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May 16, 2003/Iyar 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 38
Sixth-grader reflects on day school educationJULIAN BONGIORNO
All across America parents and children have choices, like where to live, eat, play, shop, as well as, where to go to school. Most Jewish parents would like their children to go to a private Jewish school to learn about their heritage, and what it means to be Jewish. Private schools offer smaller class sizes, and better teachers. I think going to a Jewish school is a great thing. I go to The King David School and I have many great friends, good teachers, great classes, and three awesome principals. I hope you will find my opinions valuable and will benefit from them, too. At The King David School we learn about our heritage by studying Torah, learning Judaica and reading Hebrew. Even though it is hard, I find the challenge fun. I will have to read it for my bar mitzvah and learning it on a daily basis makes it easier for me to prepare for that big day. It teaches us that there is only one G-d, and how G-d wants us to live and how we should behave. I am learning that it is good to help those who are not as fortunate as I am by volunteering and giving to charity. I also learn that it is important to respect the environment, animals, and the correct way to treat people. It is cool that our belief in G-d's word brought us out of Egypt, parted the sea, and got us this far because, as Jews, we know that G-d chose us. Every day in school, we learn Hebrew and Judaica. I can understand, read, write, and can speak Hebrew fluently and reading Torah comes easy to me. Many Jewish parents want their children to go to a Jewish day school. Take me for example, I have been going to a Jewish school all of my life. I think kids should go to a Jewish school starting in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten so that they can learn from an early age what it means to be a Jew. I have many friends that go to public school and it always sounds like it's better than my school, because they are off when we have school, and they have more kids to be friends with. One day I counted the days they have off compared to the days we have and they are exactly the same. Sure they have more kids to be friends with, but there are 25-35 students per class. It seems like the students do not get the close attention and help with work that I get, and because of that I have a better opportunity to learn more, and especially, learn better. If you go to a Jewish school, chances are you aren't going to have to go to Sunday school. That means, more time to do what you want on the weekends! You won't have to take time after school, during the week, to study for your bar/bat mitzvah. In conclusion, I hope you can use this information in the future to make the best decision for you and your family. Maybe when you are choosing a preschool for your toddler or a new school for your fourth-grader, perhaps you will think about my thoughts and opinions. More importantly, how lucky I feel that I have had the opportunity to grow into the young man that I am, with strong beliefs in my Jewish roots. Whatever you do make sure you think it is a good idea yourself. And last but not least, remember, "it's not always greener on the other side." |
