The Yated just published a piece called "Preserving the Kollel Revolution." I'd say that publishing the article took a bit of gumption on the part of the newspaper given that it brings up an uncomfortable subject matter. The article covers some history of kollel in America--from revolution to mass movement. The article then looks at the challenges facing kollel, namely "the convergence of massive financial obligations" (i.e. parents have a compounding issue of paying for numerous weddings in a short period of time, long term financial support of the couple, and still support the other mouths they need to feed) and the health issues that are exasperated during this period of time. In the words of the author: "This [convergence of massive financial obligations] can result in terrible stress affecting the parents’ physical and emotional well being. This period of marrying off one’s children generally coincides with the time of life when middle-age health issues set in. The addition of relentless financial burdens may cause parents to literally fall ill, or greatly aggravate pre-existing medical problems." The conclusion of the article is that the culture of consipcuous consumption must be stopped by parents and bnei Torah because it is not the Torah way and that the price of ill health is "simply too steep a price for any child to pay." This conclusion falls under the heading "not a monetary issue; a health issue."
The premises of the article is that "Kollel, as an institution, is vital for everyone - not only for
the elites, the best bochurim, but for every yeshiva student who marries. Kollel provides the basis for a Torah life and it should be encouraged and supported by every means." The solutions to "preserve" kollel was to tone down the lifestyle and fight conspicuous consumption. Two examples the author notes are: 1) the ben Torah should drive a safe car that serves to get him from point A to point B rather than a late model or leased vehicle that raises the expectations of others who pass through the yeshiva/kollel parking lot and 2) reconsider the housing provided for the young couple as fewer families are choosing a one bedroom rented apartment and opting for a house or townhouse in the hundreds of thousands.
Perhaps you need to be driving around in a car that has outlived its prime by a number of years and that announces its comings and goings while budgeting a rather generous income in order to realize just how ludicrous these suggestions sound in terms of "Preserving the Kollel Revolution." Furthermore, the author insults the intelligence of the reader when he asserts the following: "it seems that certain alien concepts have crept into this most hallowed ideal of supporting our young couples. Undoubtedly, in today’s bountiful generation, we cannot expect our youth to conduct lives of Torah mitoch hadechak as done in previous generations. In this day and age, it is unrealistic to expect young couples to abstain from eating fleishigs throughout the week and to subsist on a can of sardines or a small piece of chicken on Shabbos. Nor can we expect very large families to be crammed into one-room hovels without heat, like many who learned Torah mitoch hadechak in previous generations (even here in America)."
Unrealistic!?!?! Puhleeze as the teenagers say. This is a generation suffers from an inflated sense of entitlement and low expectations!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Packing a Lunch: Some Product Recommendations
I'm not quite sure how the comments in the previous post went from discussing different philosophies towards finances in the frum community into a discussion about take-out vs. brown bagging lunches. But it makes for a perfect time to point out this really nifty product one of my readers pointed me to: the USB Powered Lunchbox Warmer.
For a bit less than $11, I'd rate this product a potential bargain. If I wasn't working from my home, I'd definitely purchase one. There are other brands out there and I like the idea of being able to take some leftover vegetable soup to work and not having to worry about using the work microwave and wasting disposable bags to double wrap. This type of product is right up my alley. Any reviews?
Another product I absolutely LOVE are the Ziploc plastic divided rectangle containers. I use these for school lunches replacing plastic baggies, plastic wrap, and foil. No need to worry about inventories and shopping when you have these on hand. The square part of the container is sized for a sandwich, wrap, pasta, or a salad. The two side containers are great for cut up fruit or veggies, a hard boiled egg, or a treat. I like to have 2 containers on hand for each lunch taking member of the family. These go through the dishwasher and are relatively inexpensive. Make sure to cut the Ziploc coupons and if you have the $0.55 coupon shop in a store that doubles coupons. I can probably get 2 school years of use from each container, if not more. They stack both in the pantry compactly and on top of each in the refrigerator and on the counter nicely. I've had it with other containers and plan to replace a lot of my Rubbermaid I use for leftovers with the wonderful and large plastic Ziploc rectangle containers over time. That is another fantastic product that has just the right shape.
For a bit less than $11, I'd rate this product a potential bargain. If I wasn't working from my home, I'd definitely purchase one. There are other brands out there and I like the idea of being able to take some leftover vegetable soup to work and not having to worry about using the work microwave and wasting disposable bags to double wrap. This type of product is right up my alley. Any reviews?
Another product I absolutely LOVE are the Ziploc plastic divided rectangle containers. I use these for school lunches replacing plastic baggies, plastic wrap, and foil. No need to worry about inventories and shopping when you have these on hand. The square part of the container is sized for a sandwich, wrap, pasta, or a salad. The two side containers are great for cut up fruit or veggies, a hard boiled egg, or a treat. I like to have 2 containers on hand for each lunch taking member of the family. These go through the dishwasher and are relatively inexpensive. Make sure to cut the Ziploc coupons and if you have the $0.55 coupon shop in a store that doubles coupons. I can probably get 2 school years of use from each container, if not more. They stack both in the pantry compactly and on top of each in the refrigerator and on the counter nicely. I've had it with other containers and plan to replace a lot of my Rubbermaid I use for leftovers with the wonderful and large plastic Ziploc rectangle containers over time. That is another fantastic product that has just the right shape.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Moshiach will pay the Credit Card
I feel compelled to respond to a comment I received in the last post where I once again penned some thoughts to Matzav regarding what I believe is irresponsible journalism on the part of Matzav. Once again Matzav published a letter decrying the cost of being frum. But this time the article not only featured the subject of just how terribly expensive it is to be frum, but it centered around the subject of **contemplating suicide** in response to the overwhelming costs. Now, we all know that observance comes with a price tag, but there is a way of addressing that cost and a way to not address that cost. Frankly, publishing the words suicide in response to that cost is crossing a line in my book. I believe we are all familar with the words of Rav Feinstein who admonished a generation for saying "it is hard to be a Jew." I think the constant barrage of letters/editorials about being frum = broke do the same terrible disservice. My hope is that through this medium, I am able to offer up a different message that the challenges are surmountable so long as we recognize the underlying issues, approach the challenge with some courage and sechel, and trust that Hashem will not leave us socially ostracized and our children friendless and shidduchless because we didn't conform to the standards set by "the system."
This Pesach, Matzav treated us to an editorial whinning about how expensive Pesach is (Pesach poundcake is a killer). Two Pesachs prior, the Yated treated us to a letter complaining that Pesach has left families in the red (how do you afford those afikoman gifts and chol hamoed trips?). And each Pesach since I started penning my thoughts on these issues, I (with the help of some fantastic commenters) have put forward a number of money saving tips for consideration because I believe that man cannot serve to masters: Hashem and Mastercard.
This week I received this comment which I'd like to just address head on:
I've read the comments to the "letter writer" on Matzav and the comments here and there is a world of difference in the basic outlook. The comments on Matzav are religious in outlook - tefillah, Moshiach - and also very compassionate. Many commenters say they are in exactly the same situation and they totally understand. The comments on Orthonomics are highly practical and rather disdainful of people who put frum values ahead of balancing the budget. In fact, none of you really seem to understand the religious way of thinking. I have often read on this blog criticism of lack of birth control in the religious community - why do they have so many children? When I have commented that birth control will never be accepted in the frum world, I have read comments like "why not?" The point I'm making is that people who are religiously motivated and people who are motivated by practical concerns will never be able to understand each other. Oh, the reason frum people will not accept birth control is not because of community pressure - it's because first, frum people believe it is a commandment from the Torah to have children, second, they LOVE children, and third, they are willing to live at a very minimal level to sustain a Torah life. Visit Lakewood and see how most families there live. You will see that they truly believe in a Torah life, and while these are not your interpretations of what the Torah requires, they are admirably consistent. They are not motivated solely or even primarily by community pressure. They are motivated by BELIEF.
Note the title of my post, "Moshiach will pay the creditors." Way back when I was a student trying to wrap my head around the ins and outs of going concerns and bankruptcy chapters, budgeting and leveraging, I discovered these very issues were present right in my own community. I think the first time that it hit me was when I was sitting with a lovely Rebbitzen, small business owner, and friend who had just had a wedding like I'd never seen before, which was shortly followed by a much more intimate bar mitzvah. The wedding was a first wedding for this very large family and one of the largest I've attended to date. There was not a detail missing in the festivities from a formal vort, to the jewelry, to the edible flowers on the salad. I can only make an educated guess about the cost of the wedding, but I'm nearly certain I could put a child through (public) law school or med school including a generous allowance for living costs for the cost of the wedding. Somehow as we were chatting, I found out that they had yet to pay for the wedding. This might have been the first time I realized that people really did borrow against their homes to pay for things they wanted. I would not take out a credit card for another five years, so I was still in the dark that I could actually write myself a check for cash to take the vacation I so deserved.
Once my eyes were opened they were opened wide, I learned a lot quickly. A little later I was privy to a conversation between someone else and her daughter in which some rather large credit card debts were mentioned (they were adding to them because they "needed" new dresses for all the kids for a simcha and I believe the discussion was if they had enough credit for the purchase). I had just been signed to my first real job and couldn't comprehend how anyone could *pay* for such debt, especially given the demographic and career choice, and just blurted out, "how will you pay that off?" The reply: "When Moshiach comes, he will pay [off the credit card]." It would have been funny, except there wasn't a hint of humor. She later explained something to the effect that unless a frum Jew was wealthy, they would juggle debt.
A lot of what I have learned and write about comes from published words, conversations, and observations. But, I've also had my fair share of runs-ins with people who can't pay their bills or simply stiff you. E.g., I took on some work for a family that who does all of the same things my commenter mentioned. Every conversation has has a "religious outlook." Tefillah, bitachon, emunah, mashiach; it is all in the conversation. The problem? The work is done, but you get a message not to cash the check because something else came up. And the next check bounces from here to there and back again and the "practical" person ends up on the phone with a local posek trying to figure out what courses of action would be permissible to now collect the funds.
I don't separate the practical from the religious or frum. To me they are completely intertwined, and I see this in the Torah I've learned and from the Rabbonim I've consulted on "practical" issues. The commenter writes "[I/we are] disdainful of people who put frum values ahead of balancing the budget." To me balancing the budget IS a "frum" value.
