EDITORIAL
Education: It's Up To Us,
Not Just Our Educators
Federation's newest report on education
opened many eyes in the community last
week. Perhaps, though, some of those eyes
weren't really understanding what they
were reading.
The report talked about many issues.
Among the many recommendations was
the elimination of the Agency For Jewish
Education-run elementary religious school.
AJE's role will be to operate a resource
center for teachers from congregational
and day schools.
Since the report was issued, there's been
community talk of adopting a model bas-
ed on the successful Jewish Experiences
For Families or J.E.-F.F. program.
We support the notion that J.E.F.F. is a
model already working in the community
that will be a good model for the future of
our religious schools. But there's one other
issue that still tends to get buried in the
talk of consortiums and implementation
committees and resource centers. And
perhaps Elissa Berg, director of Kol Ami's
religious school, said it best when she
warned, "this won't work unless the family
buys into the principle of good Jewish edu-
cation." Parents, you can have the most
innovative programming and resources in
the world right here in Detroit. You can,
with your heart in the right place, donate
money to the cause. But none of it, none of
the shiny new promises or commitments,
will mean anything for your child unless
you, too, get involved with your child's re-
ligious school education.
We've written before in this space that
Sunday school is not a dumping ground for
your children. You cannot leave it up to
someone else to be responsible for your
children's Jewish education. As parents,
you are responsible. This means getting
involved with homework assignments,
volunteering as a class parent, discussing
contemporary issues and how we as Jews
fit into this world with your children.
If we don't wonder about what is happen-
ing in the classroom, then we will be
wondering why our children just don't
care. As programs such as J.E.F.F. have
shown us, education is not just a twice-a-
week obligatory responsibility. Jewish ed-
ucation is in the news, in homes, in our
value systems.
Decades from now, historians will look
back at this time in Detroit Jewish his-
tory and hopefully see that the attention
deficit many have given Jewish education
ended. And that a new attitude and in-
volvement helped turn our religious school
students all around.
We've got to stop lamenting about how
difficult it is for the children to attend
after-school religious schools. Yes, they've
had a long day already. But there is so
much for them to really love about who
they are, and they are looking to us for the
reasons why all of this is so important. But
if religious school is nothing more than an-
other stop in a hectic carpool schedule,
then that's what it becomes for our chil-
dren. Just another stop. It can't be that
way. Rabbis today talk from the bimahs
about Jewish survival. This is part of that
issue. How many times have parents been
told to enjoy these younger years of their
children because they will be gone before
an eye is blinked.
But these are also the years that we have
an opportunity to educate our children, to
show them how important each and every
one is as a Jewish individual. Too many of us
know people whose children stayed in the
system long enough to celebrate a bat or
bar mitzvah and then drop out. So many of
us know stories of disillusionment along
the way. But many of us know that when we
look in the mirror and ask ourselves "did
we really try hard enough with our chil-
dren's Jewish education?," the honest an-
swer is "no."
If we don't enthusiastically educate our
children, there are those out there who will
be more than willing. Missionary groups
like Jews for Jesus and a vast array of cults
are filled with Jewish members. These are
the ones who will educate your children,
especially if you don't get involved. Then
there are the dropouts, the Jews who are
assimilating in record numbers. There are
letters from grandmothers whose grand-
children don't know they're from a Jewish
background. Why should they? There was
nothing for them there.
This is what is happening out there. This
is why Federation ostensibly sounded an
alarm.
Now it's up to us.
No Panic Voting
There have been many reports lately of
voters crossing party lines, perhaps more
so in this current election climate than in
recent memory.
The reason: David Duke's candidacy.
Jews have been urged by community
leaders, rabbis and others to take an active
role in this election process. That role,
however, doesn't mean we all need to go
out there and vote Republican if we're
registered Democrat.
That is not the purpose of an election.
6
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1992
Jewish Community Council Executive Di-
rector David Gad-Harf suggested that even
though the Duke candidacy stirs our emo-
tions, we still owe it to ourselves and the
democratic system, to educate ourselves. If
Bush wouldn't normally be a choice for a
voter, the voter needs to clearly consider
the true candidate of his or her choice.
If we expose Mr. Duke for who he is, and
we learn about all the candidates, then we
can make a decision based on information,
not panic.
LETTERS
Secular Humanism
Ignored By Study
Your coverage of the recent-
ly issued report of the Federa-
tion's Jewish Education Plan-
ning Committee attributed
the following statement to
Committee Chair Dr. Conrad
Giles:
". . . without synagogue af-
filiation., a Jewish education
is useless?'
This irresponsible and in-
valid observation cannot
stand unchallenged.
Dr. Giles' declaration
disregards the numerous
achievements and contribu-
tions of Jewish Secular-
Humanistic and cultural
organizations to Jewish
education, culture and Jewish
life, as they help sustain
Jewish identity in Europe,
Israel, South America and
the United States.
And Dr. Giles ignores the
important role played in the
Detroit area by such non-
synagogue organizations as
the Jewish Parents Institute,
the Birmingham Temple, the
Workmen's Circle, the Sholem
Aleichem Institute, the Ann
Arbor Jewish Cultural School
and the Labor-Zionist
Institute.
This is not the place to
chronicle the educational out-
put and Jewish leadership
development of these organi-
zations. However, review of
Dr. Sidney Bolkosky's book
Harmony and Dissonance —
Voices of Jewish Identity in
Detroit (a Federation spon-
sored publication) by Dr. Giles
and his committee would
have imparted a more objec-
tive perspective to the value
of non-synagogue educational
and cultural activities.
Most certainly, synagogues
play a vital role for a majori-
ty of our local Jewish com-
munity in Jewish lifestyles
and identity. But for many
others, Secular-Humanistic
Judaism offers an equally
meaningful opportunity for
commitment to and celebra-
tion of a Jewish identity in a
manner relevant to our
modern age of reason and
science. (Indeed, the Federa-
tion-published population
analysis indicates that per-
sons identifying or affiliating
with Secular-Humanistic
organizations are virtually
numerically equivalent to the
Orthodox community). Sure-
ly this significant portion of
our community merits
recognition and respect.
Dr. Giles owes an apology to
the large body of committed
Jews whose lifestyles and
belief systems do not involve
synagogue affiliation. The ac-
tivities and programs of the
Congress of Secular Jewish
Organizations, the Society for
Humanistic Judaism, the
Michigan Coalition of
Secular-Humanistic Jews and
the exciting work of the Inter-
national Institute of Secular-
Humanistic Judaism (an
education center based in
Jerusalem) stand in refuta-
tion of his declaration. In this
instance, less "chutzpah" and
more "derech eretz" would
have been more becoming.
Julius Harwood
Immediate Past Chair
Michigan Coalition of Secular
and Humanistic Jews
Mark H. Cousens
Chair
Michigan Coalition of Secular
and Humanistic Jews
UHS Closing,
Sad Day For Detroit
This is a sad day for the
Detroit Jewish community.
After almost 75 years of
dedicated service, the United
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