I’ve been moderating this blog for
20 months now. I’ve made 160 posts and
gotten almost 300,000 page views. I’ve
read (most of) thousands of comments and responded to some of them.
We’ve covered lots of topics
including blended learning, Hebrew charter schools, assistant teachers, school
calendars, marketing costs, government funding, Communal funding, discounts for
teachers and rabbis, transparency in finances, scholarship abuse, Talmud Torahs,
and
more. Hopefully the discussion has
caused some positive change in Bergen County or has at least caused some people
to consider certain ideas that they hadn’t yet thought about.
What I haven’t succeeded at doing
is encouraging civility in our discourse.
Perhaps it’s just our nature to be nasty when no one (at least no one
mortal) can see us doing it. Though
compared to some other unmoderated blogs and especially the comments section on
youtube, the discussion here does remain somewhat polite and on topic. Some people thought I should delete comments
that were uncivil but that’s not really my MO.
I’m not a big fan of censorship and I think adults should make their own
decisions on how to speak. To all those who
contributed in positive ways with your comments I wish you sincere thanks.
At this point I’ve said all I have
to say about yeshiva tuition. Also I
need to focus on other things in my life right now and can’t spend that much
time musing about yeshiva tuition. I’m
looking for someone else to take over the blog or to make a new blog so we can
continue the conversation. Please email
me offline at yeshivadad@gmail.com if you’re interested.
For those that were offended by
things I’ve said I beg for mechilah and hope you understand that everything I’ve
done on this blog was done out of love for our community and out of a sincere desire
for our mesorah to continue to be transmitted to future generations, which can only
be done if the community can afford the growing expense of yeshiva tuition.
I encourage everyone to get
involved in other ways to help solve the tuition crisis. Make your voices heard. Come to board meetings. Speak to administrators. Get involved in fund raising. Volunteer for the scholarship committee. Accept that you may need to sacrifice some
things you like in your school to help bring down costs. And above all, try to stay positive.
Wishing everyone a Kativa V’chatima
Tova,
Yeshiva Dad
End,
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping things entertaining!
-YD
YD, You did a great job opening the conversations here - in a fair and respectful tone. That many commentors didn't follow suit is unfortunate. Best of luck and kesivah vechasimah tovah.
ReplyDeleteYD, you are free to head off into the sunset as the Chump did before you. No one is paying you for the time you put in here, and no one has a right to demand more of it. It is funny how you guys spent an awful lot of time berating school teachers, admins, and boards for their work. I think it is appropriate to point out that school board members put in many hours of their time to help run our schools. They don't get paid either, but that did not stop you and others from finding fault in everything they did. Teachers do get paid, as do administrators, but you led a charge against them, challenging them for their negotiated salaries annd schedules.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you and your predecessor only lasted a couple of years until you got bored does not say much for your real interest in making things better.
I guess for real leadership we need to look to the professionals, working hard and running schools without the cloak of anonymity.