Marc Mermelstein, Hillel ’97, writes in:
After reading Eli Gorin’s letter (mazal tov, by the way. I’ll see you in 2 weeks) and speaking to alumni and teachers, I came to realize that perhaps we are caught up in a certain amount of nostalgia. I remember fondly my days at Hillel. Sure I was a goodie two shoes (is this phrase even used anymore?) and never one of the cool kids and I spent my time in the beis midrash, but it was a home for me. I learned much, not only the Pythagorean Theorem (David, a^2 + b^2 = c^2) and the reach of Alexander’s empire and lots of gemara, but even how to interact socially. I made friends and fond memories of my time there live with me now. Yet Hillel has changed. Even when I was there things started to change. To quote Art Buchwald “We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today…” It started as a community school with strict orthodox policies. When George Finkelstein came along things loosened up on that front. Now things are even looser. From an all Jewish administration there are 4 or 5 non-Jewish ones. Gone are the required four periods of Judaic studies a day and now it’s down to 3. Can 2 and 1 be far behind? Even now as finals approach, no longer does one need to attend minyan as it is now optional.
Hillel is trying to survive. The appeal of Hillel was a place for Jewish kids to get an excellent education. Most parents accepted the Torah education as tolerable or even desirable. This even though most of the school was conservative or reform. But then Krop came along and offered the quality education without the Judaism. This appealed to many parents and they sent their kids there. Then Yeshiva High School opened as well as Hillel in Boca. The religious kids who wanted a more religious environment went there and those who didn’t wish to commute so far went to Boca. This reduced the Hillel population.
As more “specialized” schools opened, Hillel found itself needing to survive. Those parents who wanted quality education for their kids haven’t been satisfied by staying stagnant. They have grown with the times. Now they want their kids to be college bound at 3 years old, speaking 4 languages, and scoring 2400 on their SATs (George Will has an interesting article on this in a recent Newsweek issue). What better way to do that than to send their child to a preparatory school. And this is what Hillel is attempting to become. For better or for worse, Hillel (the parents or administration) has decided that that is the direction they want to go. The English IB program, more APs, less of those pesky Judaic studies classes that colleges don’t care about. All they want is their kid to get into the best college. And this may ultimately be good for Hillel’s survival. And as all pendulums, it will swing back. After all, “it takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.”(Alan Cohen)
The problem with what’s going on is Hillel is using words and not actions. They write they want excellence in education but don’t strive for it. Firing teachers not for cause, but for personality conflicts. The firing of these beloved teachers was probably more personality issues with the new administration than with their ability to teach. They just justify it with these ridiculous reasons.
So in the end, if Hillel wants to abandon its Jewish roots and become a prep school for Jews, so be it, but be honest about it. Say this is what we want to do and why we’re doing it. Don’t fire people because there are egos involved. Not that I think reducing the Jewish studies is actually beneficial and I think it does a great harm to the kids, but let’s not hold dear the past from which the bad memories are erased with time. Think what would be if things didn’t change; separate drinking fountains and schools, no voting rights for women, no laws to protect workers… or as I call them, the good old days
I remember rumors when I was in school. A friend of mine wanted to go early admissions to college. He was told the school’s policy was not to allow it. The next year someone else wanted to. He was told no initially but the parents (large financial donors) got involved and the policy changed. If the rich parents are the ones responsible for the current travesties, then other wealthy patrons of the school can wield equal power.
4 responses so far ↓
1 anonymous // Apr 11, 2007 at 11:20 pm
The truth is – - if this is what people want – - they should go to the schools that fulfill their needs instead of attempting to dismantle one that is a proven success.
These people can take their mouths and their money and move on – - the rest of us are here because they want to have that Jewish education!
2 Marc Mermelstein // Apr 12, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Well, that’s exactly what’s happened but in the reverse. Those who wanted a more Jewish education took their kids to YHS or Toras Emes or the like. Those who wanted none went elsewhere. Those who control the school are making it what they want to keep it successful, in their eyes. Rightly or wrongly, that’s what people with the power are doing. Should they be stopped? Absolutely. But until people here stop whinning about it and start doing something about it like become bigger donors or getting involved or forcing the issue, it’s relegated to a few disgruntled people expressing their opinion on the world wide web.
3 Concerned Citizen // Apr 12, 2007 at 6:15 pm
I would say survey the entire community and ask what the majority wants the “new vision” to look like.
Also, there are kids who wrote a beautiful letter to this website stating how they never appreciated davening or learning Judaics in high school but now they are so grateful for having had the experience they earlier took for granted.
Many of us who went to Jewish day schools feel this way.
Here’s an analogy: Kids don’t always know what’s good for them…Given the choice, they would eat candy in the candy store all day and never touch a vegetable…even if doing so made them sick…As adults, they thank their parents for not allowing them to just do what feels good in the moment (i.e. eat only candy all day long); later on, they thank their parents for ensuring that they’d feel good and healthy in the long run (i.e. by forcing them to eat real food or vegetables)
Many kids hate school period. And then you throw in a couple more classes into the mix–well of course, right now they’d rather have less than more.
But I know that if you survey the alumni, you will find out which courses/teachers turned out to have changed their lives even if they had never expected that to happen.
You don’t have to be Orthodox to be thankful as an adult that your parents insisted you get a good Jewish education.
4 anonymous // Apr 14, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Well said! It is at a later age that we are able to better appreciate what our parents did for us. At the time, it may not seem like the most popular or best thing – - but in the end – - one learns it is always for the best!