Top 5 reasons Jewish education in the Diaspora is failing and what we can do to revive it

You’ve heard it before: where there are two Jews, there are three opinions. But if there is one thing that Jews do agree on, it’s that our education system is failing. Jewish students in the Diaspora learn to recite prayers for their B’nei Mitzvot, but do not know the prayers’ meanings. Teachers feel they must choose between material based in Jewish sources and material that is personally meaningful. And schools lack the funding for the drastic change that is so necessary. The bottom line is that the entire Jewish education experience fails, as children lose interest in Jewish identity and many lack any true connection with the traditions and texts. Here are some of the reasons why we fail, and what will need to be done to revive an endeavor struggling to stay alive: 

1. Education is information-focused rather than internalization-focused

It should not come as a surprise that when you throw information at a child, the information is forgotten, and most often, not absorbed in the first place. Jewish education once presumed that if you knew a lot, you would then remain Jewishly involved and identified. But today, countless Jews with knowledge are opting out. Perhaps that is because identification favors internalization over information. Ayeka, an Israeli nonprofit attempting to innovate Jewish education, believes that the key to reviving Jewish education is innovating a teaching approach that educates for the purpose of affecting and transforming us for lasting, personal growth: “For decades, Jewish education has been viewed as a mind-to-mind experience. The goal for educators was to convey as much information as possible. This approach has not focused on whether or not the student has personally connected to the subject or has integrated the ideas into his or her life. It is an approach which is often devoid of personal meaning and sufficient personal relevance,” says Ayeka CEO Aryeh Ben David. Once Jewish education is viewed as such will information cease to be just that, information, and instead enter into our lives, hearts, and souls.

2. We live in an age of instant gratification and education methods haven’t caught up

Jewish children in the Diaspora are generally more interested in sports and social media than Jewish wisdom. When presented with the things that are immediately interesting- streaming movies and surfing the internet- it’s a no brainer what will win in the race for our attention. It’s great that we are able to choose what is relevant to our lives and have information at our fingertips- but this means that more information will compete for our attention. Educationmethods must catch up with the information age so they are no longer considered “boring” and are thus rejected. After all, if the lives of our students are full of choice, meaning, and personal relevance – then shouldn't their Jewish education also be such? 

3. We value syllabus-centered over method-centered approaches to training teachers

Thus far, Jewish educators are trained on the syllabus but not the methodology. The question of “how does the student internalize this material” has not been on their radar. This methodology-centered approach is necessary, but is not natural for the educators, who were educated in the very way that is failing the students. New method-centered approaches should teach educators to move out of the mode of education in order to ask themselves personal reflective questions, which both requires great emotional intelligence and maturity, as it takes away their “control” of the classroom. 

4. Teachers get cold feet on innovating their approaches

We often underestimate how challenging it would be for high school teachers to change how they have taught for years. When Ayeka gave teachers a course for their students focusing on inner growth, the teachers got cold feet. Instituting new methods often puts pressure on teachers to get good results, as they find it too risky to try something new. With a training approach that includes strong support systems in place and the ability to understand that all growth involves risk, teachers will be better equipped to spearhead the changes necessary in the Jewish educational system.

5. We need to be patient, while continuing to invest

I may be the first person to say that the Jewish community needs to invest more money, but it’s true when it comes to Jewish education. Financial commitments by schools are vital and generally require supplemental community and/or foundation support. Investment must go into training teachers in new teaching methods – not only investment of capital but of time as well. Instituting new programs is time consuming and labor intensive. Unfortunately, success is not guaranteed. But educators know that true change takes time.

Eliana Rudee is a fellow with the Haym Salomon Center and the author of the “Aliyah Annotated” column for JNS.org. She is a graduate of Scripps College, where she studied international relations and Jewish studies. Her bylines have been featured in USA Today, Forbes, and The Hill. Follow her column on JNS.org.