Orthonomics Blog Roundup
1st Week of March

So many bloggers have been posting on financial and related subjects. Since it is near impossible to write a post about all the interesting things there are to write about, I figured that in the spirit of SerandEz that I'd post a "roundup."

• The last discussion of kids at risk prompted a discussion about who should be learning in kollel, learning a train (vocational skills), and more. Jak Black was kind enough to translate a piece from a sefer by R. Ezriel Tauber that looks how it became accepted for women to be the breadwinners, kollel, woman in the workplace and more. The piece is jammed packed with many items to discuss. It is great to here the voice of a chacham in the discussion. Thanks Jak!
• Michelle of Humble Jewish Opinion takes a look at the rotten behavior that is unfortunately so prominent in Yeshiva schools. There is no question that the behavior issues need to be tackled if we are to attract and retain good teachers who are happy on the job.
• Jewboy has a post on the fact that Kollel has become an expectation called a "Need for Balance." He takes a look at the sense of entitlement that so many young people have grown up expecting.
• Opinions responds to Jewboy's post with a post of his own simply entitled "Kollel". The discussion following the post is most interesting and Opinions puts forward a unique idea to raise money for schools and local tzedakah causes. I'm looking forward to the discussion that develops there. I personally like the idea.
• Frumtalk, in an older post, wonders if College is Necessary for Parnasah and asks if the general trend seen in society that corellates education to earning power is also true in the frum world. Good question, I'd love to see a study. But, my guess is that outside of those who have really succeeded in the business world, the general trend holds true for frum society also.
• Lamed points us to an article in the YU Commentator entitled "CJF and OU Prepare to Combat 'Tuition Crisis." The commission is apparantely researching these ideas: Other components to the accepted initiative include reprioritizing distribution of charities, forming a community super fund for long-term funding for day schools [see Orthonomics here and here], and networking further with Jewish federations and organizations that can potentially assist in the tuition crisis. Additional considerations consist of organizing teams to help day schools establish better methods of short and long term financial management, structuring a hierarchal method of tuition payment where families pay based on what they can afford, and studying alternative modes of education like home-schooling to ascertain how varying techniques can be utilized in improving the day school situation.
• It is great to see these ideas being looked at by national organizations. They should have much hatzlacha.