The school I attended while growing up as a Chabad Orthodox Jew in Crown Heights, Brooklyn did not teach any formal, academic subjects -- no reading, writing, literature, math, science or history. I cannot say that I was all too surprised by the many people trying to defend this broken system or even by the criticism of me. Still, it is painful to realize that my peers and fellow victims of the same system are so willing to defend handicapping thousands of young people by not teaching kids fundamental, academic subjects.
Some chose to interpret my article as attack on the Chabad movement: "While it is true that secular studies aren't taught at Oholei Torah, the same can be said of almost all ultra-Orthodox schools around the world, so bashing Chabad alone isn't fair," as if the educational failings of Chabad -- the only aspect of Chabad I criticized -- are minimized by those other communities around the world. The same people even claimed that Jewish "holy studies" were enough alone because they produce smarter brains. Many responses were racist, and some, downright rude, simply because I chose to blow the whistle on a reality that still haunts me and others who are striving to attain higher education despite being denied the basic foundation for that.
Some attacked my character and my intentions, others lambasted me as the shtut meshugener (town crazy person) and even impugned my family. Another, an English professor no less, dared to claim that the students of these schools in Crown Heights that do not teach academic subjects are better off than "the black kid in Bed St[u]y" (Bedford-Stuyvesant, a predominantly African American neighborhood in Brooklyn) -- as if all Jewish children are too privileged as a class to be disadvantaged by a lack of education, as if it is a competition and white Jews can therefore ignore the problems in their communities.
At the end of Chabad yeshivah (high school), I knew no more than how to solve simple fractions, no science, no history and was far from able to formulate just one paragraph in English, let alone a whole essay. I had learned very basic reading and writing in English and math from a private tutor that my parents had hired for one hour a week after school. The curriculum of the school focused solely on Hebrew and Judaic studies and the spoken language was Yiddish. Science, history, math and (non-hermeneutic) reasoning were not part of my knowledge base. Tutoring one hour a week for all academic subjects was clearly insufficient to make up for the complete lack of coverage of these fundamental skills in school. And aside from that, I was lucky enough to have parents who were able to afford a private tutor, as opposed to most others who didn't have that opportunity.
At the age of 17, I had a formal education more comparable to a third grader. Without a solid formal education, I lacked the opportunity to function as an informed, educated young adult. I managed to pass a GED test after great difficulty at the age of 18 out of my own initiative; going to college and pursuing a higher education had been presented as almost heretical by the educators in my school. I do hope to go to college, but my early lack of education has caused great difficulty. I was well versed on things like the Talmud or Bible, but thinking in English, understanding the country that I lived in and its history and knowing the basic formulae of math, let alone understanding them, were out of my reach. We did have some minor training in Yiddish writing and spelling, but the courses were never demanding enough that one would be able to formulate a full essay even in Yiddish, which was a second language to most of us, who spoke English at home.
Bringing awareness and trying prevent social injustices from occurring within Orthodox Jewish communities, both to LGBT people and youth generally, has led to vicious attacks. It seems the most scrutiny comes from Orthodox people who would defend a broken system that harms the lives of many. Unwilling to admit that there really is a problem with the schooling system which people are afraid to challenge because, as many have told me, "there are no other schools in Crown Heights to send our children to."
Some have dared to try to blame those of us who were harmed mostly by this system and to place the entire burden of success on our shoulders, saying things like "Well, you can blame your background all you want, but it's up to you to do something about it." Some point to the success of few people in Crown Heights who have become CEOs or owners of large businesses and are considered wealthy, but they once again fail to recognize the vast majority of people who have seen only difficulty and no success because of their educational background. Success in academia and the ability to pursue a career and a higher education does not start when one is 18 years old, and certainly not without any background in academic subjects. Compulsory education starts at 5 years old, when one would ideally be learning the ABCs and counting, the foundation to literacy and mathematics. People are indeed entitled to ensure their children have a Jewish, religious and Hebrew education, and there are so many schools who offer both Hebrew religious studies and full formal academics as required by the state and board of education.
