2 Friday, October 20, 1978 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Communal Concerns Over Situation in 'Shrinking' School Systems, the Status of the Teachers and the Continuing Communal Responsibilities By Philip Slomovitz Unquenchable Interest in Jewish Educational Needs As long as there are people who are determined to advance Jewish educational needs and to strive for the highest standards in assuring priorities for the Jewish school, there will be cause to be heartened by popular attitudes. An editorial analysis of one portion of the problems affecting our schools, that of the part-time teacher, resulted in reactions that stemmed from tin increased concern as well as one of hurt on the part of leadership. In the ranks of the latter there is a continuity of action, seeking to mend some of the shortcomings and to create opportunities for teachers in what could well be considered a dwindling of school needs. One JeWish leader even spoke of a "shrinkage" resulting from the zero population threats in Jewish ranks. In spite of a continuing teacher contract dispute which must be judged as deplorable and frustrating, it is to be conceded that those concerned with Jewish education have done much to elevate our schools. They did increase allocations to the Day Schools. They have instituted a study out of which, it is to be hoped, will soon emerge new guidelines for future activities. • Nevertheless, the problem posed editorially last, week retains a great measure of pragmatism. Proof was provided this week, after the appearance of the referred to editorial challenge, from a prominent American Jewish educator. Dr. Eli Grad, president of Boston Hebrew College, former educational director of Detroit's Shaarey Zedek school, addressed this message to supporters of his school in his Hebrew College Bulletin: The problem of teaching personnel in our Hebrew, schools has reached a critical stage. Fewer than 12 full-time teaching positions remain in the Hebrew schools of Greater Boston. Fewer than 12 individuals make a living — meager as -- it is — by teaching in a supplementary Jewish school. Teaching in the Hebrew school has been reduced to part-time work. To be sure excellent and inspiring work is being done by many part-time teachers. Some bring excitement and a breath of fresh air into our schools precisely because their livelihood is not dependent on Jewish education. The fact remains, how- ever, that consistent achievement is dependent on a core of full-time professional teachers whose lives revolve around the educational process. Let us make no mistake about it: the erosion which has all but eliminated professional career opportunities in the Jewish classroom will eliminate professional career indi- viduals from educational leadership positions within one generation. The many schools in our community which were faced with a turnover of educational leadership personnel this year are aware how inexorably the process of attrition is setting in. The continued vitality of Jewish life in our community dictates that we accept as a first priority the restoration of professionalism and full-time career oppor- tunities in the Jewish school. To achieve this I propose that we redefine the position and responsibilities of the classroom educator from that of a teacher whose relationship with students is limited to four or six or eight hours per week, and whose remuneration and opportunities for advancement reflect the part- Diplomat With Strong Zionist Record Arthur Lourie, whose death is reported from Jerusalem, was the kindliest of men. He' as a diplomat with a heart. The former Israel ambassador to Canada and the Court of St. James had -a long Zionist career. He was Dr. Chaim Weizmann's secretary and an associate of the leaders in the Jewish Agency and in major Jewish ranks in this country and in England. He belonged to that group of South African Jews who became the pivots in Zionist, Palestinian and then in Israeli ranks. There is a reason for selecting him for special mention. This commentator traveled with him to San Francisco as members of the Jewish Agency delegation during the founding of the UNO — the United Nations Organizations, as it was then referred to — in 1945. He was a hardworking asso- ciate in supervising the af- fairs of Jewish spokesmen who were then battling for human rights provisions in the UN Charter and in be- half of the Zionist cause. In the main, these Jewish spokesmen were helpless. ARTHUR LOURIE They had to turn to those of us who were accredited UN correspondents, whose red UN buttons admitted them everywhere, for information regarding inner proceedings. This is a point worth recalling. The doors were closed to Zionist leadership, except in rare cases when demands were made for action and recognition. It took a Jewish state, the emergence of sovereign Israel, to open the doors of the world's ruling powers to Jews. Eliahu Elath, who later became the first Israel ambas- sador to the United States, was in the Jewish group in San Francisco in 1945. He recalled his frustrations when, upon attaining his high role in the redeemed state of Israel, he was here to speak at Cong. Shaarey Zedek and he turned to this commentator as they walked down the stairs to an overflow gathering in the Chicago Blvd. Building of Shaarey Zedek and said: "See what happens when we have a state?" It was an expression of joy over the acclaim of a people's triumph after the earlier frustrations. (He had changed his name from Epstein, adopting Elath because he was an historical authority on that region). Arthur Lourie attained greatness because he accepted the difficul- ties with patience and the achievements with dignified pride. time nature of the endeavor to that of a Jewish educational group worker who assumes comprehensive responsibility for the Jewish educational and cultural development of a specified number of young people and their families. Having adopted many of the planning and programming processes of the Jewish group work establishment, I propose that we adopt the one leaf from the Book of Jewish Communal Service which is most likely to dramatically affect the course of Jewish education. A full-time position of a group worker in a therapeu- tic setting in any of our communal agencies entails comprehensive responsibility for a specified number of clients: 15-20 client families are deemed to be a full-time work load which calls for a professional career position and professional salary. Given the rapid erosion of Jewish lifestyles and motivations in the Jewish home, the supplementary school alone cannot achieve significant results. Coop- eration between school and home is essential; the values and skills taught by the school will come to fruition only to the extent that they are implanted in thr practices and lifestyles of the home. Imagine, if you will, an