Thecannon canon of Torah is filled with instructions on how to engage in commerce and ownership. And there is a spirit there too. While borrowing is permitted, Mishlei comments on the relationship between the creditor and the debtor and tehillim makes mention of those who do not repay their debts. The sources address a mitzvah b'averiah in classic discussions on whether a person can fulfill the mitzvah of arba minim if they don't have ownership of the item. The wedding ring must be owned by the chatan to make a valid transaction. The Ben Ish Hai addresses such practical matters such as how a wife should budget and spend her husband's money in his writing for women. No less than Rav Salantar includes thrift in his middot.
Derech Eretz kadma l'Torah is a fundamental concept. I think that being able to pay your bills as agreed upon would fit right under the banner of derech eretz kadma l'Torah. Putting yourself in a position where you are engaging in a life of debt means that eventually something will give. Creditors will not be paid. Food and services that you consumed and made a beracha over will not be paid. Pledges that you made will go unfilled. Lawyers, dentists, and schools will go unpaid. Unfortunately there are businesses (grocery stores no less) with massive receivables on their books. Schools and shuls experience the same phenomena. Years ago I met a wonderful couple visiting from a certain neighborhood known for its piety. The family had a business within the community and when he found out I was an accountant, he wanted to share with me a trick he learned on how to 'clean out' as much as he could from the bank accounts of people who wrote him bad checks. Let's just say I didn't learn this trick in business school. I'm a very simple person. I still like to assume that when someone writes a check that it will cash.
Operating in a constant state of red invites ethical challenges. This is not to say that people who live with great wealth don't fall to the yetzer hara (think Enron), but supporting a lifestyle that is not commensurate with income is an invitation to the yetzer hara. I've seen it with my own two eyes.
To close I want to say one last thing: while many of my commentators feel strongly that families should not have "more children than they can afford," (there are VIN and Matzav commentators who say the same thing!), I have a liking for large families. I think that having a growing, expanding, and alive community is our lifeblood. I think it is well worth while to forgo plenty of extras to have more children. The issue that we have is defining the extras and we have made everything a requirement in the name of frumkeit so that we don't even know what "minimal" is. When camp become minimal and dental work to fix rotting teeth becomes extra, you have a problem. And that problem isn't particularly related to family size, but priorities.
This Pesach, Matzav treated us to an editorial whinning about how expensive Pesach is (Pesach poundcake is a killer). Two Pesachs prior, the Yated treated us to a letter complaining that Pesach has left families in the red (how do you afford those afikoman gifts and chol hamoed trips?). And each Pesach since I started penning my thoughts on these issues, I (with the help of some fantastic commenters) have put forward a number of money saving tips for consideration because I believe that man cannot serve to masters: Hashem and Mastercard.
This week I received this comment which I'd like to just address head on:
I've read the comments to the "letter writer" on Matzav and the comments here and there is a world of difference in the basic outlook. The comments on Matzav are religious in outlook - tefillah, Moshiach - and also very compassionate. Many commenters say they are in exactly the same situation and they totally understand. The comments on Orthonomics are highly practical and rather disdainful of people who put frum values ahead of balancing the budget. In fact, none of you really seem to understand the religious way of thinking. I have often read on this blog criticism of lack of birth control in the religious community - why do they have so many children? When I have commented that birth control will never be accepted in the frum world, I have read comments like "why not?" The point I'm making is that people who are religiously motivated and people who are motivated by practical concerns will never be able to understand each other. Oh, the reason frum people will not accept birth control is not because of community pressure - it's because first, frum people believe it is a commandment from the Torah to have children, second, they LOVE children, and third, they are willing to live at a very minimal level to sustain a Torah life. Visit Lakewood and see how most families there live. You will see that they truly believe in a Torah life, and while these are not your interpretations of what the Torah requires, they are admirably consistent. They are not motivated solely or even primarily by community pressure. They are motivated by BELIEF.
Note the title of my post, "Moshiach will pay the creditors." Way back when I was a student trying to wrap my head around the ins and outs of going concerns and bankruptcy chapters, budgeting and leveraging, I discovered these very issues were present right in my own community. I think the first time that it hit me was when I was sitting with a lovely Rebbitzen, small business owner, and friend who had just had a wedding like I'd never seen before, which was shortly followed by a much more intimate bar mitzvah. The wedding was a first wedding for this very large family and one of the largest I've attended to date. There was not a detail missing in the festivities from a formal vort, to the jewelry, to the edible flowers on the salad. I can only make an educated guess about the cost of the wedding, but I'm nearly certain I could put a child through (public) law school or med school including a generous allowance for living costs for the cost of the wedding. Somehow as we were chatting, I found out that they had yet to pay for the wedding. This might have been the first time I realized that people really did borrow against their homes to pay for things they wanted. I would not take out a credit card for another five years, so I was still in the dark that I could actually write myself a check for cash to take the vacation I so deserved.
Once my eyes were opened they were opened wide, I learned a lot quickly. A little later I was privy to a conversation between someone else and her daughter in which some rather large credit card debts were mentioned (they were adding to them because they "needed" new dresses for all the kids for a simcha and I believe the discussion was if they had enough credit for the purchase). I had just been signed to my first real job and couldn't comprehend how anyone could *pay* for such debt, especially given the demographic and career choice, and just blurted out, "how will you pay that off?" The reply: "When Moshiach comes, he will pay [off the credit card]." It would have been funny, except there wasn't a hint of humor. She later explained something to the effect that unless a frum Jew was wealthy, they would juggle debt.
A lot of what I have learned and write about comes from published words, conversations, and observations. But, I've also had my fair share of runs-ins with people who can't pay their bills or simply stiff you. E.g., I took on some work for a family that who does all of the same things my commenter mentioned. Every conversation has has a "religious outlook." Tefillah, bitachon, emunah, mashiach; it is all in the conversation. The problem? The work is done, but you get a message not to cash the check because something else came up. And the next check bounces from here to there and back again and the "practical" person ends up on the phone with a local posek trying to figure out what courses of action would be permissible to now collect the funds.
I don't separate the practical from the religious or frum. To me they are completely intertwined, and I see this in the Torah I've learned and from the Rabbonim I've consulted on "practical" issues. The commenter writes "[I/we are] disdainful of people who put frum values ahead of balancing the budget." To me balancing the budget IS a "frum" value.
The
Derech Eretz kadma l'Torah is a fundamental concept. I think that being able to pay your bills as agreed upon would fit right under the banner of derech eretz kadma l'Torah. Putting yourself in a position where you are engaging in a life of debt means that eventually something will give. Creditors will not be paid. Food and services that you consumed and made a beracha over will not be paid. Pledges that you made will go unfilled. Lawyers, dentists, and schools will go unpaid. Unfortunately there are businesses (grocery stores no less) with massive receivables on their books. Schools and shuls experience the same phenomena. Years ago I met a wonderful couple visiting from a certain neighborhood known for its piety. The family had a business within the community and when he found out I was an accountant, he wanted to share with me a trick he learned on how to 'clean out' as much as he could from the bank accounts of people who wrote him bad checks. Let's just say I didn't learn this trick in business school. I'm a very simple person. I still like to assume that when someone writes a check that it will cash.
Operating in a constant state of red invites ethical challenges. This is not to say that people who live with great wealth don't fall to the yetzer hara (think Enron), but supporting a lifestyle that is not commensurate with income is an invitation to the yetzer hara. I've seen it with my own two eyes.
To close I want to say one last thing: while many of my commentators feel strongly that families should not have "more children than they can afford," (there are VIN and Matzav commentators who say the same thing!), I have a liking for large families. I think that having a growing, expanding, and alive community is our lifeblood. I think it is well worth while to forgo plenty of extras to have more children. The issue that we have is defining the extras and we have made everything a requirement in the name of frumkeit so that we don't even know what "minimal" is. When camp become minimal and dental work to fix rotting teeth becomes extra, you have a problem. And that problem isn't particularly related to family size, but priorities.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Shalom Bayit and Finances, Tuition vs. Health
There is a new Letter to the Editor published today on Matzav supposedly written by a breadwinning father contemplating suicide due to his financial position. Oftentimes the letters posted on Matzav are straight out of the Yated, but I'm guessing this letter is not one of those. Additionally, I don't believe the letter was actually written by the person supposedly considering suicide, but I do believe that financial problems can make a person consider dreadful measures. Personally, I'm rather annoyed with Matzav for publishing a constant stream of "it's too expense to be frum" articles because I believe that this complaining, and I hear it in my own backyard too, is completely detrimental and counterproductive. What I think is highly needed is financial and frugality education, subjects I see stressed by different ministries. For my commentary on one Matzav "it's too expensive to be frum" editorial see Echad Chacham. . . . Echad Helpless Loser.
Like other complaining editorials of late, there is a lack of differentiating between needs and wants. The author mentions all of the following costs: "tuition, mortgage payments, car expenses, food bills to the sky, clothes, utilities, camp…" So long as camp or the chatunah (a subject that rears its head later in the letter for which I only have three words: Cake and Punch) appears in the same sentence as basic food and shelter, there is a lifestyle problem that needs to be addressed.
What I don't doubt about the article is that the real subject of the letter (see below), reflects the "matzav" of a good handful of husbands out there:
The letter writer believes that he has an income/lack of assistance issue. In all reality, $80,000 is a respectable income, but with a larger size family looking to maintain a healthy budget(healthy budget loosely defined as income > expenses + no consumption debt), I'm not quite sure there is more than a 4 figures available to pay tuition. So, in one sense there is an income issue, but what I believe the reader has is a shalom bayit issue. If the couple was supportive of each other, they could deal far more effectively with the financial issues.
More essential than cash flow in personal finance, is unity in approach. I believe that Chazal asserts that a couple with shalom can exist on the tip of a pin, whereas the largest home won't suffice for a couple without shalom. I think the same can be said of shoestring budgets: a family that works together on addressing their financial challenges can survive on a shoestring budget, whereas a family that does not share common vision, determination, and accomodation will struggle even on a generous income. I believe that sharing a similar approach towards finances is also what will move a couple from disatisfaction --> acceptance and addressing the issue together --> satisfaction or sameach bechelko.
