Dear Mrs. Bluth,
I’m not sure that you can help me with my problem. However, I know a number of people personally who have benefited from reaching out to you with a number of diverse issues. With the hopes that you can pull off this miracle, I’m reaching out to you and your readership for whoever can be of help.
My daughter is graduating eighth grade this summer and we began looking into high schools with our hashkafa to send her. It became apparent that this would not be an easy task, as there are only a few high schools of the caliber and quality that we require, added to this is that our daughter, who is a good student but very quiet and talented in many ways but will not push herself to be noticed, comes across as someone who has social or ‘spectrum’ issues and the three schools we applied to did not accept her. There are 26 other girls who have been denied entrance to these schools, so it became a big problem that the community had to address. It was decided that a new high school would be started for these 26 girls who were denied entrance to existing high schools and this would be the first class. So, we were relieved that she has a high school to go to after the summer. This feeling, unfortunately, was short lived. We all got a call just this week that planning for the new school was not possible as the principal that was hired, quit the job and there is no chance of finding another one in time to open the next school year!
We are all at our wits end as to what to do. How can ‘yiddishe schools’ be so cruel and heartless as to allow this to happen? Forget about finding viable ways of integrating these 26 girls between the three existing high schools. Can you even imagine how these young girls feel, what it does to there self-esteem and self-image? To feel like they are worthless and unworthy of going to school, that no yiddishe school wants them? What message are we sending out? That only girls from wealthy homes are desirable over girls who are just as smart, just as talented and have just as much potential as the girls whose parents are wealthy and can buy their way in? I’m sorry I have to say it like that, but sadly, this is the truth. In the chassidishe world money talks and poverty walks! And we wonder why Moshiach doesn’t come?!
Please print my letter so maybe someone in your readership can help us and in that way you will have done a great thing for these blameless girls who have begun to doubt their worthiness. Thank you.
Dear Friend,
It saddened me immensely to read of your plight and brought back the same dark memories with one of my son’s yeshivas, your letter touched me deeply and I feel your pain. Yeshivas and bais yaakovs have become a business where if your father had a PHD (Papa Has Dough) you could be the slowest kid in the class but you got the highest grades and graduated with honors. Is it right? Absolutely not!
However, in their defense, these yeshivas and bais yaakovs have a lot of expenses and some of the student body are there on scholarship. So they need the richer parents to cover for those children who can’t pay for their education.
Your situation is different and far more costly in the damages it accrues to the spirit and self image of these young people who are adversely and deeply effected by the labels and stigmas they are branded with and that follow them through life. It shapes them to expect the least of themselves and does little to build character, trust and other values if they grow into adulthood believing they are what an irate teacher, overworked and underpaid, in a moment of frustration wrote in a child’s record. It follows them through life and colors their chance to succeed. That is a terrible loss not just to a youngster and his/her family, but to Klal Yisrael. With us every single child counts!
If there is anyone out there in chinuch and in a position to make a very special miracle happen, please get in touch with me. Tizku L’Mitzvos!
