August 24, 2007
Florida Jewish Charter School Ordered to Halt Hebrew Classes
From JPost, US school ordered to halt Hebrew classes. This is the Jewish Charter school blogged about previously. The article doesn't give a clear reason as to why the Hebrew classes were shut down, just that various outside groups were concerned with the religious character of the curriculum.
I'm guessing that the school was using Bible verses or Mishna text to teach Hebrew (which, by the way, can be pretty effective. I taught myself Hebrew by learning Kehati). Having grown up going to public school, I'm pretty sure I was never asked to read a religious text for English class. Then again, I grew up in very-liberal Maryland; I'm sure there are public schools in the US that still require/incorporate specific religious texts/prayers/etc. into the curriculum or daily life of the schools. Which is a huge double standard.
Hat tip to Uncle Uhvi.
For what it is worth, our English Lit or American Lit textbook (9th and 10th grade respectively) contained much of the book of Genesis in it as reading material. We also studied Greek Mythology. The English teachers told us that if you didn't have a background in Bible and Mythology you would never understand the references in literature. It is just basic cultural literacy. Just thought I'd bring that up. I also went to public school in a more liberal state. . .. . but maybe not THAT liberal.
Posted by: Orthonomics at August 24, 2007 6:54 PMWe had a big unit on Greek mythology in 6th grade (one of my favorite times as a kid in school), but it was taught more from a literature/historical perspective, not a religious/faith perspective. I don't recall ever using canonical texts from any faith as source material.
Posted by: Greg at August 26, 2007 8:44 AMAnother term I learned in public school was rom the Christian Bible. I'm drawing a blank, pearls before swine?
Nothing was taught as doctrine, only literacy.
A Hebrew and Jewish culture public school headed by an Orthodox rabbi whose entire previous career was spent in day schools looks awfully like an attempt to do an end-run around the Constitution.
Given that Jews are both a nation and a religion I venture it would be possible to design a curriculum that passed constitutional muster but it would look awfully like a Hashomer HaTzair-style education and I wonder if the Orthodox rabbi principal would find it to his liking.
But I wonder if even then this venture would fall afoul of the "excessive entanglement" clause. If school administrators and/or judges have to spend a lot of time deciding what is and isn't religious, that in and of itself is probably enough to scuttle this school under the three-pronged "Lemon v. Kurzman" test.
Posted by: Charles at August 27, 2007 4:40 PMOne of the first articles on the school the principal stated that the school was not for parents who were looking for a religious curriculum and that he was going to continue to enroll his children in a Day School.
Posted by: Orthonomics at September 3, 2007 2:45 PM
