Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Why Would Hasidic Parents Send Their Kids to "Failing" Schools?
The latest salvo in The New York Times' ongoing exposé of the yeshiva system in New York focused on a new report issued by the New York City Department of Education that found 18 religious schools failing to meet secular education standards set by the government. The article raised some troubling questions but ignored one of the most important: Why do Hasidic parents continue to send their children to "failing schools?"
I am a former Hasid who makes a living as a tour guide and YouTuber exploring Hasidic Williamsburg, where many of these implicated Hasidic schools are located. Since I am in the neighborhood often, I have come to know the rhythm of the schools that are at the center of the ongoing controversy. Every day I watch hundreds of happy boys spill into the streets during recess and pile into buses at the end of the afternoon. I see children who are deeply cared for. I see a neighborhood with one of the lowest median ages in the country, where life revolves around raising the young. Furthermore, I see parents who pay private school tuition to send their children to these schools. So why, if they are failing, do the schools continue to burst at the seams?
There are times when parents don't have a choice. When a couple splits, one of the parents can end up in a contractual obligation to enroll their children in specific Orthodox institutions. In other situations, there may be social pressures that leave parents with few real options. These things do happen, but I believe they represent a minority of cases.
The majority of Hasidic parents send their children to these schools because they succeed by some significant metrics. That doesn't offset the ways in which they fall short. But in a holistic accounting that considers not only their efficiency as preparatory institutions for future workers but also the social value they provide, these so-called failing schools accomplish a great deal. Perhaps much more than an ordinary public school.
First and foremost, these schools are Talmud Torahs—institutions dedicated to the study of Jewish texts. This is what the boys spend the bulk of their time in school doing, and it is a yeshiva's raison d'etre. According to Eli Spitzer, a Hasidic boys' school headmaster, the Torah study is not as rigorous as yeshiva defenders often portray it. "In elementary and middle school, many hours are spent singing songs, listening to stories, and repeating material that has already been learned. In high school, meanwhile, most of the day is devoted to unstructured learning. This, for many students, consists primarily of socializing while absorbing a tiny amount of material."
Beyond providing their formal curriculum, these schools socialize boys, helping them grow into Hasidic men. The boys spend their days cultivating a special piety, earnestness, and curiosity, as well as a strong sense of belonging. Girls, meanwhile, are socialized in modesty in schools of their own. This is not taught at a designated period during the school day but rather is the cumulative product of the culture in these yeshivas.
As a mother having once sent my son to a Satmar boys' school, I would argue that the most important function these schools provide is the help they offer to families. Hasidic boys' schools are in a league of their own in getting children out from under their mother's fartich—from under her feet. Mothers tell me that the boys are in school so many hours because "boys need to study the holy Torah," but I think there's more to it: Unlike the girls who help run the household, families—which often live in small apartments—need the boys and men to leave daily.
Among Williamsburg Hasidic sects, the boys start school from as young as two-and-a-half years old and remain in the system until marriage. They are in school six days a week, all year round. They are bused from the family's home and dropped back off at the door at the end of the day. They are kept busy all day without any screens. They get served multiple meals in school. They don't usually bring home homework or need to prepare for tests. Notably, they don't even go to school with backpacks. Everything they need is there at the school. The day gets longer as they get older: After Bar Mitzvah comes fartuks (study at dawn) and masmidim (study late in the evening). While in the secular world educators bristle at any insinuation that they are babysitters, Hasidic schools plainly take on the task of easing the burden for parents. They also seek to address students' emotional needs.
Comments:
Post a Comment