One more issue I'd like to revisit is what I previously called "worshipping at the altar [of yeshiva/day school]." While I do believe yeshiva/day school should take precedence over stuff (e.g. camp experiences, European fashion, and eating out), I am concerned when supporting a frum lifestyle (and I use the term lifestyle deliberately), means neglecting health. To me that fits the definition of "worshiping at the altar."
The letter writer, whoever that is, mentioned forgoing dental care. So did a later commentor who writes:
Like other complaining editorials of late, there is a lack of differentiating between needs and wants. The author mentions all of the following costs: "tuition, mortgage payments, car expenses, food bills to the sky, clothes, utilities, camp…" So long as camp or the chatunah (a subject that rears its head later in the letter for which I only have three words: Cake and Punch) appears in the same sentence as basic food and shelter, there is a lifestyle problem that needs to be addressed.
What I don't doubt about the article is that the real subject of the letter (see below), reflects the "matzav" of a good handful of husbands out there:
But is hard to appreciate the good things in life when you are sitting and staring at a bank account that is emptying out faster than it fills up. It is hard to smile when you have to tell your 12-year-old kid that he can’t go to the dentist this month even though his tooth is hurting because you don’t have the money for it. It is hard to be happy when your wife is frustrated that you are just not making ends meet no matter how hard you are working and how hard you are trying.
The letter writer believes that he has an income/lack of assistance issue. In all reality, $80,000 is a respectable income, but with a larger size family looking to maintain a healthy budget(healthy budget loosely defined as income > expenses + no consumption debt), I'm not quite sure there is more than a 4 figures available to pay tuition. So, in one sense there is an income issue, but what I believe the reader has is a shalom bayit issue. If the couple was supportive of each other, they could deal far more effectively with the financial issues.
More essential than cash flow in personal finance, is unity in approach. I believe that Chazal asserts that a couple with shalom can exist on the tip of a pin, whereas the largest home won't suffice for a couple without shalom. I think the same can be said of shoestring budgets: a family that works together on addressing their financial challenges can survive on a shoestring budget, whereas a family that does not share common vision, determination, and accomodation will struggle even on a generous income. I believe that sharing a similar approach towards finances is also what will move a couple from disatisfaction --> acceptance and addressing the issue together --> satisfaction or sameach bechelko.
One more issue I'd like to revisit is what I previously called "worshipping at the altar [of yeshiva/day school]." While I do believe yeshiva/day school should take precedence over stuff (e.g. camp experiences, European fashion, and eating out), I am concerned when supporting a frum lifestyle (and I use the term lifestyle deliberately), means neglecting health. To me that fits the definition of "worshiping at the altar."
The letter writer, whoever that is, mentioned forgoing dental care. So did a later commentor who writes:
All I know is that if the "letter writer" is contemplating suicide and this other commentator's children have rotted and diseased teeth, leaving the yeshiva system for public school doesn't sound like the horrific alternative other commentors are making it out to be!
Giving up the dentist was the hardest of all for us, we also earn income higher than this poster, but when we had no income, the school tuition committee thought we were hiding something and refused us. That was 15 years ago and we still don’t have necessary dental care—the adults in our family have allowed our teeth to rot and become diseased, and have suffered bouts of excruciating pain without seeing a dentist because we couldn’t afford it. The children who needed braces did not get them, nor did they get normal dental care. Along the way we mentioned this to a Rav whose response was What about all the Rabbi’s teaching in Yeshiva who can’t get dental care? So we just keep quiet and suffer. But at least now we pay full tuition.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Life Insurance Tuition Plan
Charles Kushner has published an Op-Ed piece title "Op-Ed: Funding Jewish education—a self-sustaining solution." He does not present this plan as a "perfect solution" but rather a conversation starter.
The plan presented has the following two tranches:
Tranche I: Upon enrollment of its first child to enter yeshiva, each family agrees to allow the school to buy a $25,000 life insurance policy on each parent. There is only ONE policy per parent at the school, regardless of how many children attend the school. The premiums are to be paid over a period of 10 years and remain in effect until the insured reaches 100 years of age. Again, the premiums are paid at no cost to the parents.
Tranche II: Ten benefactors to the school will each select an older person to honor by buying a life insurance policy in his or her name. The death benefit will be $5 million, again with premiums to be paid over a period of 10 years and guaranteed until the insured reaches 100 years of age.
I don't want to be a complete pessimist, but this looks like an endowment fund by another name. The winner, of course, being the insurance carrier(s). The commitment is huge. I am not an insurance expert, but my understanding of whole life insurance is that when a payment is missed, the entire policy is cancelled leaving only the cash value. To put out $250,000 annually to pay for an "endowment" is a large commitment. I believe that trying to fund such a plan, if successful, would uproot other fundraising, possibly causing tuition increases until the endowment is fully functioning. Personally, I believe that further tuition increases will threaten enrollments.
Personally, I believe that the problem for many families, especially younger families, is the current price of tuition, i.e. the here and NOW. The presented plan is a long term plan that doesn't address the fact that increasing numbers of families can't afford full tuition for each child, much less try to fund a massive endowment for which there will be no benefit until at least 10 years down the road. From what I understand, the 5% Estate Plan has not yet benefited the schools, and with that plan there is no massive cost. Meanwhile, tuition continue to rise every year.
I'm interested in what my readers think, both positive and negative. I'm not opposed to long term planning by any means, but the underlying assumption seems to be that the schools will just continue to hold on until a big cash infusion kicks in some 10-20 years down the road. And to put it succinctly, I just don't share the same underlying assumption.
The plan presented has the following two tranches:
Tranche I: Upon enrollment of its first child to enter yeshiva, each family agrees to allow the school to buy a $25,000 life insurance policy on each parent. There is only ONE policy per parent at the school, regardless of how many children attend the school. The premiums are to be paid over a period of 10 years and remain in effect until the insured reaches 100 years of age. Again, the premiums are paid at no cost to the parents.
Tranche II: Ten benefactors to the school will each select an older person to honor by buying a life insurance policy in his or her name. The death benefit will be $5 million, again with premiums to be paid over a period of 10 years and guaranteed until the insured reaches 100 years of age.
I don't want to be a complete pessimist, but this looks like an endowment fund by another name. The winner, of course, being the insurance carrier(s). The commitment is huge. I am not an insurance expert, but my understanding of whole life insurance is that when a payment is missed, the entire policy is cancelled leaving only the cash value. To put out $250,000 annually to pay for an "endowment" is a large commitment. I believe that trying to fund such a plan, if successful, would uproot other fundraising, possibly causing tuition increases until the endowment is fully functioning. Personally, I believe that further tuition increases will threaten enrollments.
Personally, I believe that the problem for many families, especially younger families, is the current price of tuition, i.e. the here and NOW. The presented plan is a long term plan that doesn't address the fact that increasing numbers of families can't afford full tuition for each child, much less try to fund a massive endowment for which there will be no benefit until at least 10 years down the road. From what I understand, the 5% Estate Plan has not yet benefited the schools, and with that plan there is no massive cost. Meanwhile, tuition continue to rise every year.
I'm interested in what my readers think, both positive and negative. I'm not opposed to long term planning by any means, but the underlying assumption seems to be that the schools will just continue to hold on until a big cash infusion kicks in some 10-20 years down the road. And to put it succinctly, I just don't share the same underlying assumption.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Investigate before Jumping on This Ship
YWN reported that Aguda Rabbonim convened to discuss Chinuch Atzmai which is under more financial strain due to a fine imposed by the Israeli court of 5,000NIS per day the school does not comply with the ruling of the courts. The courts became involved in the Emanuel Bais Yaakov schools after accusations of segregation between segregation of Ashkenazim and Sephardim and discrimination against the latter. The gedolim have decried the involvement of the secular court system in Chareidi education and have supported the parents in their actions, rallying behind them. For links to all related stories see YWN here.
When I was the story about the Aguda meeting to discuss the financial strain I can't say my reaction was a nice one. But, not knowing the details of the case, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions either.
My friend Mom in Israel has details of a different case in Bet Shemesh and has kindly posted a transcript of tape in which the Bais Yaakov Principal's remarks to school parents in Bet Shemesh were recorded and later played on an Israeli radio program. What a lovely gem during the Omer. I have never heard such cruelty. There is no possible way that you can build an education on such a foundation. I know no one in the Agudah, but would be more than happy to place this excerpt as translated by Mom in Israel in envelopes to anyone who was at the American Agudah meeting asking them to do some further investigation before supporting Chinuch Atzmai in the Emanuel discrimination case and asking for money from an already struggling American community. This might not be the ship they want to jump on! I certainly wouldn't want to be on that ship.
If you have the home addresses of anyone who was present in the meeting, please send me an email at Orthonomics at gmail dot com. Excerpt follows from the Bet Shemesh principal. See all the links at Mom in Israel for more info.
You, as a mother, are insisting on sending her to a place where she’s not wanted . . . No child wants to sit next to her, no one will be friends with her, no one will go to her house to play, no child will lend her a notebook, no one will approach her at recess, everyone will know that this is the girl, that because of her, we all sat at home for so long.
How can you, as a mother, send your daughter to a place where she is clearly not wanted? not only by me, not only by the teachers, and not only by the rabbi of the neighborhood—all 280 students don’t want her.”
Your daughter will be socially isolated. No girl will sit next to her. No one will invite her over. She’s going to go into a class that has 26 girls, she’ll be number 27. The other class has 32—in either case the class will have an odd number. Your daughter will sit by herself. And in two months when the teacher changes the seating arrangements, your daughter will sit by herself, again.
280 girls are sitting at home. For many of them it’s very hard, the parents are working. No one knows when this will end, I also don’t know. But all of them (kuuulam), did it happily (besimcha). Now if that girl calls on the phone to play, and the mother asks who is on the phone, will she let her daughter play with the girl, that because of her they all stayed home?
She’ll be a museum exhibit. All the girls will look to see who this girl is who caused the commotion. When every [apartment] building has 50 girls living there, what mother would send her daughter to play with a girl that has a “baayah chinuchit” (educational or discipline problem) at home?”
