7/31/2005

Another Observation Regarding the Public School Proposal

How's this. During summer vacations from public schools, the Orthodox students who are enrolled in them during the year can spend their summers exclusively with other Orthodox kids, immersed in a wholly Orthodox environment which can provide a much more powerful supplement to the few hours daily.
We can call these environments "summer camps".
Wouldn't that be a great idea?

IOW:
Q: Why are camps and years in Israel so much more effective at generating passion and commitment, instilling pride and values, and creating formative Jewish experiences? Far more successful than schools, proportionally?
A: Immersion, immersion, immersion.

To my mind, the proposal isn't about undermining the day school system. It's about the reality that when there are finite resources, one tends to maximize the most efficient and minimize the least efficient uses of those resources. If the PS proposal was accompanied by insistence on camp experiences and at least a year of intensive study in Israel, it would be a different story.

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