Why Jewish Day Schools?
Last year, two weeks after October 7, I wrote a post on why Jewish Day Schools matter now more than ever. I did not imagine what would transpire this past year. Although I knew that October 7, 2023 made Jewish Education even more essential than ever, the past 15 months have proven my thesis stronger than I could have imagined.
I wrote last year: “First and foremost, Jewish day schools provide Jewish students with a safe place, physically and emotionally. These are schools that are committed to meeting the social and emotional needs of students and to teaching and modeling Jewish values and ethics. They are schools where students can feel free to be Jewish and to express who they are without fear. In short, students at Jewish day schools are part of strong, supportive Jewish communities that stand together in times of crisis. They are places where students, staff, and families can come together to learn, grow, and even grieve. And they are communities where students form friendships that often last a lifetime, providing a strong support network during difficult times.”
Over the past 15 months, I’ve come to understand that we are more than just that. I hope to explain why Jewish Day Schools are relevant, meaningful, and different from other Independent and public schools.
Let me highlight the similarities between Jewish Day Schools and other schools. Jewish day schools offer top-notch general studies. Every independent school brags about its academic excellence. Many public schools have high ratings as excellent academic institutions. So, too, Jewish Day Schools. I would venture to say that our schools, like other independent schools, have marginal differences in curriculum and the quality of educators teaching. State skills and standards are taught at schools across the board.
Regarding differences, I’d like to focus on four reasons (and like any good researcher and educator, there are sub-reasons for each).
- Jewish Day Schools (like mine) instill in their students the ability to serve as leaders.
- Jewish Day Schools (like mine) focus on teaching about the Shoah and the impact of antisemitism, with the goal that our students know how to be proactive and reactive (when necessary) in a world where antisemitism is on the rise.
- Jewish Day Schools (like mine) teach the History of Israel, including Modern Israeli History (1897 through tomorrow), and explain Israel’s relationship with its neighbors and citizens.
- Empathy. At our school, we do this through our Social-Emotional Learning, Design Thinking Curriculum, and through our ability to meet the needs of neurodiverse students, all of which will be explained below.
Leadership
From as early as Kindergarten, our students learn to be leaders. It is one of the things we hear most from our current parents, alumni parents, and more importantly, from our alumni. Our students lead T’fillot, perform at grade-level programs, speak in front of their classes, and gain the confidence to lead when called upon. I see it daily from our Middle School students, who develop new ideas and ways to promote and improve our school. Our older students lead activities and programs for the younger grades through our Mishpacha program (think Harry Potter’s House system). Our Fifth Graders learn to be “buddies” with our Kindergarten students. Our Fourth Graders know how to lead our school in song and performance. Our Fifth Graders know how to portray historical figures at our Wax Museum. And even our Kindergartners know how to present using a microphone to the entire school about their Design Thinking project. Every student has a chance to lead. Every student is on the stage. The proof is in the pudding, with several alumni on our board and dozens more on boards throughout our community.
Antisemitism
When I used to be a Jewish History teacher, I called the Seventh Grade curriculum “Judaism and why people hate us.” Our seventh-grade year is transformational. As our students become Bar and Bat Mitzvah and dive deeply into their own Jewish identity, they are at an age that can investigate and better understand our Jewish history. We give the students a crash course on the Shoah and the impact of antisemitism as part of our history and as part of the present.
We work with our students on how to identify antisemitism and how to engage in meaningful conversations that can educate others on the impact of words and actions. This arms our students when they go off to non-Jewish High Schools (as most of our students do after 8th grade) and to college and University with the tools they desperately need when confronted.
A former parent once asked me, “Dan, why didn’t you teach my child how to respond to antisemitism?” My answer was simple: “We do. In Seventh Grade, but you moved your child to another school in Sixth Grade.”
Israel
We make no secret that we are a Zionist school. You see it in our hallways, and you hear it from the classrooms. You feel it from the moment you enter our campus.
We are lucky to have regular weekly visits from our community Shlicha, our local Kollel Torah Mitzion guys, as well as visits from Israeli charities, and lone soldiers who are in town visiting. We have 5 Israeli teachers on staff who daily inspire our students through songs and lessons about modern Israel.
Hebrew immersion is an essential part of our learning. Second language acquisition is a key component to brain growth and allows our students to have the synapsis in their brains open, which helps in all academic pursuits. Hebrew is the living language of Judaism and connects the past to the present.
Our Eighth-Grade Jewish Social Studies class spends the year learning about Israeli geography, history, politics, pop culture, and more. We teach our students about Israel’s neighbors and the interaction between the regional and global community and Israel. This culminates with our two-week trip to Israel, which comes at great cost to our families but is an essential part of our school’s identity.
Throughout their nine-year experience at our school, this becomes a focus of our Eighth-Grade program. Our students learn how to engage with others who don’t know the true story of Israel so that when they go off to High Schools and Colleges (see above), they know how to combat the anti-Zionist vitriol that they will see.
Empathy
As I write this, I’m struck by how and why I put empathy at the end. In truth, we start with empathy. It is the first step of the 6-step design thinking process, a hallmark of our school, and it truly differentiates us from every other school.
Yes, several schools have Design Labs, Innovation Labs, STEM Labs, or Makerspaces. But how many of them have a program that is interwoven into every aspect of the curriculum (both general studies and Jewish studies) through its Social-Emotional Learning program, every special program and activity, and every nook and corner of the building? Design Thinking is not a space; it is a method.
And it starts with empathy. We teach our students empathy. We model it for them. As Jews who focus on positive character traits, treating others the way that we would want to be treated, and not judging another until we walk in their shoes, empathy is at our core. It is our first lesson and our last lesson because it is part of every lesson.
As we approach Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month in February, it is essential to note that part of the empathy building we instill is recognizing the need to accept students into our school who may be neurodiverse or have other unique abilities or needs. I’ve long known, but truly wrapped my head around the idea last night, that if we don’t open our doors to these students, if we don’t show them the empathy that they deserve, they will have nowhere else to turn, and we will run the risk of alienating those Jews from Jewish learning and living. Of course, we need the resources to work with all of our students, but how can we say no?
Finally, why this post now? We are seeing the impact of the last 15 months. We are seeing the impact on our students, staff, families, and communities. We are also seeing tremendous growth in support for Jewish Day Schools. Look no further than the transformational gift that the Mandel Foundation made in Cleveland. Every community should have such a gift (on a scale appropriate for the size of the community). Every school should be able to bring in students who want to benefit from all we offer. Families should realize the impact that Jewish Day Schools make through middle school and for communities that have gone through high school. What we offer cannot be found in other Independent Schools or Public Schools. Now is the right time to consider the impact of a Jewish Day School.