When I was the story about the Aguda meeting to discuss the financial strain I can't say my reaction was a nice one. But, not knowing the details of the case, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions either.
My friend Mom in Israel has details of a different case in Bet Shemesh and has kindly posted a transcript of tape in which the Bais Yaakov Principal's remarks to school parents in Bet Shemesh were recorded and later played on an Israeli radio program. What a lovely gem during the Omer. I have never heard such cruelty. There is no possible way that you can build an education on such a foundation. I know no one in the Agudah, but would be more than happy to place this excerpt as translated by Mom in Israel in envelopes to anyone who was at the American Agudah meeting asking them to do some further investigation before supporting Chinuch Atzmai in the Emanuel discrimination case and asking for money from an already struggling American community. This might not be the ship they want to jump on! I certainly wouldn't want to be on that ship.
If you have the home addresses of anyone who was present in the meeting, please send me an email at Orthonomics at gmail dot com. Excerpt follows from the Bet Shemesh principal. See all the links at Mom in Israel for more info.
You, as a mother, are insisting on sending her to a place where she’s not wanted . . . No child wants to sit next to her, no one will be friends with her, no one will go to her house to play, no child will lend her a notebook, no one will approach her at recess, everyone will know that this is the girl, that because of her, we all sat at home for so long.
How can you, as a mother, send your daughter to a place where she is clearly not wanted? not only by me, not only by the teachers, and not only by the rabbi of the neighborhood—all 280 students don’t want her.”
Your daughter will be socially isolated. No girl will sit next to her. No one will invite her over. She’s going to go into a class that has 26 girls, she’ll be number 27. The other class has 32—in either case the class will have an odd number. Your daughter will sit by herself. And in two months when the teacher changes the seating arrangements, your daughter will sit by herself, again.
280 girls are sitting at home. For many of them it’s very hard, the parents are working. No one knows when this will end, I also don’t know. But all of them (kuuulam), did it happily (besimcha). Now if that girl calls on the phone to play, and the mother asks who is on the phone, will she let her daughter play with the girl, that because of her they all stayed home?
She’ll be a museum exhibit. All the girls will look to see who this girl is who caused the commotion. When every [apartment] building has 50 girls living there, what mother would send her daughter to play with a girl that has a “baayah chinuchit” (educational or discipline problem) at home?”
Friday, April 16, 2010
Ask Orthonomics: Opting Out of Social Security
I received this question earlier, and my readers have already addressed the question for me (thanks!), but I like to make sure that important subjects have their own posts so interested parties can find them for future reference.
I'm a lurker and comment rarely, I agree with most of your opinions on finance and would love to hear your opinion about my situation. Husband and I are in kiruv, self employed with four children KA"H, our combined income amounts to 46K, we are considering opting out of social security, do you think it is worth it for us? Provided of course, that we invest the equivalent properly.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for bringing up an interesting question. Opting out of Social Security/Medicare is something I don't see younger Rabbis doing, but it isn't unheard of amongst the older Rabbinate. Perhaps the requirements have changed over time, but I'm not quite sure what religious objection we have to a public insurance system as issues regarding the financial sustainability of social security are not valid religious grounds for objections. The Form 4361 is the form needed to opt out and needs to be filed by the second year in the clergy.
The consequence of opting out of social security is that a member of the clergy can no longer receive Social Security, Medicare, or any other welfare program. I'm not quite certain if this means you would be ineligible for all the various welfare credits that already flow through the IRS Form 1040 in the form of "refundable credits" or if this is only exempts you from Food Stamps, WIC (?), Pell Grants, etc. Nonetheless for the $3519 (7.65% of salary) that you would be saving from your half of the employment taxes, you will be losing access to a great deal of programs. (Note: You mentioned being self-employed, but I'm not sure if that is in kiruv or another activity).
The Christian Church has built up numerous "financial ministries" and none seem particularly enthusiastic about members opting out, for both ethical reasons and financial reasons. The United Methodist Church strongly advises its clergy not to exercise this option. Crown Ministries advises clergy that when they opt out of social security they will need to consider income replacement in retirement, purchasing life and disability insurance, and replacing medicare coverage. The truth is that every single one of us who pays into social security needs to do all of the above, especially when you are considering a large family and (yes!) Yeshiva Tuition.
I don't believe that at this income level you will have the means to take the excess and invest all of it. And given the specific concerns in the frum community regarding paying for private schooling, I think you would be nuts to opt out of Social Security, Medicare, all welfare programs, and expect that the "powers that be" will be interested in letting you keep the change to invest in the very things you will need to invest in.
Signed,
Orthonomics
[Updated] To address a comment in the comments section:
I'm surprised no one is bringing up what, at least to me, seems like an obvious problem here: by signing Form 4361, you are certifying that you are conscientiously opposed to, or that because of your religious principles you are opposed to accepting public insurance. The question raised in this post is opting out of Social Security payments because you want to save that money and/or reinvest it yourself. By signing this form, you're basically lying. I don't know of any Jewish religious principle that opposes public insurance; in fact, I would argue quite to the contrary, but that's a different topic for a different day.
I wrote the following: "Opting out of Social Security/Medicare is something I don't see younger Rabbis doing, but it isn't unheard of amongst the older Rabbinate. Perhaps the requirements have changed over time, but I'm not quite sure what religious objection we have to a public insurance system. . . . " In other words, I'm not sure why some Rabbis in the past opted out and I don't have the historical knowledge of the system to determine if clergy could automatically pass on these withholdings without religious objection. Like I noted above, concerns over the viability of the social security system are not "valid reasons for religious objections."
And quite honestly, have am concerned by the discussion in this post as focusing solely on the money savings and pros and cons of opting out of paying this tax. Am I reading this whole thing wrong? I would expect differently from this blog so am a bit surprised.
I'm disucssing the financial issues because I believe that is what promoted the reader to think about leaving the system which is why I concentrated on the pragmatic issues. I did a little research on numerous statements from different church denominations, none of which came out and said signing would be "assur" but all of which said we strongly recommend against this and which asked the clergy member "are you really being honest with youself?" I think if the couple gets past the money issue, they can then ask themself, do I really have a religious objection. Like social security or not (I have plenty of reservations), if the family still wanted to opt out, their next stop should be a posek with a reputation of integrity. I don't know of any religious objection, but then again, I know people in the frum community who don't believe in buying life insurance or saving for retirement for "bitachon" reasons. I think they are sorely mistaken, but if people think that saving for retirement isn't "Jewish" I imagine that they could have the same objection to this safety net.
Don't worry, the blog hasn't changed. Just my approach to the issue was too heavily focused on the pragmatics.
I'm a lurker and comment rarely, I agree with most of your opinions on finance and would love to hear your opinion about my situation. Husband and I are in kiruv, self employed with four children KA"H, our combined income amounts to 46K, we are considering opting out of social security, do you think it is worth it for us? Provided of course, that we invest the equivalent properly.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for bringing up an interesting question. Opting out of Social Security/Medicare is something I don't see younger Rabbis doing, but it isn't unheard of amongst the older Rabbinate. Perhaps the requirements have changed over time, but I'm not quite sure what religious objection we have to a public insurance system as issues regarding the financial sustainability of social security are not valid religious grounds for objections. The Form 4361 is the form needed to opt out and needs to be filed by the second year in the clergy.
The consequence of opting out of social security is that a member of the clergy can no longer receive Social Security, Medicare, or any other welfare program. I'm not quite certain if this means you would be ineligible for all the various welfare credits that already flow through the IRS Form 1040 in the form of "refundable credits" or if this is only exempts you from Food Stamps, WIC (?), Pell Grants, etc. Nonetheless for the $3519 (7.65% of salary) that you would be saving from your half of the employment taxes, you will be losing access to a great deal of programs. (Note: You mentioned being self-employed, but I'm not sure if that is in kiruv or another activity).
The Christian Church has built up numerous "financial ministries" and none seem particularly enthusiastic about members opting out, for both ethical reasons and financial reasons. The United Methodist Church strongly advises its clergy not to exercise this option. Crown Ministries advises clergy that when they opt out of social security they will need to consider income replacement in retirement, purchasing life and disability insurance, and replacing medicare coverage. The truth is that every single one of us who pays into social security needs to do all of the above, especially when you are considering a large family and (yes!) Yeshiva Tuition.
I don't believe that at this income level you will have the means to take the excess and invest all of it. And given the specific concerns in the frum community regarding paying for private schooling, I think you would be nuts to opt out of Social Security, Medicare, all welfare programs, and expect that the "powers that be" will be interested in letting you keep the change to invest in the very things you will need to invest in.
Signed,
Orthonomics
[Updated] To address a comment in the comments section:
I'm surprised no one is bringing up what, at least to me, seems like an obvious problem here: by signing Form 4361, you are certifying that you are conscientiously opposed to, or that because of your religious principles you are opposed to accepting public insurance. The question raised in this post is opting out of Social Security payments because you want to save that money and/or reinvest it yourself. By signing this form, you're basically lying. I don't know of any Jewish religious principle that opposes public insurance; in fact, I would argue quite to the contrary, but that's a different topic for a different day.
I wrote the following: "Opting out of Social Security/Medicare is something I don't see younger Rabbis doing, but it isn't unheard of amongst the older Rabbinate. Perhaps the requirements have changed over time, but I'm not quite sure what religious objection we have to a public insurance system. . . . " In other words, I'm not sure why some Rabbis in the past opted out and I don't have the historical knowledge of the system to determine if clergy could automatically pass on these withholdings without religious objection. Like I noted above, concerns over the viability of the social security system are not "valid reasons for religious objections."
And quite honestly, have am concerned by the discussion in this post as focusing solely on the money savings and pros and cons of opting out of paying this tax. Am I reading this whole thing wrong? I would expect differently from this blog so am a bit surprised.
I'm disucssing the financial issues because I believe that is what promoted the reader to think about leaving the system which is why I concentrated on the pragmatic issues. I did a little research on numerous statements from different church denominations, none of which came out and said signing would be "assur" but all of which said we strongly recommend against this and which asked the clergy member "are you really being honest with youself?" I think if the couple gets past the money issue, they can then ask themself, do I really have a religious objection. Like social security or not (I have plenty of reservations), if the family still wanted to opt out, their next stop should be a posek with a reputation of integrity. I don't know of any religious objection, but then again, I know people in the frum community who don't believe in buying life insurance or saving for retirement for "bitachon" reasons. I think they are sorely mistaken, but if people think that saving for retirement isn't "Jewish" I imagine that they could have the same objection to this safety net.
