The New York Times published an interesting story on the failing Yeshiva school system in the city, and in a surprise absolutely no one saw coming, the city’s Hasidic community did not take it well. The article, written by Eliza Shapiro and referred to by detractors as “The Shapiro Dossier” details how in 2019, the Central United Talmudical Academy (one of NYC’s largest private schools) gave standardized tests in reading and math to more than 1,000 students and every single one of them failed.
The article suggests that while students are being taught religious lessons from the Talmud in Yiddish, there is no focus on English grammar, history, or math. The result is that every year thousands of students graduate and are unprepared to navigate the outside world, contributing to elevated poverty rates in Hasidic neighborhoods.
“I don’t know how to put into words how frustrating it is, I thought, ‘It’s crazy that I’m literally not learning anything. It’s crazy that I’m 20 years old, I don’t know any higher order math, never learned any science.’”
-Moishy Klein, former Hasidic school student & community member
The issue runs deeper than simply denying children a proper education. The article references hundreds of accounts indicating Hasidic schools practice corporal punishment and that the schools are failing despite increasing amounts of government funding. Initially I was skeptical of the critiques, but after briefly scrolling the timeline and seeing the responses to the article by members of the Hasidic community, I’d say Eliza Shapiro has a good sense of what she’s talking about.
Side Items
Ukrainian forces have started a counter-offensive that has Russian troops retreating and conceding territory. Of course people are taking this as a sign that the war is won, it’s not. Many more people, most of them innocent, will probably die before this war is over
The NFL kicked off yesterday I think, (it’s possible there was a game last week, it doesn’t matter), I’m not sure. Either way, millions of idiots tuned in to watch teams named after birds and cats and pirates chuck a ball up and down the field. Special shoutout to the Dallas Cowboys (America’s team, and thus my favorite team to hate), who managed to score a measly three (3) points AND see their quarterback injured in the first game. God don’t like ugly, and that football team in Dallas is UG-LY
Jonathan Tjarks was an excellent sports writer and seemingly an even better human. He authored this incredibly heartbreaking piece back in March when he first shared his diagnosis publicly. He passed away Saturday night, but his legacy will live on through his family and his work