There is a deep, sinking pit in my stomach when I think about the years of academic study I missed that most people take for granted. I smile sadly when I hear kids complaining about going to school; I would gladly go in their place. While I certainly hope I can, one cannot easily overcome missing out on 13 years of academic study and a corrupt system.
The corruption at Oholei Torah has provoked a frustrating, painful memory, which I had not planned on mentioning. In third grade, my classmates and I watched our teacher brutally beat one of the students for what seemed like at least a half an hour. To this day, my friends and I remember that event vividly. It is something no one can ever forget. This teacher was not held accountable, let alone disciplined. More recently, I questioned the school's dean about this event and why it wasn't dealt with; I had also inquired about some other disturbing allegations from former students that Oholei Torah covered up and refused to report sexual abuse that former students had brought to the attention of the school seeking help.The response I got was glib: I was told that these stories are not true (even though I witnessed one and heard the accounts of sexual abuse from the victims themselves). A former social worker, and hence a legally mandated reporter, employed by this institution told me that he was told by the dean of the school that if he were to ever report a crime to the authorities, he would immediately be fired.
My appeals to the community on the problems of the educational system had all fallen on deaf ears. I had to seek an outside forum to open a dialogue. People are discussing the problems now. I had spoken to the school administration many times about these problems, as well as my objection to the current curriculum being taught in the school. The only response that I got and continue to get from the principal and other chief operating officers within the school is: "This is the Rebbe's institution, and this is how he wanted it and we won't ever try to change that. It's pure chutzpah to try and challenge something the Rebbe believed in, and even worse to try and bring shame to the Rebbe's institution by talking about these things publicly."
It is time that people stop blaming the whistleblowers for the problems of their community -- a community that is doing nothing to fix the problem. Instead of coming together to figure out how to keep our children safe and do what is in their best interests and how we can build a more tolerant, welcoming and educated future generation, we are concerned that people who bring awareness to problems that no one is willing to address are committing a great chilul hashem (desecration, or shaming of the community). However, only abuse and failure to educate makes Chabad look bad, and each day that Chabad does not address the problem, it only looks worse. It is my sincere hope that Chabad can be the great and admirable movement it is in so many other ways.
Parents, while you may want to send your kids to such a school understanding that it is your right to limit your children's education strictly to religious studies, there is a very real chance that it may harm your children. One day, your child may very well demand to understand why you denied them a basic education; one day, your children may be outraged at being denied their right to a basic education and the resultant opportunities to find a decent job, secure a promotion or provide for their own families. My parents have indicated that sending me and my siblings to Oholei Torah was a mistake and would not make the same choice now. Ironically, many people have left the community because of the failings of schools which would cultivate only yiddishkeit (Jewishness and observance). Parents want the best for their children and want them to go far in life.
As Kahlil Gibran wrote in his poem "On Children," parents are the bow from which children as living arrows are sent forth. Children need a solid bow in order to fly. Children need an education to succeed in life.
Follow Chaim Levin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chaim89
Oholei Torah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Affecting Change in our Schools - Educational ... - Chabad.org
Utterly ridiculous. Spoken like a true apologist.
Random questions below-
What are these kids expected to do to earn a living? THey are expected to create LARGE families so how are they to support them?
It is a fact that most are on govt assistance from welfare to food stamps so maybe they are not expected to be productive members of society at large.
Why are the men always running? especially to cross Eastern Parkway? are they chronically always late? what gives?
Why are small children allowed to roam Crown Heights at night without adult supervision...kids also see dashing across the street.
Last, but not least, WHY does this community have 24/7 NYPD protection?what gives?
Just my prediction, but this could cause civil war.
That still leaves major curriculum issues, as noted in Chaim's posts. Whatever happened to "No Child Left Behind"? Don't American born Hasidic children count? The courts have long held that people cannot yell fire in a theater to cause a panic, in spite of the free speech protections in the constitution. States need to be given the authority to set minimum teaching standards for all schools to protect the interests of all children. No religious cleric should have the right to economically cripple a child starting at age 5. If it takes an amendment to the freedom of religion clause to fix the problem, our political leaders should do it. But I would prefer to see the problem solved as an amendment to the "No Child Left Behind" law, if that is possible. After all, the amendment would be dealing with young students and amending the constitution is a very messy and time consuming process.