Don't worry, the blog hasn't changed. Just my approach to the issue was too heavily focused on the pragmatics.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
More Economic Terrorism
I find the economic terrorism coming out of the Chareidi community to be particularly infuriating, especially in light of recent reports regarding the employment and state of poverty in this community. The Chareidi entrepreneur and business owner does not just have to deal with the usual headaches of red tape and tax. The Chareidi entrepreneur has to deal with self-appointed Vaadim that look to enforce standards of tzniut through duress. I believe this would be a bigger headache than dealing with just about any other red tape. Even if the business owner has secured permits, completed legal paper, and paid their taxes, the businessman always has to watch their back as idle and unstable men with plenty of time on their hands look to "enforce tznius standards."
Since I've started this blog, I've seen so many stories of businesses attacked by these self-appointed Vaadim. Anything relating to women seems particularly susceptible. In Israel, we've seen stories of clothing boutiques being threatened and even set on fire. A popular vocation for kollel wives in Israel is cosmetician services. But don't dare advertise your business in Modiin Ilit! The kehilla committee, has told publications that they are not to publish advertisements for eyebrow shaping, even if the ad is text only. Pharmacy and grocery stores in Israel face special challenges regarding kashrut demands and specific opening hours. Under normal circumstances the market would dictate things like opening hours or even having separate shopping hours or areas for which feminine products are to be secluded. But the Chareidi business man or the business man looking to establish a store in a Charieidi area knows that demands must be met even if the market might dictate a different policy. American pharmacy owners in areas like Boro Park or Lakewood also face similar challenges.
Even in America, a boycott was announcement when the owner of sheitel shop on the same street as Yeshiva Chaim Berlin refused the demand of some man to remove framed pictures (I guess this is better than requesting the removal of real live women walking around in the same sheitels).
So what is the newest report of economic terrorism? It regards an ice cream store (!)-- not a sheitel shop, not a women's education program, not a call center manned by Chareidi women, a cosmetician advertising eyebrow shaping services, a women looking to sell clothing, a woman looking to teach the arts to other women and girls, or a pharmacy being told to keep the pads out of public view or remove/cover a picture of a teen star (in a sheitel of her own no less).
As per this report published today, a new ice cream and candy store, Zisalek of Geulah, has found itself in the middle of a hashgacha battle and has faced protests regarding tznius, hashkafa, and ruchniyus. The store owner met with protesters and agree to institute the following to appease them:
The store owner wouldn't agree to have female employees only sell to females and male employees only sell to males. (The quick way to bankruptcy!)
Running a business and making a profit is very difficult work! Profit margins in nearly every industry are normally very slim and adding demands that increase the most costly area of business (payroll) is sure to topple a business. To place demand upon demand upon Chareidi entrepreneurs looking to support their families in dignity is nothing but Economic Terrorism. The market will decide if it is in the best interest of a store to close at 10:30pm! The market will decide if it is in the best of the store to have an employee scooping ice cream after 1pm on Erev Shabbat!
I think it is obvious that self-appointed tzniut vaadim aren't the least bit interested in the financial health of their communities. (I'd argue that being self-supporting is integral to tzniut/dignity. "Hustling" certainly lacks dignity). Leaders, both lay and Gedolim, who are interested in the financial health of the community MUST tackle this issue with courage and allow businesses to function and prosper.
Since I've started this blog, I've seen so many stories of businesses attacked by these self-appointed Vaadim. Anything relating to women seems particularly susceptible. In Israel, we've seen stories of clothing boutiques being threatened and even set on fire. A popular vocation for kollel wives in Israel is cosmetician services. But don't dare advertise your business in Modiin Ilit! The kehilla committee, has told publications that they are not to publish advertisements for eyebrow shaping, even if the ad is text only. Pharmacy and grocery stores in Israel face special challenges regarding kashrut demands and specific opening hours. Under normal circumstances the market would dictate things like opening hours or even having separate shopping hours or areas for which feminine products are to be secluded. But the Chareidi business man or the business man looking to establish a store in a Charieidi area knows that demands must be met even if the market might dictate a different policy. American pharmacy owners in areas like Boro Park or Lakewood also face similar challenges.
Even in America, a boycott was announcement when the owner of sheitel shop on the same street as Yeshiva Chaim Berlin refused the demand of some man to remove framed pictures (I guess this is better than requesting the removal of real live women walking around in the same sheitels).
So what is the newest report of economic terrorism? It regards an ice cream store (!)-- not a sheitel shop, not a women's education program, not a call center manned by Chareidi women, a cosmetician advertising eyebrow shaping services, a women looking to sell clothing, a woman looking to teach the arts to other women and girls, or a pharmacy being told to keep the pads out of public view or remove/cover a picture of a teen star (in a sheitel of her own no less).
As per this report published today, a new ice cream and candy store, Zisalek of Geulah, has found itself in the middle of a hashgacha battle and has faced protests regarding tznius, hashkafa, and ruchniyus. The store owner met with protesters and agree to institute the following to appease them:
1. The store won’t sell on Erev Shabbos after 1 p.m. ice cream that can be eaten immediately, such as ice cream cones, and will only sell at that point packaged ice cream that can be bought for families for Shabbos.
2. The store will not open on Motzoei Shabbos.
3. The store will close at 10:30 p.m. each night.
The store owner wouldn't agree to have female employees only sell to females and male employees only sell to males. (The quick way to bankruptcy!)
Running a business and making a profit is very difficult work! Profit margins in nearly every industry are normally very slim and adding demands that increase the most costly area of business (payroll) is sure to topple a business. To place demand upon demand upon Chareidi entrepreneurs looking to support their families in dignity is nothing but Economic Terrorism. The market will decide if it is in the best interest of a store to close at 10:30pm! The market will decide if it is in the best of the store to have an employee scooping ice cream after 1pm on Erev Shabbat!
I think it is obvious that self-appointed tzniut vaadim aren't the least bit interested in the financial health of their communities. (I'd argue that being self-supporting is integral to tzniut/dignity. "Hustling" certainly lacks dignity). Leaders, both lay and Gedolim, who are interested in the financial health of the community MUST tackle this issue with courage and allow businesses to function and prosper.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Office Depot Work Life Rewards Program
I already gave a review of the Staples Rewards programs which I enjoy very much. From time to time, I've shopped at Office Depot, but I've never seen a group of deals so incredible that I had to get myself there in a jiffy.
Office Depot has a rewards program called Work Life Rewards. Just like the Staples Rewards program, a percentage is awarded for different types of purchases including a 10% award on ink, toner, paper, and copy and print services.
This week there is an entire page of great items where the reward is 100% which ultimately makes me only responsible for the sales tax. I will use the rewards to buy ink. Rewards are issued at the end of the quarter in the form of a gift card. I expect to receive our gift card right in time for back to school shopping, which incidentally is a great time to stock up on small gifts for birthday party favors or small gifts. Customers can purchase 2 per day. I didn't take advantage of each offer, but I picked up a lot of great things for my home office including 2 packages of 5 bankers boxes, 2 large plastic filing boxes, 2 of those absolutely fantastic staplers (I know it is ridiculous to get all giddy about a stapler, but I'm tired of fighting mine and these work like a dream!), 2 packages of paper clips, 2 packages of Scotch Tape Refills (8 total!), 2 pallettes of bottled water (40 total), a handheld label maker, 3600 printable Avery labels, and 5 packages of colored highlighters (10 total).
I resisted the temptation to purchase any more than I plan to spend on ink come August, something I spend a good amount of money on yearly.
This is the week for a trip to the Office Depot!
Office Depot has a rewards program called Work Life Rewards. Just like the Staples Rewards program, a percentage is awarded for different types of purchases including a 10% award on ink, toner, paper, and copy and print services.
This week there is an entire page of great items where the reward is 100% which ultimately makes me only responsible for the sales tax. I will use the rewards to buy ink. Rewards are issued at the end of the quarter in the form of a gift card. I expect to receive our gift card right in time for back to school shopping, which incidentally is a great time to stock up on small gifts for birthday party favors or small gifts. Customers can purchase 2 per day. I didn't take advantage of each offer, but I picked up a lot of great things for my home office including 2 packages of 5 bankers boxes, 2 large plastic filing boxes, 2 of those absolutely fantastic staplers (I know it is ridiculous to get all giddy about a stapler, but I'm tired of fighting mine and these work like a dream!), 2 packages of paper clips, 2 packages of Scotch Tape Refills (8 total!), 2 pallettes of bottled water (40 total), a handheld label maker, 3600 printable Avery labels, and 5 packages of colored highlighters (10 total).
I resisted the temptation to purchase any more than I plan to spend on ink come August, something I spend a good amount of money on yearly.
This is the week for a trip to the Office Depot!
Required Reading: A Smorg of Economic Stats
The Jerusalem Post has a very interesting editorial titled Downhill, by the numbers. This report looks at numerous economic indicators in Israel, only one of which is particularly positive. I'm always amazed how new articles on my radar seem to continue a subject from a different post. This post provides more background on the outrageous statements made by Gafni which I posted about on Friday, In Other Words. . . It's the Man's Fault.
The article examines a number of economic indicators shared by the researcher Prof. Ben-David of the Taub Center for Social Policy Study who believes that the "findings show an unsustainable burden is being placed on the fewer and fewer Israelis who can contribute effectively. Reform is urgent, and it must begin with education."
Here are some of the economic indicators of note from the article:
*GDP: Israel had caught up with the G-7's rising rate by the 1970s, but has been slipping steadily behind over the past 30 years or so.
*Brain Drain: For every 100 British academic scholars at work in Britain, 2.1 British scholars had moved to the US. For France, the number was 2.9. For Italy, 4.2. For Canada, 12.2. And for Israel, 24.9.
