Working in Jewish Education

Don't do it.

The more religious it gets, the worse it is. I've worked at summer camps, preschools, and Hebrew Schools, and I can tell you to run the other way.

It seems like the more Jewish it is, the smaller pool they have to hire from, with disastrous results.

It's crazy because I spend most of my time doing Jewish things, hanging out with Jews, reading Jewish books, etc., and yet I can't see myself working in Jewish education much longer. It's great to not have to explain why I can't come in for half of September to my goyishe boss, but I just don't feel it's worth it anymore. In one preschool there were no developmentally appropriate religious materials. The story they had on Purim included the midrash (extrapolated from the text but not spelled out) that when Haman was leading Mordechai on the horse through Shushan, his daughter tried to throw the chamber pot on Mordechai and instead hit her dad, then fell/jumped out after it and died. Why would you tell that to a 3 year old?! Jesus Christ! So not appropriate.

I haven't found anyone who is an expert on early childhood who is religious enough to fit into my community. Even I'm not religious enough. I feel like everyone has unrealistic expectations about what a high quality Orthodox preschool should look like. I guess for them the Orthodox is the most important part.

In elementary school, I never had a religiously observant teacher. Just female Reconstructionist rabbis trying to teach me the laws of Shabbat and Kashrut that I wasn't sure anyone actually did. According to one teacher there, the teachers were never evaluated.

At another local day school, one teacher was told that her checks would be directly deposited into her account. So she wrote a bunch of checks. I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the story.

I worked at one Hebrew School where I had to chase down my paychecks, which were then for the wrong amount. That's like 5 kinds of illegal.

I know one lady who is a Hebrew reading instructor for kindergarteners. No one told her that reading can't be taught to kindergarteners phonics-style. They kind of have to absorb it. And if they don't, that's still normal. If a kid can't read by 8, start being concerned. No one told her how to do this impossible task. In fact, no one told her anything.

I have had good experiences working in Jewish preschools and Hebrew Schools. I know they can function. But when they can't even put their two employees on payroll, it kind of makes me wonder if I'm valued.

I ultimately want to teach high school English, and I can't see myself working at a Jewish school where I never know when or how much I'll be paid, and no one's there to support me professionally.

We all know that all workplaces have their weak points. But at least they can fire people without effectively excommunicate them from their community. And they're not working under the idea that "We're all Jews, so it's cool." No, it's not cool when I don't even get paid properly, and it's not cool when you hire crackheads because they're Jewish.