From the article:
"In 1995, the average annual K-12 Jewish day school tuition was $5,700, which would be $9,100 today when adjusted for inflation. But other than most yeshivish and Hasidic schools, which have kept pace with inflation, day schools have generally doubled or tripled tuition!
Why has tuition grown far faster than inflation?"
One question to ask is, "Why yeshivish and Hasidic schools have kept pace with inflation and day schools have not?" I think the answer is simple. Yeshivish and Hasidic schools do not have the goal of sending their graduates to first class secular colleges, whereas almost all day schools do. I think that in light of what is currently going on in secular colleges, this goal of day schools is misplaced. The environment in secular colleges is not one that fosters commitment to religious observance. The opposite is true. Students are exposed to values that are not in consonance with Torah values. Add to this the fact that many secular colleges have active groups that are against Israel and that blatant anti-Semitism if to found at some colleges, and one has to ask, "Is a secular college education at most universities the right choice for religious parents to make regarding their children?" I think that the answer today is a resounding "No!"
One can earn a college degree without ever attending a secular college , and for those parents who want their children to get such a degree, this should be the option pursued. With this in mind the level of secular education in day schools could be reduced, and there would be considerable financial savings. One need not have state of the art science labs, advanced computer science courses, and advanced courses in other disciplines so that students get credit for college courses upon high school graduation.
The goal of a Torah education should be to produce students who remain loyal to the Torah throughout their lives. Often attending an IVY league college does not foster this goal. Let's get our priorities straight and put Torah education before secular education.
Prof. Yitzchok Levine (Retired)
Stevens Institute of Technology
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2018 08:07PM by mlb.