*He gave me worrying figures on labor productivity – Israel had caught up with the G-7’s rising rate by the 1970s, but has been slipping steadily behind over the past 30 years or so. And then he described the related fall-off in GDP – the data that essentially governs our living standards: *Welfare: In 1979, 26 percent of Israeli families lived below the poverty line before tax and welfare adjustments. By 2008, that figure was 32.3% – a vast increase compared to the OECD countries that are his barometer, leaving Israel second only to the US in terms of the numbers reliant on the overburdened state system.
*Employment: Re able bodied men aged 35-54, non employment in the OECD averages 11.9%. Spain the worst afflicted at 14.5%. In Israel, the rate is 18.9%. In that age group, 27% of Israeli Arab males and 65.1% of haredim are unemployed.
*Growth of the Arab and Hareidi Sector: 1960, 15% of kids going into primary school came from the Arab and haredi sectors. By the 1980s, 26%. In 2000, 40%. In 2008, 48%. (The 2040 projection is 78%, but I prefer sticking to the known, not the unknown).
*Employment for those who don't complete high school: In th 29-54 age range, fewer than 10% of Arab women in that demographic have work while 70% of their counterparts with a degree have work. 90% of Arab men and non-hareidi Jewish men and women with degrees have work.
Ben-David points out that these stats are worrying in terms of sovereignty as a nation. Ben-David had a chance to meet with Porush to present his findings and address his concerns regarding education. According to Ben-David: "Porush responded that if only the haredim were exempted from IDF service, more would join the labor force – which is not born out by the data – and he disagreed on the haredi sector’s educational needs. His response was unacceptable. It won’t work."
The positive indicator is one that the religious community and the hareidi community can claim a great deal of credit for: "The average woman aged 15-49 in the OECD countries has 1.7 kids, he noted, with New Zealand topping the league at 2.2. The average Israeli woman in that age-range has three kids."
Read the entire article for Prof. Ben-David's commentary. Also, if you want, see Haaretz which also is covering some of the data.
The article examines a number of economic indicators shared by the researcher Prof. Ben-David of the Taub Center for Social Policy Study who believes that the "findings show an unsustainable burden is being placed on the fewer and fewer Israelis who can contribute effectively. Reform is urgent, and it must begin with education."
Here are some of the economic indicators of note from the article:
*GDP: Israel had caught up with the G-7's rising rate by the 1970s, but has been slipping steadily behind over the past 30 years or so.
*Brain Drain: For every 100 British academic scholars at work in Britain, 2.1 British scholars had moved to the US. For France, the number was 2.9. For Italy, 4.2. For Canada, 12.2. And for Israel, 24.9.
*He gave me worrying figures on labor productivity – Israel had caught up with the G-7’s rising rate by the 1970s, but has been slipping steadily behind over the past 30 years or so. And then he described the related fall-off in GDP – the data that essentially governs our living standards: *Welfare: In 1979, 26 percent of Israeli families lived below the poverty line before tax and welfare adjustments. By 2008, that figure was 32.3% – a vast increase compared to the OECD countries that are his barometer, leaving Israel second only to the US in terms of the numbers reliant on the overburdened state system.
*Employment: Re able bodied men aged 35-54, non employment in the OECD averages 11.9%. Spain the worst afflicted at 14.5%. In Israel, the rate is 18.9%. In that age group, 27% of Israeli Arab males and 65.1% of haredim are unemployed.
*Growth of the Arab and Hareidi Sector: 1960, 15% of kids going into primary school came from the Arab and haredi sectors. By the 1980s, 26%. In 2000, 40%. In 2008, 48%. (The 2040 projection is 78%, but I prefer sticking to the known, not the unknown).
*Employment for those who don't complete high school: In th 29-54 age range, fewer than 10% of Arab women in that demographic have work while 70% of their counterparts with a degree have work. 90% of Arab men and non-hareidi Jewish men and women with degrees have work.
Ben-David points out that these stats are worrying in terms of sovereignty as a nation. Ben-David had a chance to meet with Porush to present his findings and address his concerns regarding education. According to Ben-David: "Porush responded that if only the haredim were exempted from IDF service, more would join the labor force – which is not born out by the data – and he disagreed on the haredi sector’s educational needs. His response was unacceptable. It won’t work."
The positive indicator is one that the religious community and the hareidi community can claim a great deal of credit for: "The average woman aged 15-49 in the OECD countries has 1.7 kids, he noted, with New Zealand topping the league at 2.2. The average Israeli woman in that age-range has three kids."
Read the entire article for Prof. Ben-David's commentary. Also, if you want, see Haaretz which also is covering some of the data.
Monday, April 12, 2010
I've Had an Unfortunate Misunderstanding Too
There is a story on VIN News stating that a former story detailing an attempted abduction wasn't really really an attempted abduction but rather an "unfortunate misunderstanding." According to official reports, the Hispanic suspect, who stepped out of his car and grabbed a 10 year old boy by the arm, wasn't attempting to abduct him, as onlookers suspected. Rather, the man was reacting to the boy darting in front of his Jeep. His reaction was to step out of his Jeep and yell at the boy while grabbing him by the arm. Commentors seem to agree that touching the kid is completely unacceptable. Personally, when a kid steps in front of my car, I get really hot under the collar. It is very scary to nearly hit someone.
This story reminds me of something which happened to me when I was single and in which I learned the 11th commandment: NEVER (especially with any physicality) are you to discipline another parent's child. This rule was reinforced to me again when I became a parent and, while our two toddlers were in my line of vision, I told my friend's son to stop immediately as he went in to bite my son (again). I was quickly told by my friend that discipline best comes from a parent and that she would appreciate it if I didn't attempt to discipline her son. Being that the kicking and biting was all too regular and I didn't feel the time-outs were working, I decided to put a hold on future play dates because it seemed to me ,that without being on the same page with the other parent in light of this issue, we were better off seeking other friends.
When I was single, I was at a Friday Night Shabbat Community Dinner attended by around 80 individuals. Somehow, I ended up seated at a table with one other single (male) and a group of boys who probably averaged 10 years old. The boys were nothing but rude, speaking loudly and rudely whenever they pleased, and the Rabbi couldn't seem to get a word in edgewise. From the looks on the faces of the adults who were our parents' ages and older, it was obvious that they were quite embarrassed and very annoyed (I confirmed this to be true at the conclusion of the evening).
So we two single adults and all adults who were in the grandparent age range were watching the table where the parents of these boys were sitting. Everyone seemed to be waiting for one of the parents to walk over to the table and escort the misbehaved boys out of the room. One mother kept giving her boys the cut it out hand motion, but wasn't approaching the table, so it wasn't really helping. The adults of grandparent age kept shooting looks at both the boys and the parents, but this too wasn't getting the job done.
Finally I turned to the other single at the table (we were most annoyed since we kept getting kicked in the cross fire under the table and I was frankly tired of telling the boys to be quiet and being rude to the speaker) and said, "I think I am going to have to get this job done." So I grabbed the worst of the culprits by the arm (lucky this was an MO community or I might have found myself in hot water for tzniut issues) and attempted to take him escort him from the room. As soon as I tried to move him, he started kicking and thrashing and the other single stepped in to help me transport him.
The next morning I was pulled aside by the parents who were sitting on their sidelines as the boys interrupted the speaker, and I was informed that what we did was completely inappropriate and that discipline should be left to the parents. I just nodded. The consensus was clear. (Later I had another incident where some of the boys were eating the kiddush food I was trying to set out, when approached, the step-father of one boy told me that this kid wasn't his responsibility. . . perhaps you shouldn't take him to shul with you then?)
At this point in my life, I really don't bother to try and step in. Recently there was another incident involving a group of girl bullies to which I was witness when leaving the park with my own kid that I related to a friend over lunch. My friend told me that she would have grabbed the a bully or two by the hands and walked them over to their parents so they could take care of the issue.
I agreed with her that this should have taken place and encouraged her to not loose her instinct. Years ago, I might have done the same thing. But today, I find myself more weak in such matters. I most certainly want other parents to call my kids out if/when they are behaving badly, but I don't feel as though I can call out other children without some type of repercussion; the worst repercussion being accused of something criminal by a parent that militantly believes you must NEVER touch a kid who isn't your own, which is sometimes the only way to gain compliance. So I mostly don't even bother to even try. It seems pointless to approach other parents who aren't on the same page about issues of behavior, especially where they are more socially respectable (which they usually are). But ultimately it just isn't just.
Also see Perfume Shops vs. Garbage Dumps. I guess child rearing is on my mind again.
This story reminds me of something which happened to me when I was single and in which I learned the 11th commandment: NEVER (especially with any physicality) are you to discipline another parent's child. This rule was reinforced to me again when I became a parent and, while our two toddlers were in my line of vision, I told my friend's son to stop immediately as he went in to bite my son (again). I was quickly told by my friend that discipline best comes from a parent and that she would appreciate it if I didn't attempt to discipline her son. Being that the kicking and biting was all too regular and I didn't feel the time-outs were working, I decided to put a hold on future play dates because it seemed to me ,that without being on the same page with the other parent in light of this issue, we were better off seeking other friends.
When I was single, I was at a Friday Night Shabbat Community Dinner attended by around 80 individuals. Somehow, I ended up seated at a table with one other single (male) and a group of boys who probably averaged 10 years old. The boys were nothing but rude, speaking loudly and rudely whenever they pleased, and the Rabbi couldn't seem to get a word in edgewise. From the looks on the faces of the adults who were our parents' ages and older, it was obvious that they were quite embarrassed and very annoyed (I confirmed this to be true at the conclusion of the evening).
So we two single adults and all adults who were in the grandparent age range were watching the table where the parents of these boys were sitting. Everyone seemed to be waiting for one of the parents to walk over to the table and escort the misbehaved boys out of the room. One mother kept giving her boys the cut it out hand motion, but wasn't approaching the table, so it wasn't really helping. The adults of grandparent age kept shooting looks at both the boys and the parents, but this too wasn't getting the job done.
Finally I turned to the other single at the table (we were most annoyed since we kept getting kicked in the cross fire under the table and I was frankly tired of telling the boys to be quiet and being rude to the speaker) and said, "I think I am going to have to get this job done." So I grabbed the worst of the culprits by the arm (lucky this was an MO community or I might have found myself in hot water for tzniut issues) and attempted to take him escort him from the room. As soon as I tried to move him, he started kicking and thrashing and the other single stepped in to help me transport him.
