After reading a comment on Facebook and having seen the link to a yeshiva’s website, the educator in me could not help it: I had to go and watch the video.
I know very little about this high school, other than the information the yeshiva provides online, but a few things (seen on the video and or read in the informational brochure) really impressed me:
– When a bochur joins the yeshiva, he has to build his own desk which he then uses throughout high school.
– The school encourages public speaking right from 9th grade.
– The yeshiva promotes a 100% safe environment where negative comments are not tolerated.
– They have set up a baskbetball clinic where a non-athletic boy is coached by an athletic one.
These are only a few examples; there are a number of other very interesting practical features to encourage learning and foster confidence.
I like the idea of an all-round education where skills in art, sports and crafts are also encouraged. It makes sense that kids who do not excel in more academic subjects need to discover there are other things they are good at.
It is also momentous for the more able to connect with the more paractical side of their personalities.
The French educational system has done away with a lot of common sense activities: for instance cooking is now forbidden and only packaged cakes are allowed, for the sake of food safety; crafts have been abandonned and replaced by “technology” where twelve-year olds have to learn the name of complex plastic materials. At the same time cuts in education means that they are not provided with the tools and the attention they’d need to do well in academic subjects. Not to mention ethical values, a field where the state has given up the idea that you can teach a person to behave well towards another.
Some of the things people like about blog-reading is that they get a glimpse into other systems and practices. So do not hesitate and leave a comment, let us know about what you feel is lacking in education in your own country and what you would like your children – or children in general – to learn.
Hannah's Nook 
I love the photo and love the write up, very informative.
Thank you Rayna Eliana.
That sounds like the polar opposite of your school in France. Still, it seems too frum for me. Did you see how they’re all wearing black and white? 😛
Frum doesn’t bother me so long as people do not make choices for me. But yes, I had noticed the black and white garments, along with a few blue shirts (the rebels?). In fact it is something I had found interesting – the all-round education in a frum environment.
Loved the school review and indeed, it *is* interesting to get a glimpse into other systems and ways!
Thank you Galit. I take this as an encouragement. My school posts do not bore other people to death.
I like your school posts. Keep them coming, please.
“When a bochur joins the yeshiva, he has to build his own desk which he then uses throughout high school.”
How fantastic! My teacher family and friends will love this idea.
I too found it interesting to glimpse another school environment so totally different to my own experiences.
With regards to the French system – sadly the lack of common sense education is mirrored here in the UK (although I’m not sure plastic materials come into it, but I could be wrong!). Cuts in education – yes, same here and not on the sensible things either. There is far too much bureaucracy here which does not add value to the students’ learning experience, IMHO!
There are lots of more cuts this year and we know there will be another round next year. It is frustrating to be part of something which is crumbling.
Of course, the point is that you can’t compare traditional jewish education with an other system… Where all other system yield, traditionnal education doesn’t because we never forget the most important of all educationnal system : child’s developement in everything he can do his best. And so,the fact that it is a frum can’t bother honest people, as “frumkeit” is what have preserved the Jews, and still do, from all kind of assimilations where one can nothing but loose his soul…
Wow! That school sounds impressive. Your school posts are always interesting to me, as well. 🙂
I find that the schools in America vary widely, depending on where they are located, and hence, the amount of money which is supplied to the school (less in the cities and more in the affluent suburbs). One thing which pains me is that arts and humanities seem to be the first subjects which suffer from budget cuts, whereas sports are almost always revered to the point of ridiculousness. Of course, that’s coming from an artistic musician, so I am biased.
As for the frum schools, I would like to see a higher standard of general education, and a more well-rounded curriculum, with more arts and sports. However, since the children are already in school until nearly five o’clock when the get to seventh grade (13 or 14 years old), I’m not sure when in their day the extras will be fit in.
I am glad you enjoy the school posts too.
Judging from the video, it is possible to be in a frum school which puts emphasis on general education and arts. But maybe this one is more an exception than the norm.
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