As New York State continues on its push to control Yeshiva education, it is good to be reminded of the different attitude of Mayor Eric Adams.
Last March, Mayor Adams toured a Brooklyn yeshiva that was the subject of criticism by full-time yeshiva critics. Mayor Adams came away with a different, positive impression.
“I was really impressed by what I saw,” Adams said in an interview with The Forward. “These children are expanding their knowledge and not being limited in their knowledge.”
Adams compared the visit to another meeting he recently had with African-American teachers and students who felt that Anglo-Saxon standards did not give Black children the opportunity to identify with curriculum material that lacks cultural relevance for their community.
“The fight that the Jewish community is having is no different than the fight that the African-American and the Hispanic communities have. We must fight to change how we evaluate schools and understand the importance of culture and religion in school.” “Albany needs to enter a re-evaluation phase on what the cultural norms are in culturally sensitive education,” he said.
Those who haven’t yet contacted the State Education Department to express their opposition to their proposed regulations can do so here:
https://www.torahumesorah.org/
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8 Responses
Standardized tests also favor boys not girls. Adams is right that cultural norms influence what’s called “educated” and also how to educate.
I beg to differ with the mayor on his assessment in comparison between religious education and cultural education.
If there is an area of the city that has predominantly black students going, I don’t look at it as the same as a religious school. Black culture is good for black people. Religion is religion. A non Jewish person will not send their kid to a Jewish school. A non xstian would not send their kids to a xstain school. Private schools, I might add!!
On the flip side, the public school is a cholent of a whole bunch of different people with different cultures and possibly different religions. If the kid is being sent to public school he’s NOT being sent there to learn religion, which is part of the reason I firmly believe that holidays which are religious in nature, such as xmas etc shouldn’t even be a thing in the public school system.
Culture and religion do not belong in the public school system. The doctrines of the state education which are contrary to religion, no matter what the religion is should not be followed in the religious schools either. Pick your religion, it doesn’t make a difference.
What bothers me personally is to see how a Torah vedaas secular education is conflated with a chasidesh poor or non existent secular education. I went through the chasidesh system and we are not predicated to write or read in basic English we mostly get a 4th grade education depending on which chasidesh school you attend, some are a little better than others. It’s not emes to state that all our private friends schools are getting the same solid secular education. Allot of chasidesh men are not even ggiven a basic education to be able to communicate with a doctor or dentist without enlisting our wifes.
not exactly a good argument, basically he wants black children to learn about Africa, Zulus and the like but not core subjects like math, OUR problem is that liberals want our children to learn about toeiva, gender identity meshugas and the like. plus has he said anything SINCE he became mayor and not candidate.
Sounds like a nice postmodernist view on education by Mayor Adams
This mayor has nothing to show for his time in office
Israel Lakewood, what bothers me personally is that there are still naïve people who think that NY should go after chasidishe schools but not litvishe schools. Government oversight in our schools is a terrible thing PERIOD. There is no hair splitting or pointing fingers when it comes to Big Brother. Once they’re in, they dictate EVERYTHING. Do you really think Torah Vodaath is teaching enough gender studies and evolution for their likings? To all those Yidden who share Israel Lakewood’s dangerous mindset, please wake up before it is too late.
The square. I disagree it’s easy for you to talk becuase you probably didn’t grow through the chasidesh system. Me any many others that went through the chasidesh system against our will should have basic civil rights to a basic secular education (Just basic English reading and writing to be able to fill out an english form or write a simple email not asking for much) and I believe the government should impose it as the chasidesh system itself will never ever correct this wrong without outside intervention.