The next morning I was pulled aside by the parents who were sitting on their sidelines as the boys interrupted the speaker, and I was informed that what we did was completely inappropriate and that discipline should be left to the parents. I just nodded. The consensus was clear. (Later I had another incident where some of the boys were eating the kiddush food I was trying to set out, when approached, the step-father of one boy told me that this kid wasn't his responsibility. . . perhaps you shouldn't take him to shul with you then?)
At this point in my life, I really don't bother to try and step in. Recently there was another incident involving a group of girl bullies to which I was witness when leaving the park with my own kid that I related to a friend over lunch. My friend told me that she would have grabbed the a bully or two by the hands and walked them over to their parents so they could take care of the issue.
I agreed with her that this should have taken place and encouraged her to not loose her instinct. Years ago, I might have done the same thing. But today, I find myself more weak in such matters. I most certainly want other parents to call my kids out if/when they are behaving badly, but I don't feel as though I can call out other children without some type of repercussion; the worst repercussion being accused of something criminal by a parent that militantly believes you must NEVER touch a kid who isn't your own, which is sometimes the only way to gain compliance. So I mostly don't even bother to even try. It seems pointless to approach other parents who aren't on the same page about issues of behavior, especially where they are more socially respectable (which they usually are). But ultimately it just isn't just.
Also see Perfume Shops vs. Garbage Dumps. I guess child rearing is on my mind again.
Friday, April 09, 2010
In Other Words. . . It's the Man's Fault
Note: There is another posting made today also. Shabbat Shalom to all my readers.
Hat Tip: The Wolf who has just about covered the economic aspects of the post.
News Flash: Israeli Chareidi leadership believes in the economic fallacy of a limited pie, whereas high income earners and the wealthy are keeping the poor poor. There is no recognition of lack of *marketable skills* or putting the cart before the horse as families try to play catchup they first have a (large) family and last plant a vineyard. Chazal were observers of the human condition. These leaders, not particularly.
In other words, the state of poverty in the Chareidi community can all be blamed on "the man." So it appears we have our own [insert name of self-proclaimed or elected leader]s who are completely unwilling to take a good look in the mirror and who, worse yet, have NO trust in the people they claim to represent. I'd go so far as to say that they believe those they represent are incapable.
It is very painful to watch this community being led off an economic cliff. It is even harder to see that their own are leading them to the precipitous. Here are the money quotes:
"The country is lying to its citizens. Once again it has been shown that leaving the ranks of welfare recipients and joining the job market does not change the situation and people who work very hard for their living are unable to make ends meet."
"The problem is especially acute in the chareidi public. The state does not recognize the years of yeshiva and seminary study as it recognizes the years of study of its secular citizens. As a result both husband and wife who work earn paltry salaries, and are unable to extract the family from the cycle of poverty. On the other hand there are people earning as much as an entire neighborhood."
"We need a far-reaching change and a totally new attitude. There are enormous class gaps in this country that will turn into an existential social problem."
"Going to work solves nothing; that's all nonsense. In the State of Israel, today someone who wants to get out of the cycle of poverty has to network with the elites and the power centers just to get a decent salary that will really enable him to make a respectable living." [So start by earning an "unrespectable" living as our sages did].
"His dismissed out of hand claims that the chareidi public is to blame for a state of poverty rooted in a failure to enter the job market."
The one this that Gafni has right is this:
"These class disparities have led to very difficult situations throughout history in all places. . . . . " But I imagine what he has in mind isn't at all what I have in mind.
Hat Tip: The Wolf who has just about covered the economic aspects of the post.
News Flash: Israeli Chareidi leadership believes in the economic fallacy of a limited pie, whereas high income earners and the wealthy are keeping the poor poor. There is no recognition of lack of *marketable skills* or putting the cart before the horse as families try to play catchup they first have a (large) family and last plant a vineyard. Chazal were observers of the human condition. These leaders, not particularly.
In other words, the state of poverty in the Chareidi community can all be blamed on "the man." So it appears we have our own [insert name of self-proclaimed or elected leader]s who are completely unwilling to take a good look in the mirror and who, worse yet, have NO trust in the people they claim to represent. I'd go so far as to say that they believe those they represent are incapable.
It is very painful to watch this community being led off an economic cliff. It is even harder to see that their own are leading them to the precipitous. Here are the money quotes:
"The country is lying to its citizens. Once again it has been shown that leaving the ranks of welfare recipients and joining the job market does not change the situation and people who work very hard for their living are unable to make ends meet."
"The problem is especially acute in the chareidi public. The state does not recognize the years of yeshiva and seminary study as it recognizes the years of study of its secular citizens. As a result both husband and wife who work earn paltry salaries, and are unable to extract the family from the cycle of poverty. On the other hand there are people earning as much as an entire neighborhood."
"We need a far-reaching change and a totally new attitude. There are enormous class gaps in this country that will turn into an existential social problem."
"Going to work solves nothing; that's all nonsense. In the State of Israel, today someone who wants to get out of the cycle of poverty has to network with the elites and the power centers just to get a decent salary that will really enable him to make a respectable living." [So start by earning an "unrespectable" living as our sages did].
"His dismissed out of hand claims that the chareidi public is to blame for a state of poverty rooted in a failure to enter the job market."
The one this that Gafni has right is this:
"These class disparities have led to very difficult situations throughout history in all places. . . . . " But I imagine what he has in mind isn't at all what I have in mind.
Perfume Shops Vs. Garbage Dumps
I was joking with my husband about just how long it would take for someone to pen a letter to some frum publication about the horrible behavior witnessed on a Chol Hamoed trip, and it didn't take long for the subject to rear its ugly head. YWN has a letter regarding bad behavior witnessed at Great Adventures. It is all the regular stuff: trash strewn all over the place, pushing and cutting, general rudeness, disregard for safety rules, leaving a 2 year old to watch a baby. . . .you know, the regular fare. Likely those who can't function within society in a manner that doesn't draw negative attention and reaction are in the minority, but they are a very loud, seemingly large, and annoying minority.
And this is exactly why we pass on large organized chol ha'moed trips! That, and the fact that I prefer to spend family time with my own family, not with my neighbor's brother's nephew's Rebbe's mechutanim's grandchildren.
There is a commentary on on sentence in Dayeinu which I have seen in numerous places and which probably came home in a Haggadah produced in school about the value of simply being in an environment of taharah (i.e. the perfume shop) rather than being seeped in an environment of tumah (i.e. the Garbage Dump). At the sedarim, each elementary school child repeated this commentary and the pshat that I believe your average Yeshiva/Bais Yaacov student walks away with is the importance of insularity within the klal and the importance of avoiding the contamination of the outside world. Organized Chol Hamoed trips to the amusement park are attractive if you are concerned about short shorts, bikini tops, and teenagers that can't keep their hands off each other. But I have plenty of concern about the environment within our own klal which keep me passing on such trips, to say nothing of more regular activities.
I wonder if the kids who are learning such commentaries will ever consider the commentary beyond the message of inside=good, outside=bad. But within the inside, there are plenty of messages, subtle and not so subtle, that our kids are picking up and that I believe has resulted in a lot of the mess we see too often see today. I don't spend a lot of time at this point in my life worrying about the outside world. Simply put, my children's access is rather limited, and just like my parents who have turned off a movie right in the middle when an unexpected scene popped up, I'm more than happy to "pull the plug" too. But what about the messages that they are getting that we might not even know about? For example, I read a book in a family member's home that I believe is marketed to the pre-teen girls which was, quite frankly, appalling and age-inappropriate. (In the unnamed book's defense, my husband believes it is perhaps targeted to an older group, which doesn't exactly instill confidence in the reading level of whatever group is targeted, nor would I care for my teenager reading the book either). Nonetheless, just because something is published by a known frum company, doesn't put it in the "Perfume Category" by default.
Back to just downright pushy and rude behavior (I've been on the receiving end of plenty too), many would like to blame the outside world, but I think these issues are mostly internal issues and those of us who are concerned about the underlying issues that lead to "chillul Hashem" should start by taking a look at the Perfume (and the Garbage) in the shop. When we got married, we didn't know too much about the local schools, but there was an assumption that we would probably take one path over another. But along the journey to enrollment, I've seen a lot and had numerous interactions that led to a different path. While there will always be issues with students no matter what the environment, my main concern is how issues are dealt with. E.g., at some point, a student will damage or deface property, but how will staff react? Will staff and administration ensure that those responsible for the damage be responsible for rectifying the situation, or will they take a "boys will be boys" (and there is nothing we can do about it) position? Does the administration treat each subject and each staff member with the authority they need to manage a classroom, or are certain teachers treated with lesser importance? Are students expected to keep the school clean and neat, or there an assumption that this is what the janitor is for? If a student is caught, red handed no less, committing a crime of some degree, does the administration coddle, or make sure restitution is made?
A lot of the behavior that the letter writer notes is behavior I see right in the halls of local schools, in shuls, and in homes. It doesn't surprise me that park workers' instructions are ignored, such behavior is ingrained in too many students as basically have permission to ignore certain teachers, subjects, homework, start times, and deadlines. It doesn't surprise me that trash is left everywhere, too many schools and homes for that matter are treated like a trash dump. I was once at an event in a public school where the kids literally threw their trash on the floor. When the kids were asked to help clean up, some of the mothers took their daughters by the hand and left! Lots of parents talk about just how difficult it is to have guests with younger children for Shabbat because their parents are unwilling to discipline and it always results in a big mess, broken toys, and sometimes even broken bigger ticket items.
The letter writes notes " a park show was cut short because the people in the audience were speaking very loudly, and walking around incessantly." Spend 5-10 minutes within some of our schools, camps, or extracurriculars and I guarantee you that you will find students who feel free to just up and leave. Walking around incessantly, that too is being ingrained in their muscles! I can't find the link, but there is a blogger who had children in public schools and then enrolled them in a day school and found the just up and leaving in the middle of class to be a most shocking difference. I couldn't agree with her more just how shocking this is, and nearly everyone I know who attended a regular public school also finds this to be an issue. But, when I've had the chance to speak with administrators and teachers about the up and leaving issues, as well as open truancy, it is as if I live on a different planet.
