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Monday, December 8, 2008
"Thriving!"
Maybe this should be a comment on that previous post about the economy. But, I don't really know the rules of blogging, so I'm just going to make it a new post.
About the worsening economy's effect on our programming: I agree that programming and extracurricular activities are the life-blood of the total studential (just made that word up now) experience; however, once we agree on that point, the question becomes - at what expense are we willing to implement these fundamental activities? Are teachers the chinuch-world over going to sacrifice, say, a raise the next year because the school simply doesn't have enough money to maintain both student raises and the Shabbaton budget? Worse, would teachers take a pay CUT if need be? The other option, the far more likely option, is for teachers to a be a source of solace and rock of support during these tough times. If we want to have a school tisch at our house, maybe we need to spend our own money or get the class to chip in. Like wise, maybe we should volunteer to lead after-school activities for no pay or be there for our kids in other ways. We should continue to offer our services and uninterrupted support for our students IN SPITE of the economy. Maybe the Dow will plunge, maybe our retirements seem farther off now, but Chinuch will never die or fade to a distant dream. Once we show that Chinuch doesn't get going when the going gets tough and won't abandon it's charges when things are bleak, people won't abandon chinuch when sunnier times arrive once again. When the dust settles, the true value of our work will shine through, if only in retrospect. Doctors, lawyers, wall streeters, etc. - they're all griping about our situation, as well they should. Mechanchim, however, should be the sole source of solace in these troubling times, a ray of light through the murky waters of our current economic slowdown. In the end, the message is clear, the economy might slow down, but Torah and learning never do.
About the worsening economy's effect on our programming:
ReplyDeleteI agree that programming and extracurricular activities are the life-blood of the total studential (just made that word up now) experience; however, once we agree on that point, the question becomes - at what expense are we willing to implement these fundamental activities? Are teachers the chinuch-world over going to sacrifice, say, a raise the next year because the school simply doesn't have enough money to maintain both student raises and the Shabbaton budget? Worse, would teachers take a pay CUT if need be?
The other option, the far more likely option, is for teachers to a be a source of solace and rock of support during these tough times. If we want to have a school tisch at our house, maybe we need to spend our own money or get the class to chip in. Like wise, maybe we should volunteer to lead after-school activities for no pay or be there for our kids in other ways.
We should continue to offer our services and uninterrupted support for our students IN SPITE of the economy. Maybe the Dow will plunge, maybe our retirements seem farther off now, but Chinuch will never die or fade to a distant dream. Once we show that Chinuch doesn't get going when the going gets tough and won't abandon it's charges when things are bleak, people won't abandon chinuch when sunnier times arrive once again. When the dust settles, the true value of our work will shine through, if only in retrospect. Doctors, lawyers, wall streeters, etc. - they're all griping about our situation, as well they should. Mechanchim, however, should be the sole source of solace in these troubling times, a ray of light through the murky waters of our current economic slowdown.
In the end, the message is clear, the economy might slow down, but Torah and learning never do.
~ Akiva
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1901876_1901874_1901858,00.html
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