<HTML>In response to Stuart Zweiter's comments I wanted to add the following
thoughts.
Over the course of the year I have the opportunity to visit a wide range
of schools across the US and Canada. I had one interesting observation
from my travels. In every school there are some excellent Rebbeim, who
have a high level of idealism to do things better then they have been done
in chinuch until now.
While I agree that proper monetary compensation would certainly help a
great deal in landing qualified people in the positions we need, I don't
think that that is ultimately the answer. For someone to enter chinuch and
be good at it they have to be driven by a sense of purpose. Yes, they
need to be competent and well trained but ultimately it boils down to an
internal inspiration.
It could be that less quality people are inspired today due to the lack of
leadership and exposure to people with an inspiring vision. People need a
Rebbe/mentor that provides them with a meaningful vision that they feel
necessary to pass on and improve on, as has been done throughout history.
Look at what drove the Roshei Yeshiva who founded the Yeshivot in the
United States. They in turn left numerous talmidim who themselves were
inspired to go forth into chinuch and carry that vision further. I think
each and every one of us (educators) can point to a person who inspired
us, with that inspiration leading us ultimately into chinuch. (We all
certainly knew we weren't going into this for the prestige or the money,
we all basically plunged in eyes closed!)
Our generation lacks the Rebbe Talmid relationships that inspire, while
also lacking visionaries who could inspire them.
You cannot substitute pay for vision, and the "vision thing" is not a
problem to be easily dealt with.
Just some thoughts, I hope others will have what to share.
Aharon Katz</HTML>