And maybe I do! On my planet, I take standing in line and waiting your turn patiently, treating people and property (!) with respect, and sitting on your rear in class for respectable stretch of time to be absolutely imperative. I know I'm out of step.
And on a final note, perhaps what Great Adventures need is my parents to monitor! I remember a trip to a well known park when I was right around middle school age in which a few unsupervised teenagers cut in our line. My parents told them in no uncertain terms that they were to step to the back of the line immediately, and (today this might be surprising), but they did so pretty quickly. Today, kids as young as 3 know how to say "you can't make me." I said a lot of snarky things growing up, but that wasn't one of them, nor was "you can't tell me what to do, your not my Mommy" because, uh, whatever another adult or teacher could dole out would be nothing in comparison to what might happen at home, so it was best to avoid finding out. Naturally, I was as embarrassed as could by some of the more memorable moments with my parents (how uncool they were), but as an adult I really respect parents, adults, and teachers who know that they are in charge. I wish I could be stronger, but today, asking a kid who knocked right into you (7 months pregnant, mind you) right in front of his mother because he was running around wild right under her nose, just garners you a nasty look from the mother that says, "how dare you?" So there is a real uphill battle. My father used to tell me that when he was a kid, other parents felt free to take a hand to the rear of their son's friend and then walk him back to his home where his father could take care of the rest (this really happened to my father on an occasion or two, but likely not three). Today, we parents (and teachers) live in fear of even saying anything, much less doing what I am told is completely improper (disciplining your own kid in a public place). Until that changes, look forward to a repeat letter come Sukkot.
And this is exactly why we pass on large organized chol ha'moed trips! That, and the fact that I prefer to spend family time with my own family, not with my neighbor's brother's nephew's Rebbe's mechutanim's grandchildren.
There is a commentary on on sentence in Dayeinu which I have seen in numerous places and which probably came home in a Haggadah produced in school about the value of simply being in an environment of taharah (i.e. the perfume shop) rather than being seeped in an environment of tumah (i.e. the Garbage Dump). At the sedarim, each elementary school child repeated this commentary and the pshat that I believe your average Yeshiva/Bais Yaacov student walks away with is the importance of insularity within the klal and the importance of avoiding the contamination of the outside world. Organized Chol Hamoed trips to the amusement park are attractive if you are concerned about short shorts, bikini tops, and teenagers that can't keep their hands off each other. But I have plenty of concern about the environment within our own klal which keep me passing on such trips, to say nothing of more regular activities.
I wonder if the kids who are learning such commentaries will ever consider the commentary beyond the message of inside=good, outside=bad. But within the inside, there are plenty of messages, subtle and not so subtle, that our kids are picking up and that I believe has resulted in a lot of the mess we see too often see today. I don't spend a lot of time at this point in my life worrying about the outside world. Simply put, my children's access is rather limited, and just like my parents who have turned off a movie right in the middle when an unexpected scene popped up, I'm more than happy to "pull the plug" too. But what about the messages that they are getting that we might not even know about? For example, I read a book in a family member's home that I believe is marketed to the pre-teen girls which was, quite frankly, appalling and age-inappropriate. (In the unnamed book's defense, my husband believes it is perhaps targeted to an older group, which doesn't exactly instill confidence in the reading level of whatever group is targeted, nor would I care for my teenager reading the book either). Nonetheless, just because something is published by a known frum company, doesn't put it in the "Perfume Category" by default.
Back to just downright pushy and rude behavior (I've been on the receiving end of plenty too), many would like to blame the outside world, but I think these issues are mostly internal issues and those of us who are concerned about the underlying issues that lead to "chillul Hashem" should start by taking a look at the Perfume (and the Garbage) in the shop. When we got married, we didn't know too much about the local schools, but there was an assumption that we would probably take one path over another. But along the journey to enrollment, I've seen a lot and had numerous interactions that led to a different path. While there will always be issues with students no matter what the environment, my main concern is how issues are dealt with. E.g., at some point, a student will damage or deface property, but how will staff react? Will staff and administration ensure that those responsible for the damage be responsible for rectifying the situation, or will they take a "boys will be boys" (and there is nothing we can do about it) position? Does the administration treat each subject and each staff member with the authority they need to manage a classroom, or are certain teachers treated with lesser importance? Are students expected to keep the school clean and neat, or there an assumption that this is what the janitor is for? If a student is caught, red handed no less, committing a crime of some degree, does the administration coddle, or make sure restitution is made?
A lot of the behavior that the letter writer notes is behavior I see right in the halls of local schools, in shuls, and in homes. It doesn't surprise me that park workers' instructions are ignored, such behavior is ingrained in too many students as basically have permission to ignore certain teachers, subjects, homework, start times, and deadlines. It doesn't surprise me that trash is left everywhere, too many schools and homes for that matter are treated like a trash dump. I was once at an event in a public school where the kids literally threw their trash on the floor. When the kids were asked to help clean up, some of the mothers took their daughters by the hand and left! Lots of parents talk about just how difficult it is to have guests with younger children for Shabbat because their parents are unwilling to discipline and it always results in a big mess, broken toys, and sometimes even broken bigger ticket items.
The letter writes notes " a park show was cut short because the people in the audience were speaking very loudly, and walking around incessantly." Spend 5-10 minutes within some of our schools, camps, or extracurriculars and I guarantee you that you will find students who feel free to just up and leave. Walking around incessantly, that too is being ingrained in their muscles! I can't find the link, but there is a blogger who had children in public schools and then enrolled them in a day school and found the just up and leaving in the middle of class to be a most shocking difference. I couldn't agree with her more just how shocking this is, and nearly everyone I know who attended a regular public school also finds this to be an issue. But, when I've had the chance to speak with administrators and teachers about the up and leaving issues, as well as open truancy, it is as if I live on a different planet.
And maybe I do! On my planet, I take standing in line and waiting your turn patiently, treating people and property (!) with respect, and sitting on your rear in class for respectable stretch of time to be absolutely imperative. I know I'm out of step.
And on a final note, perhaps what Great Adventures need is my parents to monitor! I remember a trip to a well known park when I was right around middle school age in which a few unsupervised teenagers cut in our line. My parents told them in no uncertain terms that they were to step to the back of the line immediately, and (today this might be surprising), but they did so pretty quickly. Today, kids as young as 3 know how to say "you can't make me." I said a lot of snarky things growing up, but that wasn't one of them, nor was "you can't tell me what to do, your not my Mommy" because, uh, whatever another adult or teacher could dole out would be nothing in comparison to what might happen at home, so it was best to avoid finding out. Naturally, I was as embarrassed as could by some of the more memorable moments with my parents (how uncool they were), but as an adult I really respect parents, adults, and teachers who know that they are in charge. I wish I could be stronger, but today, asking a kid who knocked right into you (7 months pregnant, mind you) right in front of his mother because he was running around wild right under her nose, just garners you a nasty look from the mother that says, "how dare you?" So there is a real uphill battle. My father used to tell me that when he was a kid, other parents felt free to take a hand to the rear of their son's friend and then walk him back to his home where his father could take care of the rest (this really happened to my father on an occasion or two, but likely not three). Today, we parents (and teachers) live in fear of even saying anything, much less doing what I am told is completely improper (disciplining your own kid in a public place). Until that changes, look forward to a repeat letter come Sukkot.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Just More School News
This time out of Lakewood. An older, small Bais Yaakov closes with debt that I really am having a hard time grasping. I simply don't know how you get to the point of owing half a million to the IRS (read: tax with holdings as this is a 501(c)3, likely the majority of which is social security and medicare) and over $1,000,000 in liabilities in such a small school:
"By the winter of 2008, Bais Yaakov Elementary had all but crumbled. In debt to the Internal Revenue Service for nearly half a million dollars and delinquent on its mortgage, the girls' school of about 65 students stood almost solely on the crutches of last-minute donations. " [Orignial article here].
I'm really not at all interested in all the "politics, lawsuits and backbiting." When you have an IRS debt load per student of $7700 (rounded) in a town where tuition is rumored to be only $4000 or $5000 per year, the numbers are simply too hard to comprehend. The article states there are over $1,000,000 in liabilities. That exceeds $15,000 per student (which must translate into some truly astronomical figure per family)! I simply can't comprehend these numbers.
So that is the school news since my last post. The principal apparently pleaded with the judge to keep the school open as the kids supposedly will not be accepted elsewhere, are from poverty-stricken and "underprivileged" homes and will be "in the streets." Good thing the school is in bankruptcy court. Advertising potential truancy doesn't seem very wise in my opinion, but I digress.
Some hope the school will be purchased by someone with "deep pockets" so it can reopen. I hope that if this mythical figure with deep pockets swoops in to save the yeshiva system, or a part of it, he will not throw good money after loads of incomprehensible debt load. One of the first lessons I have learned in high school economics and was repeated through intermediate level econ, finance, and accounting courses: do not throw good money after bad.
"By the winter of 2008, Bais Yaakov Elementary had all but crumbled. In debt to the Internal Revenue Service for nearly half a million dollars and delinquent on its mortgage, the girls' school of about 65 students stood almost solely on the crutches of last-minute donations. " [Orignial article here].
I'm really not at all interested in all the "politics, lawsuits and backbiting." When you have an IRS debt load per student of $7700 (rounded) in a town where tuition is rumored to be only $4000 or $5000 per year, the numbers are simply too hard to comprehend. The article states there are over $1,000,000 in liabilities. That exceeds $15,000 per student (which must translate into some truly astronomical figure per family)! I simply can't comprehend these numbers.
So that is the school news since my last post. The principal apparently pleaded with the judge to keep the school open as the kids supposedly will not be accepted elsewhere, are from poverty-stricken and "underprivileged" homes and will be "in the streets." Good thing the school is in bankruptcy court. Advertising potential truancy doesn't seem very wise in my opinion, but I digress.
Some hope the school will be purchased by someone with "deep pockets" so it can reopen. I hope that if this mythical figure with deep pockets swoops in to save the yeshiva system, or a part of it, he will not throw good money after loads of incomprehensible debt load. One of the first lessons I have learned in high school economics and was repeated through intermediate level econ, finance, and accounting courses: do not throw good money after bad.
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