176. Yeshivas In The New York Times' Crosshairs

Last Sunday, the New York Times ran a front page article, “Failing Schools, Public Funds: Hasidic Students in NYS Are Deprived of Basic Skills.” The article describes the abysmal track record that many Hasidic schools have on standardized tests, their lack of secular education, and the government funding these schools receive without abiding by the government’s academic standards. There are also accusations of teachers hitting students, the hiring of unqualified teachers, censoring of secular textbooks, inaction from politicians due to Hasidic voting blocs and influence, and the extreme challenges faced by members of the community who leave the fold, but find that they are equipped with the basic skills needed to navigate the outside world. Rivky and Uri ask, what is this article really about? And what is the point of education? https://yuobserver.org/2022/09/what-the-pride-alliance-failed-to-learn-from-jewish-history/ https://yucommentator.org/2022/09/the-dangers-of-liberalism-and-why-yu-should-change-its-charter/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTp3R7h5JeieCsugLhZbvPjKjuKcIZnIELjThuwFI4rCSDBqaCK02E0oz1eqXTP8pUeb1TV21WITDWm/pub https://twitter.com/SruliFruchter/status/1537098109875998720 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/nyregion/hasidic-yeshivas-schools-new-york.html