Jewish Day Schools In The Post-WWII Period

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The Jewish Day School Agenda in the Post-WWII Period (1945-1970). Abstract One of the most significant educational changes that took place during the post-World War II period in America would be the creation of Jewish Day Schools. These schools were formed so Jewish-American students could attend and study at an all-Jewish school, rather than the public schools around them. These schools allow students to study in Hebrew and English and be surrounded by peers like themselves. But, as private schools always do, they had philosophies and missions that they supported and followed. Many of those included things such as the creation of day schools, Jewish Americans were able to foster a sense of closeness and comfort within the Jewish community, …show more content…

The primary educational institutions for the majority of children in America were the public school systems in the period between World War I and World War II. For Jewish-American children, their primary source of schooling was attending public schools for secular studies and synagogues on the weekend for Jewish education. However, due to the influx of Jewish Day Schools after WWII, Jewish Americans were now able to monitor their children’s education as well as find comfort within the Jewish community, and uphold their religion and culture all in one place. The main goal of these schools was to educate the youth, but these schools also had an underlying goal: fostering a sense of Jewish pride in their students. At present, there is a wealth of data on primary school-aged Jewish-American children in the post-WWII period. However, there is not much analysis of this data, and the existing analyses do not emphasize the goal Jewish Day Schools had in nurturing that sense of Jewish pride in its students. The results of this study seek to close that gap. This will be accomplished by exploring and highlighting how changes in the education of elementary-aged Jewish-American children strengthened and promoted the Jewish pride movement. The research in this study is important due to the discussion of …show more content…

These changes were often meant to improve upon things that the war had exposed the educational system was lacking, or they were added to promote democracy, the war, the military, and patriotism. In the American public school system, “When the schools closed on Friday 5 December (1941) they had purposes and they followed many roads to achieve those purposes. When the schools opened on Monday 8 December, they had one dominant purpose - complete intelligent, and enthusiastic cooperation in the war effort.” This quote reflects the changes in the United States' educational goals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of the United States' involvement in World War II. “The modification of existing mathematics and science courses, incorporating a material of a practical or military nature, was also widespread.” However, mathematics was not the only subject being objected to wartime curriculum changes. “War themes dominated most subjects, with New York City children learning to spell bombardier and torpedo, write compositions on military topics, and study ‘the way zebras, grasshoppers, and worms are camouflaged.” Mathematics, writing, reading, social studies, and even science were impacted by American curriculum changes during World War II. The landscape of Jewish-American education changed drastically immediately following World War II. Many day schools opened in the 1940s

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