In two letters dealing with the subject of education, Maran's
approach is apparent regarding the need to test matters of
chinuch against the light of Chazal's teachings, and
to be suspicious of everything smacking of modern
research.
In a letter dealing with corporal punishment, Maran the
Mashgiach exposes the misguided approach of modern education
and forecasts the present disintegration of the system
because of the basic flaw. He points out the error —
which is comprised of a string of mistakes, one leading to
the other. The premise of contemporary educators is that
since a child is born pure and wholesome, and everything is a
result of learning from the environment, any form of corporal
punishment is a lesson in violence.
This negates the Torah outlook which maintains that man is
born "a wild donkey" and he must be trained. He is born an
egocentric creature by nature and must be tempered and tamed
and inculcated with good traits through the proper education.
Thus, a child does not need smacking as a negative example;
he knows all about hitting and violence from his own inborn
nature.
He needs to be hit as well as to be scolded in order to
become submissive, in order to learn how to rein in and
control himself, which is the very essence of education. The
Ramchal says that the aspect of hitting is to "separate the
foreskin of the heart . . . " This, however, must be the
intent and one must not accustom oneself to striking from
cruelty or anger, which surely cannot produce good
results.
As for the educators' fear that being struck will be a
negative example for a child, when the blows come from his
father, the son knows that it has nothing in common with
fighting, as between his peers. He knows that his father
takes no pleasure in doing so, and the father's reluctance
puts it in a different category of hitting.
And here the Mashgiach comes to the errant root of the
generation and where it deviates from traditional education.
When teachers and parents are placed on equal terms with the
students/children, on par with them in order to teach them
independence, then the striking of a parent is equated with
the fighting between friends!
Maran identifies the root of the problem in the deterioration
of authority. At the moment the child becomes independent,
there is no place for the father's instructive or deterrent
striking, for this will not lead to submission and ethics but
will be interpreted by the son as physical assertiveness
between peers, a power struggle, and then he will truly
become aggressive.
He sums up the damage done by the modern researchers and
educators as follows, "In their search for a new approach,
they destroy the very foundations which even the gentiles
acknowledged and which are rooted in the Torah and the
prophets. They go and invent their own theories that lead
only to destruction of all the roots and to a Hitlerist
education of arrogance and defiance."
Who shook off the dust from Maran's eyes to reveal what would
happen many years hence, and how his prophecy was truly
realized? Witness the complete breakdown of modern education,
of violence, of the lack of all fear and reverence towards
figures of authority, of teachers and parents alike.
*
Another letter deals with the question of methodology of
teaching reading. What is preferable, a holistic approach of
complete words, or the timeworn phonetic method of kometz
alef aw?
Maran discusses the directive of the Chazon Ish that one must
not veer from the traditional approach of letter by letter,
vowel by vowel. But if this directive is practiced where only
a small amount of time is allotted to limudei kodesh
and there is an appreciable loss of time, it is better to
teach whole words for the sake of covering more ground.
Maran added many other wonderful, eye-opening principles in
the teaching of limudei kodesh: "The object of holy
studies is not the actual acquisition of knowledge but the
absorption of a Torah outlook, an imbibing of G-d-fear and
service of Hashem. There are other methods for conveying
knowledge which are neglected in this generation. Our classic
tradition, the manner in which our ancestors learned,
involves a singsong, which belongs to instilling emotion.
Opposed to this nowadays is writing on the blackboard which
may help the students focus better intellectually and learn
quicker, but it is a method lacking all feeling and
sentiment. This is not so with the weaving back-and-forth
motion and the niggun, which evoke feeling and add the
element of sweetness and affection for the material."
* * *
Guidelines for Educators
1. The educator himself should value the importance of his
work and be fully aware that it is not a mere profession or
job but a sacred mission, and should do his work accordingly,
in the best of faith. This means not wasting time, etc. and
also includes his not becoming discouraged if he does not see
quick results.
2. There should be a committee of principals and teachers who
supervise the textbooks that are used for secular subjects in
order to remove any hint of apikorsus, unseemly word
usage etc., and to inform the teachers from the onset what
they must teach and what they should omit.
3. Mussar should be studied for a few moments every single
day before the regular lesson to rouse the students to
approach their study with fervor and piety. Every boy should
declare the verse "Shivisi Hashem . . . " before
beginning his study.
4. The classroom should be decorated with photos of
gedolim, pesukim including "Shivisi Hashem" and
other pictures that are conducive to promoting interest in
the lesson and to asking questions. The teacher should also
devote time to hashkofoh and yiras Shomayim and
to teaching biographies about various gedolim. The
students should see the development of our great figures
through the study of historical biographies, for a student
may sometimes be able to relate to this and grow from the
comparison.
5. One should try with all one's might to hire secular
teachers who are intelligent and G-d fearing rather than
secular people of questionable character who will have an
adverse effect on the students.
6. There should be published booklets, magazines and weekly
publications etc. containing interesting stories and upright
hashkofos for yeshiva students, to counteract the
negative effect of newspapers and secular books.
7. The students themselves should study with a strong will
and with enthusiastic fervor. Even an outward show of
excitement will promote an inner zest. Students should become
accustomed to studying aloud while standing up. Prayers
should also be said with fervor, with a holy fire, and fervor
for anything negative should be put down as impure.
8. Children should have prize incentives to motivate them to
study better. This should be offered to all the children, not
only the clever ones. Children should also be encouraged with
praise and affection and a love for Torah should be injected
in them.
9. Children should be given homework regularly but only as
much as they can easily handle. Tests should be administered
weekly and monthly so that they strive to excel, and that
they do not study without any yoke of order and discipline.
There should be a regimen and order to their study.
10. Lectures and symposiums should be organized for educators
from time to time to discuss the various common issues and to
bolster the teachers in their holy work.
11. There are some people who merit to accomplish things that
are truly beyond their talents and capacity. One who devotes
himself for the public welfare is assisted by Heaven to
accomplish beyond his personal limitations and will rise,
himself, to a higher level than he already occupies.
If he is doing something that the world needs, if there is no
one better to do it, he will be blessed to rise to the
challenge and will be given the tools to succeed even though
he is not completely qualified for the task. The blessing
will be double — he will succeed, and he will also grow
thereby.
In our spiritually impoverished generation, our main work is
to rebuild the ruins of Torah Jewry and reestablish Torah and
piety as of yore. And if we are truly too puny and unworthy
of doing so, still, since there is no one better to stand in
the breach, we must lend a shoulder and thrust ourselves into
the task. And thereby, we will surely merit a great measure
of Heavenly assistance and success.
