COMMUNITY VIEWS

Jewish Day Schools
And Affiliation

He lacked readily available bench-
1ff y boyhood friend, Sam,
marks
for early childhood education.
and I attended the same
A
parent
cannot compare published
neighborhood public
SAT
or
ACT
scores, or the number of
elementary school over
National Merit Scholars in the latest
three decades ago. The world of edu-
graduating class. A ranking
cation has changed since
became totally subjective.
then, bringing with it a
Sam and Mary finally
bewildering selection of
investigated Jewish day
options.
schools. Many of our
Sam and his wife, Mar
mutual friends, whose
— unlike their parents 30
children attend Hillel
plus years before — must
and Akiva, sing the
decide where their child
praises of such educa-
should go for schooling.
tion. They contend day
Such a decision is not an
schools cement Jewish
unusual one to be made by
LAURENCE
identity and provide
parents today.
I M ERMAN
the best background for
My friends initially exam-
Special to
Jewish learning.
ined various public school
The Jewish News My friends wanted to
options.
determine if others
Their 5-year-old daughter,
believed the same. They looked at
Sarah, can attend her local elementary
how the Federation allocates its
school or any school in her district.
money to Jewish education. My
The girl also might open enroll in 28
friends discovered many more
Oakland County school districts,
dollars per student are allocated
encompassing such superior districts
to day schools than are spent on
as Bloomfield Hills and West Bloom-
those attending afternoon
field. It was not clear which school
schools. Mary and Sam conclud-
might ultimately be best for Sarah.
ed this meant Federation leadership
Sam and Mary next, explored
strongly favored day school education
Roeper, Detroit Country Day and
over afternoon religious school.
Cranbrook. Each institution espouses
Sam and Mary also noticed some
a slightly different educational
leaders in the Reform Movement send
approach and attracts a somewhat dis-
their children to day schools. If the
tinct type of student. Sam tried rank-
afternoon schools really. were of such
ing the schools, but found the exercise
high quality, these leaders would be
trying.
enrolling their sons and daughters in
Laurence Imerman is a Birmingham
synagogue-based educational programs
attorney.
instead, they reasoned. My friends

decided day school education was for
Sarah. Then, reality intervened.
Mary is not Jewish, although she
and Sam belong to a Reform Temple;
and she does not practice her faith _ .
They send their daughter to the
preschool at their synagogue, partici-
pate in congregational life, and are, for
all appearances, Jewish.

However, Sarah's conversion ceremo-
ny did not involve a mikvah. Because
of this, Sam found Sarah would not be
welcomed at the local day schools.
Akiva and Hillel provide excellent
educational programs and a commit-
ted facility. Yet neither considers itself
a pan-Judaic institution. Both, while
respecting other movements, are affili-
ated with the Orthodox and Conserv-
ative movements, respectively. Never-

theless, that respect does not equate
with a blanket acceptance of the other
movements' religious practices.
The decision to have Sarah undergo
Reform conversion was an extremely
emotional one for my friends. They
have no desire for many reasons to
correct what for them is no error in
ritual practice.
Sam has come to believe that
any school where Sarah attends,
if Jewish, should reflect his and
Mary's Reform religious obser-
vances. Sam envisions that the
home should reinforce the school
and school should reinforce the
home. This neither Hillel nor
Akiva will do. While day school
education may be a gift which
may be given by some Jewish
parents to their child, Sam and
Mary have decided this is a pre-
sent they can never bestow.
For my friends, and similar
intermarried Reform couples, day
school is not an option. They
and their children are preempted
from such an education. Sam and
Mary have come to feel their
daughter has been relegated to what
many contend is a second- class reli-
gious education. I wonder if I were in
his position, I also would not share
those beliefs.
After many months of research,
my guess is that Sarah will enroll in
either the local public school or one
of the prestigious private institutions.
Those schools want her and her par-
ents. ❑

LETTERS

Mikvah Use
In Question

I have become deeply concerned about
a situation that has arisen in our Jew-
ish community and has not been
brought to our attention.
I have been informed that commu-
nity land at the 10 Mile Jewish Com-
munity Center is being given to the
Orthodox community for the purpose
of building a mikvah.
Ordinarily, I would applaud this
use of our community land. However,
I have been led to believe that the
Conservative and Reform rabbis will
not be allowed to use this facility for
any person they are converting.
This is an insult to every non-
Orthodox rabbi in our community
and an insult to the majority of us
who do consider both Conservative

2/27
1998

30

and Reform rabbis to be qualified. I
believe this issue must be brought to
the attention of our entire community.
Public land should not be used in a
discriminatory manner.

Bernard A. Schiff
Huntington Woods

Broadcast
Evaluations

In September of last year, Detroit
Public Television broadcast a program
titled "People and the Land." This
program came to us via the Indepen-
dent Television Service. No local sta-
tion funds were spent on it.
Before and after this presentation,
we were made aware of numerous
voices in the metropolitan Detroit
Jewish community which expressed

understandable dissatisfaction with the
program. Similarly in 1994, when
Detroit Public Television presented
"Jihad in America," we received
understandable criticism from this
area's Middle Eastern community.
We apologize if the airing of "People
and the Land" or "Jihad in America"
offended you. This was not our intent.
As we stated at the beginning of each
broadcast, our belief was that the frank
exposition of a point of view would
result in an open Sand productive discus-
sion. The programs we produced and
broadcast immediately following each
film were designed to provide balance
and perspective. Unfortunately, these
steps did not diminish the anguish for a
substantial number of people.
As a result, we have been at work to
improve our process of evaluating pro-
grams for broadcast.

A young Israeli carries his country's flag.

We have always made an attempt
to provide perspective and offer bal-
ance to the points of view expressed

