Serious Semite: Get Schooled

There’s a joke sometimes heard in the Los Angeles Jewish community; “What’s the best contraceptive? The price of Jewish education.” 

It’s also true across most of the world, although we can add a follow-up line: “What’s the best fertility drug for Jewish conception? Move to Great Britain.”

Parents in the United States regularly pay up to $40,000 per child to send their kids to Jewish day school, although many only manage through scholarships, grandparents’ contributions, and price reductions. 

Parents in the United States regularly pay up to $40,000 per child to send their kids to Jewish day school, although many only manage through scholarships, grandparents’ contributions, and price reductions. Due to prohibitive costs, whilst some schools are accessible to all through means-tested financial aid, many families reluctantly send their children to public schools, and various synagogues offer after-school programs for supplementary Jewish education.

Britain is the opposite. Religious schools are free and paid for by the British Government. Of course they aren’t really free, since the money comes from a substantially higher tax rate than in the U.S., but it feels free. In this respect, the majority of U.K. Jewish day schools are the equivalent of U.S. public schools. Parents are encouraged to make an annual “voluntary contribution” for each child, which can be as low as £1620 ($2059). Despite some American friends’ idea of Britain as a hotbed of Islamic anti-Jewish extremism, some aspects of Anglo-Jewish life are pretty impressive.

The late Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks once told me how happy he was with the results of an initiative they began at the start of his term of office. When he became Chief Rabbi in 1991, 25% of Jewish children were in Jewish day schools, and that rose to 70% by 2013 at the end of his tenure. Combined with the emergence and growth of non-Orthodox schools, Anglo-Jewry’s Jewish education explosion was supported by four Prime Ministers he was in regular contact with: John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. 

Despite this opportunity, many British Jews still don’t send their children to Jewish schools. It is their own choice as to how to educate their children, but there are interesting counterarguments.

One favorite is “parents who aren’t religious shouldn’t send their children to a Jewish school, because then there will be one set of teachings at school, and contradictions at home.” This may relate to families who perhaps don’t keep kosher or are cynical about their Judaism. A counterargument may be that whilst it is not our place to judge, why punish the children? Even if there are contradictory messages between home and school, at least the child will grow up with some Jewish literacy, an ability to read Hebrew, and a deeper connection to his or her heritage.

Another is “I know people who went to Jewish schools and still married non-Jews.” While this happens, it is less likely. Intermarriage rates range from 14% in Belgium, to 43% in the USA, and 63% in Russia. But isn’t this a stronger reason for Jewish schooling, so as to stack the odds in favor of intra-marriage within the community?

“If they go to a Jewish school then they will find it hard to integrate into the general non-Jewish community when they are older” is another counter-argument. This is the idea that someone will have trouble relating to non-Jewish people and understanding the world after they leave the community bubble of their youth. It is unlikely. Every community is its own bubble, and unless someone grows up in a Yiddish-speaking Hassidic enclave with no secular education, or has interpersonal social communication issues, this shouldn’t be a problem. 

Community schooling has also been blamed for a drop in synagogue attendance, since some parents feel their children’s Jewish involvement is being fulfilled at school, so they stop going to shul. But why blame parents’ individual choices on a successful educational system? As a side note, many synagogues would benefit from offering more vibrant, engaging programs and opportunities for deeper spiritual engagement. Synagogues that partner with schools formally or informally, capitalizing on access and relationships, are often those who can thrive alongside them. 

Finally, one area that has taken a big knock in Britain is the world of informal youth movements. There was a golden heyday in recent decades when Sunday nights were full of activities with groups like B’nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO), the Federation of Zionist Youth (FZY) (sister to the America’s Young Judea movement), and Habonim-Dror. In some communities movements have taken a big hit, since they used to be a place where Jewish kids could develop a Jewish social life, but they were all primarily at non-Jewish schools. This social need has been fulfilled now that the students have an active Jewish social life at school, so giving up a Sunday evening has far less appeal. The movements also taught a lot of Zionist history, informal leadership training and Israel advocacy, but this is now part of a lot of school syllabuses.

Some adults see the decline of the youth movements with regret, since they look back on their time with happy, sentimental memories. However, times have changed, and we now have new solutions to fit new challenges.

Melbourne, Australia offers a good example. With over 60% of children in Jewish schools, the openness of the schools to these organizations ensures that the bulk of youth movement attendance is from children in Jewish schools. Youth movement representatives attend schools at lunchtimes, on Jewish festivals and even on school camps.

So, if U.S. Jewish day school fees get too burdensome and you get fed up with California’s sunshine, you can always grab an umbrella, move to England, and at least one of your problems will be solved.

We live in a time of tremendous opportunity. So, if U.S. Jewish day school fees get too burdensome and you get fed up with California’s sunshine, you can always grab an umbrella, move to England, and at least one of your problems will be solved.

www.marcusjfreed.com and on social @marcusjfreed.