Shalom,
I am reacting to the many comments about the influence of parents or community in Tfilla.
While I recognize the significant impact that the family and the community can have on our students, I believe it is our mission as educators to "swim upstream" and against the tide if necessary to inspire our students. If parents were able to properly educate their children, they wouldn't be spending tens of thousands of dollars for us to do so. We must create a Har Sinai for each of our students in our schools which they attend for close to eight hours a day. We should not be relying on a father who sits and learns every free minute that he has or blaming a family that behaves differently that what we would prefer. This is true if we believe that education can make a difference. It is by no means simple and we can't always succeed, but I believe this is the way we must set out and the way that our people have overcome the odds throughout our history.
