Those of you who know me understand that I have a strong commitment to Jewish Day School education, and see many lifelong values and benefits to attending Day School. And most of you probably know (or would not be surprised to learn) that we have chosen to send our own kids to the local — and wonderful — Solomon Schechter Day School.
But those who know me well also understand that I deeply believe there is no such thing as “one size fits all” Judaism, and I value all types of Jewish education — from formal to informal, and from Day School to Supplementary School. That is why I was intrigued, and impressed, by an article that I read this week by Jordana Horn entitled: Who Says You Need Day School- Why ‘Jewish Homeschooling’ Might be the key to identity.
Horn’s basic premise is that if we want to create children with a Jewish identity, we cannot simply outsource our Judaism to our local synagogue or school. Instead, we must nurture our children’s identities at home, in the synagogue, in the community, and throughout their daily lives. If you are a parent, this article has practical and useful advice for your daily lives. If you are a grandparent, please consider sharing this article with your children. Here is the introduction:
Recently I’ve read several pieces in which Jewish parents expressed their belief that day school is critically necessary to raising their children as Jews – and that without it, there would be no certainty that their children would maintain a firm footing in the Jewish world…..
I’m not against day school, per se. I just don’t think that day school is essential in order to raise children who are Jewish and proud to be Jewish.
My three siblings and I went to public school and spent a few years in private school (not a Jewish school). Fast-forward 20 years or so: All four of us have married Jews. One of us is a National Jewish Book Award winner. One of us writes for Jewish publications. One of us teaches at a Jewish day school. All of us know how to read Hebrew and Torah. On any given Saturday, a high percentage of my parents’ 11 grandchildren – each of whom had a bris or naming ceremony – are attending Sabbath services at synagogue. And every single one of those grandchildren old enough to go to camp is attending a Jewish camp this summer.
How can I be so sure, you might ask, that my kids will be happily active Jews in the future? That’s easy: Because these kids are being raised to know that Judaism is such a central part of their existence that to take it away would be to take out a structural component of their life‘s scaffolding . We were never threatened to marry only Jews; instead, it was taken for granted by all of us that we wouldn’t want to marry someone with whom we could not build a Jewish life and family. The “secret” to a successful Jewish life and future is not the “magic bullet” of day school attendance. The real secret lies in what could be called “Jewish homeschooling” – supplementing after-school Hebrew school (a necessity) with real and vibrant Jewish family life.
To read Horn’s concrete suggestions for how this works in practical terms- click here
As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.