It's not so simple

There have been a number of articles (Op-eds) on various Chabad news websites, complaining about our educational system.  Some demanded a more relaxed schedule, while others suggested lowering the bar.  While I think it’s a great thing to bring up these ideas, to spur talk about these important issues, I would suggest that a slightly different tone be used.

One bochur wrote: “…If we can cultivate these qualities in the bochurim in both mesivta and zal, it should effectively eliminate the issues at hand…”  I will not go into the nitty gritties of his ideas, but I think that his statement that “these ideas” will save the day, at best denotes naivety.  The issues are extremely complex.  If someone comes along and says, “Here is the answer,” he is the last person I would want to listen to.  A wise person once said: “the reason there is no ‘shulchan aruch’ on chinuch is because there are no clear cut rules”. 

Moreover, it’s very easy to judge mechanchim, but do we ever place ourselves in their shoes?   If a principal calls a meeting to discuss a problem with the parents, often the principal is attacked: “How dare you say this about my child!”  Is it possible that this person who has 10-20 years of experience knows better than us? 

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