cation is the preservation of re- ligious and cultural identity, it is evident that this attitude repre- date persons of another faith. sents an alarming statistic that `Since the objective of Jewish edu- must be coped with by Jewish edu- New Start in Jewish Education Planning Urged NEW YORK (JTA) — The pres- ent crisis in Jewish education re- quires a willingness on the part of curriculum planners and ad- ministrators to "scrap all cher- ished preconceptions and start all over again," a professor of history told 250 delegates to the National Conference on Jewish Education, which concluded its four-day ses- sion here Sunday. Dr. Irving Greenberg of Ye- shiva University, speaking to the fifth national conference of the American Association for Jewish Education, said that the first con- sideration for the educators to determine is what is the purpose of remaining Jewish. "If Judaism is nothing but democracy or brotherhood, why not practice these in the orginal form?" he asked. He suggested as an experi- ment,the reversal of the current practice by startng Jewish educa- tion at 13, or Bar Matzvah age, SO that the student can begin his Jewish studies when he is ma- ture. "In fact," he declared, "a good idea would be to scrap the entire Bar Matzvah ceremony with its Haftorah ritual, a procedure which has in the past wasted thousands of man years." Recognition of the complaints of Jewish adolescents that the cur- ricula of Jewish schools are often inferior, and their instruction dull, Was given Sunday in the unani- mous adoption by the conference Of a resolution authorizing the creation of a national youth com- mission, to look into the situation as it exists in Jewish educational institutions of the United States and Canada. The resolution urged the Com- mission to make a survey "to diag- nose the problems of Jewish youth and to suggest improvements that must be adopted to attract and retain Jewish students in both the elementary and secondary school categories." The Corcunission will utilize the .,ervices of outstanding scholars, psychologsts and sociolo- gists as well as educators, in its studies, and in the drafting of rec- ommendations. The conference also voted the creation of a manpower commis- sion to study and deal with the serious shortage of teachers which confronts Jewish schools through- out this country and Canada. Another resolution called on member agencies of various Jewish welfare funds to give primacy in their allocations to Jewish education, and asked for bold new financing of the Jewish school system which trains 600,000 children and employs 17,000 part-time and full-time • teachers annually. The associa- tion delegates urged the seeking of new and large gifts for schools from foundations. Dr. Isadore Breslau of Wash- ington vias reelected president of the association, with Samuel H. Daroff of Philadelphia renamed as chairman of the governing council. A major step toward unity and coordination in the field of Jewish education was effected when three lay leaders of major congrega- tional groups confirmed their or- gan.lizations' support of the AAJE as the representative body in this field. The association represents 15 constituent national organizations. The confirmations were voiced by Joseph S. Wohl, for the Conserva- tive movement; Earl Morse on be- half of American Reform Jewry, and Max Etra, for the Orthodox community. At the dinner, Daroff presented citations to founders and past presidents who have been active in the association for the past 27 years. To solve the teacher shortage in Jewish schools and to attract the highest caliber of profes- sionals to Jewish teaching, Dr. Breslau recommended special inducements in recruiting, train- ing and employment. "We must give the teaching profession greater status and the type of financial compensation it de- serves," he said. Declaring that the full, imag- inative and cooperative use of all the resources of the Jewish com- munity is required to determine the future of Jewish life in the United States through an effective system of Jewish education, Dr. Breslau pointed out that never before has the Jew been provided with faciltie's and afforded the opportunities in freedom to "pre- serve and enrich whatever identi- fication he may choose." Critical views of Jewish schools by teen-agers were distributed to the delegates. It was the end- result of an extended study con- ducted among 1,051 Jewish stu- dents by the National Curriculum Research Institute, a division of the American Association for Jewish Education. The survey was made during 1964, 1965 and early 1966 under the supervision of Dr. Judah Pilch, director of the Insti- tute, on college campuses, in sec- ondary schools and summer camps. One finding, especially dis- turbing, the report noted, was that the Jewish home, "always considered an impregnable fort- ress, inspiring and shaping posi- tive ethical standards," has been dislodged from its previous posi- tion of eminence. "We found that Jewish adolescents, like their peers in the general com- munity, are now in full retreat from the home, which we can no longer consider an important co- hesive agent in the Jewish edu- cational process," Dr. Pilch said. On the subject of Jewsh re- ligion, the report found that stu- dents felt that much of the train- ing "takes the form of religious entertainment, utilizing tranquil- izers, and that its instruction is frequently dull and vapid." Most or the respondents indi- cated that their criticism did not imply a lack of interest or a nega- tion of Jewish studies. They felt, the research showed, that "Jewish schools must inspire their students to want to live Jewishly and to better understand their role as individuals and members of the group." The study showed that 88 per cent of the respondents who con- tinued their Jewish education went to Jewish secondary schools of their own volition, and that only 12 per cent were influenced to attend these schools by their par- ents. Among those who discontinued attendance, 36 per cent showed a lack of interest in further Jewish studies, irrespective of experence in the elementary school, and 30 per cent discontinued because of conflict with public school sched- ules. The students queried, Dr. Pilch stressed, feel strongly that "radical changes" are needed in present- day Jewish school curricula. They believe that instruction should be more selective, in marked con- trast to the programs of Jewish educaton followed during the past quarter of a century. A majority recommended that Jewish schools emphasize and 5 Million Trees Planted In spite of drought and man- clarify the role of the Jewish peo- power problems, close to 5,000,000 ple among the nations and re- new forest trees were planted all lgions of the world today, as was over the country by winter's end. done heretofore in regard to the This includes 1,350,000 trees in past. the Northern Region (Galilee), The report disclosed that 49 per 1,150,000 trees in the North Cen- cent of those questioned opposed tral Region (Nazareth, Gilboa and mixed datng, with 41 per cent Carmel), 1,197,100 trees in the favoring it, and 10 per cent un- South Central Region (Judea and decided as to whether they would Jerusalem Corridor) and 799,650 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS trees in the Negev Region and the South. Friday, March 25, 1966-11 cators," Dr. Pilch asserted, noting that the replies to this particular question conformed to the present- day trend of behavior of adoles- cents in general. 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