I have been involved in the world of formal and informal Jewish Education in the US and Israel for almost 40 years and in each of the venues in which I have worked the ultimate goal was indeed to reach and inspire the soul of each and every Jewish child. Every venue had its own derech and its own challenges, but success was never measured by anything but whether the student leaves the class/ the school/the institution as a more informed/thoughtful/inspired Jew better prepared to use his/her Judaism as the cornerstone in their confrontation with and navigation of the general society.

Obviously, we can always do better, but I think overall our educational system has done a wonderful job inspiring the next generations.