had a formal education more comparable to a third grader. Without a solid formal education, I lacked the opportunity to function as an informed, educated young adult. I managed to pass a GED test after great difficulty at the age of 18 out of my own initiative; ......

    The corruption at Oholei Torah has provoked a frustrating, painful memory, which I had not planned on mentioning. In third grade, my classmates and I watched our teacher brutally beat one of the students for what seemed like at least a half an hour.....

    Parents, while you may want to send your kids to such a school understanding that it is your right to limit your children's education strictly to religious studies, there is a very real chance that it may harm your children. One day, your child may very well demand to understand why you denied them a basic education; one day, your children may be outraged at being denied their right to a basic education and the resultant opportunities to find a decent job, secure a promotion or provide for their own families. My parents have indicated that sending me and my siblings to Oholei Torah was a mistake and would not make the same choice now. Ironically, many people have left the community because of the failings of schools which would cultivate only yiddishkeit (Jewishness and observance). Parents want the best for their children and want them to go far in life.

    As Kahlil Gibran wrote in his poem "On Children," parents are the bow from which children as living arrows are sent forth. Children need a solid bow in order to fly. Children need an education to succeed in life. (End)
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chaim-...ncid=webmail12

    Question: Is not teaching a standard level of education mandatory in all US schools?
    You should read and comprehend the Chabad Lubavitch teachings about Jewish political hegemony and world rule under their concept of Olam Ha Ba.

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    Quote Originally Posted by apple0154 View Post
    I just read the following article.

    (Excerpt) The school I attended while growing up as a Chabad Orthodox Jew in Crown Heights, Brooklyn did not teach any formal, academic subjects -- no reading, writing, literature, math, science or history. I cannot say that I was all too surprised by the many people trying to defend this broken system or even by the criticism of me. Still, it is painful to realize that my peers and fellow victims of the same system are so willing to defend handicapping thousands of young people by not teaching kids fundamental, academic subjects.....

    Some chose to interpret my article as attack on the Chabad movement: "While it is true that secular studies aren't taught at Oholei Torah, the same can be said of almost all ultra-Orthodox schools around the world, so bashing Chabad alone isn't fair," as if the educational failings of Chabad -- the only aspect of Chabad I criticized -- are minimized by those other communities around the world. The same people even claimed that Jewish "holy studies" were enough alone because they produce smarter brains. Many responses were racist, and some, downright rude, simply because I chose to blow the whistle on a reality that still haunts me and others who are striving to attain higher education despite being denied the basic foundation for that.....

    At the end of Chabad yeshivah (high school), I knew no more than how to solve simple fractions, no science, no history and was far from able to formulate just one paragraph in English, let alone a whole essay. .....

    At the age of 17, I had a formal education more comparable to a third grader. Without a solid formal education, I lacked the opportunity to function as an informed, educated young adult. I managed to pass a GED test after great difficulty at the age of 18 out of my own initiative; ......

    The corruption at Oholei Torah has provoked a frustrating, painful memory, which I had not planned on mentioning. In third grade, my classmates and I watched our teacher brutally beat one of the students for what seemed like at least a half an hour.....

    Parents, while you may want to send your kids to such a school understanding that it is your right to limit your children's education strictly to religious studies, there is a very real chance that it may harm your children. One day, your child may very well demand to understand why you denied them a basic education; one day, your children may be outraged at being denied their right to a basic education and the resultant opportunities to find a decent job, secure a promotion or provide for their own families. My parents have indicated that sending me and my siblings to Oholei Torah was a mistake and would not make the same choice now. Ironically, many people have left the community because of the failings of schools which would cultivate only yiddishkeit (Jewishness and observance). Parents want the best for their children and want them to go far in life.

    As Kahlil Gibran wrote in his poem "On Children," parents are the bow from which children as living arrows are sent forth. Children need a solid bow in order to fly. Children need an education to succeed in life. (End)
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chaim-...ncid=webmail12

    Question: Is not teaching a standard level of education mandatory in all US schools?
    The states have the power to grant or deny accreditation to all academic institutions, from Preschool to College. Several years ago, the College of Education at Central Washington University failed its inspection, and lost its accreditation with the state for a couple of quarters. The Evergreen State College has lost its accreditation a few times over the years, because it is a piece of garbage where hippies come to congregate. The same is true of all elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools in every state.

    Granted, parents can still send their kids to non-accredited schools, but it provides an incentive to at least send their kids to some accredited academy or to tutoring in order to achieve a level of education which might help them get into a college someday...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Carlos Spicy Weiner View Post
    The states have the power to grant or deny accreditation to all academic institutions, from Preschool to College. Several years ago, the College of Education at Central Washington University failed its inspection, and lost its accreditation with the state for a couple of quarters. The Evergreen State College has lost its accreditation a few times over the years, because it is a piece of garbage where hippies come to congregate. The same is true of all elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools in every state.

    Granted, parents can still send their kids to non-accredited schools, but it provides an incentive to at least send their kids to some accredited academy or to tutoring in order to achieve a level of education which might help them get into a college someday...
    What about home schooling?

    If I understand correctly if parents can send their children to non-accredited schools isn't that just another way of saying children don't have to attend "school"? Aren't there specific subjects ALL children have to be taught?
    "May your reality be as pleasant as mine."

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    Quote Originally Posted by AssHatZombie View Post
    You should read and comprehend the Chabad Lubavitch teachings about Jewish political hegemony and world rule under their concept of Olam Ha Ba.
    (Excerpt) Frequently rabbinic texts are entirely ambiguous about Olam Ha Ba, for instance in Berakhot 17a:

    "In the World to Come there is no eating, or drinking nor procreation or commerce, nor jealousy, or enmity, or rivalry – but the righteous sit with crowns on their head and enjoy the radiance of the Shekhinah [Divine Presence]." (End)
    http://judaism.about.com/od/judaismb...-Afterlife.htm

    "In the World to Come there is no eating, or drinking nor procreation...."

    What, exactly, differentiates that from death?
    "May your reality be as pleasant as mine."

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    Quote Originally Posted by apple0154 View Post
    What about home schooling?

    If I understand correctly if parents can send their children to non-accredited schools isn't that just another way of saying children don't have to attend "school"? Aren't there specific subjects ALL children have to be taught?
    No, there are no standards.
    "Do not think that I came to bring peace... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34

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    Quote Originally Posted by apple0154 View Post
    (Excerpt) Frequently rabbinic texts are entirely ambiguous about Olam Ha Ba, for instance in Berakhot 17a:

    "In the World to Come there is no eating, or drinking nor procreation or commerce, nor jealousy, or enmity, or rivalry – but the righteous sit with crowns on their head and enjoy the radiance of the Shekhinah [Divine Presence]." (End)
    http://judaism.about.com/od/judaismb...-Afterlife.htm

    "In the World to Come there is no eating, or drinking nor procreation...."

    What, exactly, differentiates that from death?
    The Jewish afterlife isn't the same as the Christian one.
    "Do not think that I came to bring peace... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34

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    A lot of early Jews actually didn't believe in the afterlife. When you died, you died, and you had to worship God anyway goddammit, or he'd kick your goddamn ass.
    "Do not think that I came to bring peace... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Alexander Hamilton View Post
    No, there are no standards.
    So how does the government know if a child is being taught at home or some place calling itself a school?

    I was under the impression parents were obliged to send their children to school. What is the point of that if there are no standards applied to schools?
    "May your reality be as pleasant as mine."

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