If you are not Hasidic, don't think that this education problem does not affect you. In our modern society, people with poor educational backgrounds are far more likely to fall into poverty, especially if they have large numbers of children, which IS the case in Hasidic families. For families that can't make ends meet with the government assistance that is available, there is always the temptation of crime. Watch Jessie Eisenberg in "Holy Rollers", based on a true story.
One of the great ironies of this article is that by virtue of the advanced nature of his religious studies, the author received a better education by far than most children who attend public school and drop out (more than half) becasue they ahve not attained an education that empowers them in thought or any other functions, ablove the level of apporximately thrid grade.
If we teach kids with respect and love, and expecttations that they will learn all they can, if we use grades to celebrate their growth and not their failure, if we begin to acquaint every child with the infinite nature of life long study and the joys that await people who become masters in almost any academic or vocational areas...or achieve mastery socially in order that they may become nurturing and happy beings...and if we use technology to engage and challenge children and encourage them to explore the arts and sciences...then we cannnot keep children out of school. No drop-outs
By failing to defend their kids by not challenging this aspect of their culture, parents are sentencing their children to continued ghettoization. That means self inflicted ignorance and disempowerment. My casual observation of cults that work like this is that there is usually one or a very few men who posses all of the power of their 'family' or community and everyone else must abjectly obey them or suffer very serious consequences.
I'm proud of Mr. Levin for bringing this situation to light and his efforts to help the rest of his community to overcome this problem.
Chaim, I judge an education, not by the college a student gets into or the math they know or don't know, but rather the ultimate goal of all of those: the person they are.
Yes, college and information are good tools, but neither define a good husband and father, healthy and productive children, or happiness.
As difficult as it seems to asses these essential factors there is a simple way; look at the grandchildren of the students. If they are happy, healthy (or even exist) calculate that as a point in favor. Now, do the math...
The orthodox system focuses on the person; humility, attitude, sensitivity, values, life, and the purpose of life, based on it's Creator, G-d. The students of Oholei Torah make the best husbands, fathers and community leaders. they are humble, devoted, hard-working. They give of themselves and they sacrifice anything and everything for others. They are highly trained to be what is expected of them, to raise a family and to be a light and a resource to their communities.
Those who go into a life of community service are best suited for it, and those who choose law, medicine, business, etc. have a solid background of study, dedication and practical life skills to succeed and indeed excel in any field. Most importantly, the feeling of responsibility to family and community, the desire to raise a family respectfully means that they have been raised with the best drive for life
This orthodox system does not work. One cannot be a good husband and father who is unemployed or underemployed due to lack of a practical education in the four R's. This is the bottom line.
How can you ask one who is educated in such institutions as Oholei Torah to do the math?
And how can they be considered highly trained to raise a family if parnasa (livelihood) is out of their reach due to this lack of education?
I would like you to consider today that secular education has a value in and of itself and can play an essential role in creating the sort of respectful and wonderful men you describe. We live in a vibrant, beautiful world that can be appreciated without losing one’s religious beliefs or cultural identity. Maybe this wasn’t anyone’s intention, but when cultivating Yiddishkeit is confused with blocking out every other facet of human experience, a dark sort of ethnic chauvinism is allowed to fester in the place of being “a light upon the nations.” Why shouldn’t we want to learn what it is to walk in someone else’s shoes, to appreciate other cultures, and to embrace what we all have in common as human beings? Why shouldn’t we better understand our neighbors by learning about the history of the country we live in? And why shouldn’t we, at the very least, equip our boys with the means to do so?
It goes without saying that the underlying purpose of Olehei Torah has never been to empower children to become whomever and whatever they want to be. All educational systems contain some degree of indoctrination, but Olehei Torah’s singular focus clips everyone’s wings. Unless one is exceptionally driven and bright, it is very difficult to leave the community. But even for those who remain “religious,” something has been lost. We hurt ourselves when we pretend otherwise.
It is not a coincidence that the most secular countries are outpacing religious ones in science and technology.
Next up- Tenn. passes a law permitting teaching religious ideas in science classes.
This is what our nation's entire educational system would be if they had their way.
As a country we NEED a robust mandatory public education system.