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Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Discusses California's Struggling Education System

Arash Zandi |
February 21, 2014 | 3:11 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

Educational figures belonging to several faiths were brought together to tackle the important issue of education. (Arash Zandi/Neon Tommy)
Educational figures belonging to several faiths were brought together to tackle the important issue of education. (Arash Zandi/Neon Tommy)
Leading education figures came together Friday for a roundtable discussion on “Practical Solutions for Educating the Next Generation and Solving California's Education Crisis” at the Harkham Hillel Academy in Beverly Hills. Led by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks – professor of Judaic Thought at New York University and former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.

Liebe Geft, Director of the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, started off the discussion.

“We have to teach, empower and inspire the next generation. Education is the antidote to the gospels of hatred that are sweeping the world,” said Geft.

Geft then read an excerpt of a letter from a Holocaust survivor, which was a touching moment for all in attendance, “Reading, writing and arithmetic are important if they make our children more human.”

Geft then gave the floor to Rabbi Sacks.

Sacks, also a professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King’s College London, says education "holds the key to human dignity can thrive in the 21st century."

“I wanted to hold a discussion because the Jewish faith places a large emphasis on education. We have to inform, not indoctrinate; to inspire, not intimidate," he continued. "To defend a country, you need an army. To defend a civilization, you need education."

He then went on to describe three “pure generalities” of how we give our children a sense of direction in a world that is changing so fast:

1.    “Our children have been given too much and we have not given them a chance to give. We must teach our children to give.”

2.    “Find something to celebrate, no matter what the occasion is. You have to celebrate achievement. When you celebrate achievement you unlock potential that you never knew existed.”

3.    “If you want your children to grow, make them your teachers. If you plan for a year, plant rice. If you plan for a decade plant a tree. If you plan for a century, educate your child.”

READ MORE: Education Leads Brown’s Proposed Budget Spending

Rabbi Sacks then opened up the discussion to a selection of educators to discuss the future of education.

The conversation bounced from the need for creativity, critical thinking and the importance for students to know  how to build something themselves. Most importantly, what makes a student passionate.

The crux of the conversation focused on the environment of public schools, with educators saying reforms have created forced methods of education such as batch testing, which does not let students flourish and grow. Some members of the audience suggested that educators should teach with children, not at children.

The panel highlighted a new trial run of IBM's high school extension model, which lengthens high school from four to six years and gives students a high school diploma, an associate’s degree and an opportunity to work at IBM.

“We are spending billions of dollars on prisons and nearly everyone in those prisons can barely read and write. We are spending little on preparing our students. The vast majority of our students come unprepared. People are not asking us to teach them to think or to reason or to prepare them to live their lives. They are asking us to get them a job," said Scott Svonkin, Vice President of the Board of Trustees at the Los Angeles Community College District.

Rabbi Sacks expressed his support of the use of technology in education, especially that of iPads as they “have infinite patience.” However, he noted that technology can sometimes disrupt our humanity. It has its limits and people have to build those limits so that human values are preserved.

Svonkin commented on the sad reality that funding prevents students from having programs they can connect to.

"California has endured tremendous budget cuts and because of that it’s hard to bring new programs and inspire young people to innovate and to challenge them in a way that will inspire," said Svonkin.

 

Reach Staff Reporter Arash Zandi here. Follow him on Twitter here.



 

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