educator who is assigned comprehensive responsibility -AI for 20 families. He will teach the children and he will teach their parents, not necessarily together; he will encourage participation in study groups and Jewish cultural activities and guide such participation. He will develop a personal relationship with each of these families so as to be able to guide each of them in directions and toward programs which are consistent with their specific prefer- ences. A costly undertaking? In relation to today's teaching costs in the supplemen- tary school, the program I propose would indeed entail cost increases. Some of the added cost can be provided by the consolidation of several part-time posi- tions: teachers, youth leaders, adult education instructors and the like into well-defined, full-time career opportunities; but that is not the approach I wish to project. If services rendered to 20 families in the context of the Jewish vocational service, or a Jewish family and children's service, or a Jewish big brother organization, constitute a full-time position which is funded accordingly by our communities, why should the comprehensive educational and cultural servicing of the needs of 20 families be one iota less deserving of full-time status? I assure you that we have the capacity to train and retrain qualified individuals for such comprehensive professional responsibilities. But the task must begin with the acceptance of the concept, the creation of positions, and a firm under- taking to fund such positions. Neither The Jewish News editorial nor the Eli Grad message are necessarily criti- cisms. They are of necessity a search for the best in Jewish education, the most thorough in teaching, the results urgently required for students. That is why it becomes necessary to resort to the above long quote and what has inspired this writer's editorial quest for action. A Program of Action for Olympics A proposed boycott of the- 1980 OlymPics scheduled to be held in Moscow and the campaign that it be transferred elseWhere seems like a lost cause. The biggest obstacle to an anti-Moscow movement is the craving of athletes to be participants in the international games. The prejudices extant are forgotten; Berlin of 1936 and Munich of 1972 are hardly remembered. The main craving among athletes is to be in the Olym- pics' limelight. The concern over Communist oppressions and the anti- Semitisni that may again affect the treatment to be ac- corded to Israeli and other Jewish participating athletes is primary in the consideration of action to guarantee fair play in the sports arenas. What's to be done about the fears over Communist prejudices? A program of action outlined by the American Jewish Congress suggests: In addition to supporting the Kemp-Anderson • resolution (calling for moving the 1980 Olympics), we recommend that each community arrange .;meetings with those individuals, well-known sports figures and major corporation executives who have links to the United States Olympic and International Olympic Committees so that adequate steps . are taken to insure: • Unhampered participation of all athletes, coaches and trainers from all countries, including immigrants from the USSR who may be included on the Israeli Olympic teams; • Equitable distribution of blocks of tickets, hotel space and airline seats to all participating countries, including Israel and the United States; • That there be no repressive measures such as detention, house arrest or other official harass- ment against Jews in-the USSR before, during or after the games; • Non-discriminatory distribution of tickets to Soviet citizens, including Soviet Jews, and assur- ances that no attempt will be made to block the attendance of Russian Jews at the games; • That the Olympics will not be used as an excuse, directly or indirectly, for cutting back on Jewish emigration; • That no impediments are placed in the way of tourists seeking to meet Soviet citizens in Moscow or other Soviet cities. In addition, meetings with officials of local af- filiates of NBC — which is televising the games — and firms sponsoring the broadcasts of the games should be arranged. NBC should be urged to re- port objectively everything that occurs in connec- tion with the Olympics, making their own edito- rial decisions free of any pressures or influences from Soviet officials. It is our hope that, in their reportage, the TV network will be particularly sensitive to the plight of the Soviet Jew. This cannot satisfy those with memories of the in- humanities that were engineered by Adolf Hitler himself, the murder of 11 Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972, the mistreatment and threats to the very lives of visiting Is- raeli athletes in Russia in recent years. But if the games will be held in Moscow as planned in 1980, something that appears inevitable, and Israeli teams will be participants, then even a plan of action now viewed with skepticism will have to be acceptable. The Fanatic Neturei Karta A Neturei Karta fanatic's craving for publicity was fulfil- led by the Detroit News in a sensational article about that movement's rabbi who prays for the destruction of Israel. It's an old story and the Detroit newspaper gave it notori- ety as "a scoop. What's the scoop? Because the correspondent who wrote the article had only just heard about it. But it's an old story. A handful of deluded people refuse to accept self-liberation. They prefer the Messiah. They refuse to admit that Zionism proved to be the messianic movement for Jewry's liberation from homelessness. Everything the Detroit News published is the truth about the Neturei Karta, the Guardians of the City. They called upon Hussein, later upon Arafat, to save them by destroying Israel. They insist on Sabbath observance and they break the Sabbath by throwing rocks on those driving cars on the Sabbath. They are so indoctrinated with hate that they would not hesitate to commit murder in the name of a Messiah- seeking fanaticism. What the syndicated columnist did not learn is that there are a mere few hundred of these propagators of insanit4 &it they cause trouble as if they were in the thousar., And Israel wisely ignores them. The Arab West Bankers At the outset, the so-called moderate Arab leaders in West Bank communities were jubilant over the Camp David summit decisions. Then came an about-face and threats. A typical example is Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem. He knows that peace is to the advantage of his people as much as to Sadat and the Egyptians. But there must have been threats on his life which caused him to abandon an attitude of peace and to declare himself an Arafat-PLO supporter. This is what can be expected: that threats from the PLO may induce opposition to the approaching peace between Egypt and Israel. History will judge them realistically.