 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
|
 |
When a child attends a Jewish day school (as I had the wonderful good fortune to do), he/she acquires Jewish friends, attends Jewish day camps, adopts Jewish values, takes pride in being Jewish, and, more likely than not, will be inclined to send his/her own future children to a Jewish day school, thus perpetuating and preserving our sacred and precious mesorah/tradition. -- Jonathan Rich, Day School graduate, M.D., Boston, MA It’s important to support Jewish day schools because then children can receive a Jewish education and be surrounded and influenced by other Jewish children. Yes, and by the way, I’m a graduate of a Jewish day school, but I am now attending a public high school, and although it is public, and it is still almost 15% Jewish, I don’t feel as connected to my community religiously as I did at my old school. I am currently president of my school’s “Hebrew Club” and at the moment we are suffering because the school is attempting to stop offering Hebrew as a foreign language. I have found that my friends that are Jewish, yet didn’t attend a Jewish day school, don’t felt the same connection I do to Israel and the Hebrew language. --Melissa Brook, Cincinnati, Ohio Why support Jewish day Schools? Because... In our ego-centric, material focused world, we need to have a place where our kids can discover the tools to connect with the compassion, sensitivity and love of the Creator. --David Strulowitz, parent of Day School graduates and students, Skokie, Illinois I wish that I had gone to Jewish Day School. I would have greatly appreciated having the base of knowledge gained through such an experience. I know it would have deepened my understanding of and commitment to Judaism at an even younger age. I loved Jewish camp for these same reasons and for the relationships with other committed, young Jewish people that I formed and still hold dear today. Susan E. Ostrov Executive Director American Jewish Congress - Midwest Region "... a day school education makes you a richer and deeper human being. Intellectually, of course, because it means you’ve had to learn at least two but probably three languages, juggle a demanding dual course load, and decipher thousand-year old texts whose highly complex arguments stretch your critical thinking muscles. But emotionally, too, because it demands that you confront the issues of spirituality and morality and existence. My sophomore Talmud teacher once told me that the difference between a scientist and a theologian is that, while they both search for the secrets of the universe, the scientist wants to know how we’re here. The theologian wants to know WHY we’re here. And, of course, if you ask that question, then it behooves you to come up with an answer –and the active creation of the answer is a challenge to DO something with your life and give it meaning. Being in a Jewish day school forces you to ask the painful questions that you could otherwise ignore. And it gives you the tools to find the answers for yourself, and to live a meaningful life." The other thing is that when you have a certain database of knowledge and skills in your head, you appreciate so much more in life. I can find so much more meaning in a poem that makes reference to the Bible if I actually know the bible and have read it in its own language – and can understand the nuances of the language. But it’s other things like that. A very secular friend of mine once told me that she knew she would send her children to (Orthodox!) day school because her children deserve to know where they come from and the legacy to which they are rightfully entitled. To deny them that would be wrong, she said, and even if they would reject their religion in the end, she had to give them that choice. In essence, she said, they had to know what it was they were rejecting. -- Day school grad, Mindy Schiller, Chicago Illinois My children are strongly identified as Jewish and take pride and find joy in their Jewish history, culture, and religion. As an added bonus, they are also getting an excellent academic education and are achieving at or above their grade levels in math, science, and reading... --Parent testimony, Samis Foundation Tuition Reduction Program, "Making the Case", vol. 2. Keith and I are very grateful that our children will have a deep understanding of who they are and what their ethical and moral culture offers to and requires of them as they attempt to navigate through our increasingly confusing and complex world. Their years at SSDS will be a strong footing for them to build their lives upon... --Parent testimony, children benefited from The Grinspoon Foundation Tuition Incentive program, Making the Case, vol. II. |
