Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 15, 2020

Moshe Lobel, Special to the USA TODAY NETWORK Published 10:44 a.m. ET Sept. 15, 2020 | Updated 10:45 a.m. ET Sept. 15, 2020

Rockland County Legislator Aron Wieder speaks about the issue of public and private school equivalency at Yeshiva Degel Hatorah in Spring Valley Feb. 26, 2019. The Journal News

I still get anxious this time of year. I havent been a student for some time, but its still difficult to shake that sense of dread when I see the back to

school ads or hear the yellow buses growling and hissing in the morning. Im probably not alone in that feeling particularly as weve been collectively trying to figure out how to provide children with a quality education during the pandemic. It has been challenging for parents and teachers to replicate the classroom experience at home, and we rightfully fear the impact that sub-par schooling will have on childrens development. While debating the logistics of reopening, weve all recognized that a standard, quality education is an essential priority.

But the basic standard of schooling that most of us take for granted is not the norm for everyone. For years long before the pandemic tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox students across greater New York have been receiving a low-quality, often outright neglectful, secular education with little oversight from the government. I was one of those students.

I grew up in a Hasidic family that spoke Yiddish at home. During early childhood, I lived in a mostly English-speaking community in New Jersey and attended a bilingual school. When I was seven, we moved to Borough Park, Brooklyn, and I started at the exclusively Yiddish-speaking Satmar school. About 90 minutes of secular studies were allotted at the end of the day, whichwe were told existed only so the school would qualify for government funding.

The front entrance of Yeshiva Talpiot on College Road in Ramapo. The Journal News file photoThe front entrance of Yeshiva Talpiot on College Road in Ramapo in March 2016(Photo: Seth Harrison/The Journal News, Seth Harrison/The Journal News)

We were taught that the English language was impure a necessary evil. Some of our English teachers barely spoke the language themselves. After long hours of religious studies, our teachers would be lucky if we sat in our seats, let alone learned something. We had outdated textbooks and perfunctory exams, but they were a formality rather than tools for real learning. I remember my seventh grade teacher expressing his goal for us as we neared the completion of our basic education: to make sure that wed be able to sign our own names on checks. Most Hasidic schools end secular education after eighth grade.

While not impossible, it is extremely difficult to succeed under these circumstances. I was lucky to speak English early on. I was a smart and studious kid who had the encouragement of an open-minded parent. I was curious and driven, taking in everything that expanded my limited world, whether Jewish or secular. But many of my classmates still speak in broken English and lack the skills and cultural awareness to succeed outside, or sometimes even within, their communities. I am the exception, and their experience is the norm it should not require exceptionalism for students to learn the basics.

Earlier: New York state review of private school/yeshiva instruction to keep going

I switched to a slightly more liberal yeshiva for high school, but the school actively discouraged college attendance and even had a record of withholding transcripts from college applicants. I wanted more, so I sent a last-minute appeal to join a modern Orthodox school for the 12th grade. While senioritis plagued most of my classmates, I eagerly took everything in, amazed at the depth and range of study. This is what I had been fighting for my whole life.

From left, Stephen White and Jennifer Bohman hold signs during a press conference urging the public to comment to NY State Education department in support of new "substantial equivalency" regulations that will ensure every child in Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox yeshivas receives the education they are entitled under state law in New City Aug. 23, 2019. (Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

But it was too late. I failed out of college in my second year. I just wasnt prepared. I was still smart many things came with ease and I never stopped being curious. But I ultimately lacked the foundational skills to succeed in a mainstream school.

I struggled to find my footing after college. It was difficult to forge a path without a degree, but after a series of personal and professional crises, I have now developed a wonderfully satisfying career in the arts as an actor, filmmaker and musician. Interestingly, the Yiddish language helped spawn my acting career. I still love and cherish my mother tongue and cultural identity.

I worry for the thousands of students in my community who are experiencing the same educational neglect that I did. Ultra-Orthodox schools in Rockland County, New York, where I live now, have long been criticized for their shortcomings in non-religious studies. Secular education should not feel like a threat to culture and faith. They can, and should, exist alongside one another. Providing a basic education is a human right, and it is time for New York state to step up and protect that right for every child.

Moshe Lobel is an actor, filmmaker and musician who lives in Monsey, New York.

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We must end educational neglect in ultra-Orthodox schools. Here's why | Opinion - The Journal News

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