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A Time For Teachers

Dry Bones

ing $5 million a year immediately available.
merica has come to understand the
The
Jewish Funders Network, meeting next
W6 (1/6 Gar
importance of education for all of its
week
in
Atlanta,
should
adopt
this
as
a
sig-
children. In a new century in which han-
IN6 stG6esi.
nature issue for the group as it tries to bring
dling information promises to be more
GOVERNMENT'
some cohesion and order out of
important than handling physical
weiV6 6veR
the priorities of the individual
resources, effective education for a lifetime
foundations
and
the
overarching
of learning is going to be the bedrock for
EDITORIAL national needs.
success.
Jews have long understood the importance of
Community Organizations
study both as a religious activity and as the passage-
Working largely through federations across
way to a shared culture. American Jews are waking
the nation, our community leadership has
up to how important it is to give their children a
risen to the challenge of improving both day
solid Jewish education so that they can choose the
and congregational schools, investing both
part they will play in the future of our people.
energy and money in the task. These local
The problem is that our educational systems are
initiatives have produced some notable suc-
having a hard time keeping up, basically because we
cesses
that could be more widely emulated,
don't have enough good teachers for our day schools or
particularly
as the systems wrestle with the
for our congregational schools, where the majority of
challenge of standards and accountability
our children are formally trained in our heritage.
that parents and fenders will increasingly
The problem is hardly new. Jewish schools can't
demand.
count on ethnicity to attract the best teachers,
At the end of the day, however, successful
because Jews have long been able to find jobs in
Jewish
education will depend on keeping
public schools or, in the case of the congregational
good
teachers
in the classrooms. That means
part-timers, in the general sector. But the problem
paying
them
better
and showing them the
is getting worse, ironically, because the national
respect
they
deserve.
Synagogues, federations
commitment to grow Jewish education is boosting
enrollments faster than we can attract quality people and other local agencies must resolve to put
more in the paychecks. They can increase
interested in becoming teachers.
per-capita payments to the schools and raise
The Jewish community is not powerless to
both the number and the size of scholarships
address the issue. There are a number of very specif-
they
give to students from families that
ic steps that philanthropists, community organiza-
qualify
tions and individuals can start taking right now.
And they ought to find creative ways to show
teachers that they are admired outside of the class-
Philanthropies
hame on us.
room. Perhaps some should be considered for seats
Nationally, we are failing to draw our best young
I have just returned from the University
on local agency boards, be featured (and paid)
people into teaching careers. The percentage of
of Michigan Hillel's Birthright Israel mis-
speakers at community gatherings and be part of
young Jews who choose to work in our religious
sion and the first words out of
revitalized adult education offerings.
schools is pitifully small.
every Israeli's mouth, even
The
Mandel
Associated
Foundations
is
a
private
To address that problem, we should create a
before the' traditional "Welcome
venture
doing
a
fine
job
in
training
the
leaders
of
national Jewish Teachers Superfund, with an initial
Jewish
to Israel, welcome home," were:
schools
and
raising
the
standards
for
the
job.
endowment of $50 million. The fund would pro-
"Thank you for not being afraid
That
work
now
has
to
be
broadened
to
embrace
the
vide either reimbursement for college tuition or
to come. Thank you for not lis-
classroom leaders.
repayment of student loans for any new day school
tening to your parents."
teacher or fulltime congregational teacher younger
These words affected all of
Individuals
than 30.
Ifs.
These Israelis, who took up
We
will
get
good
teachers
if
we
as
individuals
start
Even more proactively, the fund could provide
the
challenge of building a Jew-
showing
that
we
truly
value
what
they
do
and
who
scholarship assistance or low-cost loans for college
ish
state
where all Jews would
they
are.
A
few
simple
steps
—
such
as
volunteering
students who are committed to entering Jewish edu-
STACY
always
be
accepted and protect-
to
help
with
a
congregational
class
project
or
seek-.
cation. It should also be used to fund experiments
ed,
have
become
the pariahs of
ing
out
a
classroom
teacher
for
praise
—
might
HAROLD
in broadening outreach by congregational schools,
help.
Jewish society. We needed them
Community
so they can tap sources, such as teachers colleges, or
in the early days to go and settle
Far more important in the long run will be a
Views
provide training for older people who are returning
a land filled with swamps and
shift in attitude. We need to be encouraging our
to the job market.
disease,
and
in
1948,
to fight and die so we in the
children
to
pursue
careers
in
education
as
vigorously
The program can draw inspiration from the work
Diaspora
would
always
have a safety net. They sent
as
we
now
point
them
to
being
a
doctor,
a
lawyer
or
of the Wexner Foundation, which has been paying
their
children
to
die
in
the
army to protect our peo-
a
businessman.
full college tuition plus healthy stipends for rabbis
ple.
They
live
next
to
those
who would kill them-
Salary
dollars
are
important
to
attract
good
and Jewish educators and social workers for over a
young
teachers
to
our
day
and
congregational
decade to draw top people into these professions.
SILENCE on page 34
schools, and to keep them. But so is the daily com-
Until the initial goal of $50 million is met, indi-
mitment to showing that as parents or community
vidual private foundations should commit to mak-
members, we really do respect the people to whom
Stacy Harold, 21, a University of Michigan senior, is
we entrust our most precious resource — our chil-
the daughter of Susie and David Harold of Bloomfield
Related coverage: page 24
dren. ❑
Hills.

A

Silence Is Not Golden

3/16
2001

33