CHAPTER XVI. THE PROBLEM OF JEWISH EDUCATION IN AMERICA AND THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF NEW YORK CITY.1 By ISRAEL FRIEDLAENDER, CONTENTS.-History and composition of American Jewry-The Spanish Jews-The German Jews-The Russian migration-Jewish education now a complicated problemDifficulties peculiar to New York City-Means for improvement-The Jewish Bureau of Education-The Talmud Torahs selected for perpetuation-The plan of the curric ulum-Financial cooperation-Provisions for standardization-Results achieved-Preparatory schools-Textbooks and methods-The problem of teachers-Extension teaching-Conclusion. HISTORY AND COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN JEWRY. The first systematic attempt to deal with the problem of Jewish education in America in its various phases is of recent origin. In order to realize the magnitude of the problem and the peculiar difficulties which constantly present themselves in coping with it. it is necessary to take a larger view of our topic and to inquire into the general historic and cultural conditions which have brought about the present educational situation in American Jewry and the remarkable complications connected with it. Our inquiry must naturally begin with the history and composition of American Jewry as it is constituted at present. The Jewry of America is the product of three successive waves of immigration, which may be designated as the Spanish, the German, and the Russian. THE SPANISH JEWS. The first Jews who came to this country were descendants of those who had been exiled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492, the year in which America was discovered. They came to this country principally by way of central and southern America. For reasons which 1 The significance of the title is apparent. The paper relates to Jewish education, not the education of the Jews. The schools fostered by the Bureau of Education of the Jewish community are designed to impart a knowledge of Judaism and its religious institutions. The children who attend them are also pupils of the public schools. The work described is unique in American educational history. The author writes from abundant knowledge of the conditions, for he is chairman of the board of trustees of the bureau. (Editor.) |