Why Hebrew immersion at Sela?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

Interesting.

This is from the Sela charter application:

"In addition to the materials mentioned above, and because HLPCS [Sela] is committed to the Hebrew language
as a core curricular element, we will align our Social Studies curriculum to this language by looking at
modern Israel as a model for both democracy and diversity."

Does Yu Ying describe modern China as a "model for both democracy and diversity"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

Then they don't have to attend. It's a charter school; nobody is forced to go there.

[Anonymous]

I trust you also have concerns regarding Yu Ying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I trust you also have concerns regarding Yu Ying?

Focus on real issues. The French put mayo on French fries! Why does Stokes French program still exist???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And one more thought — for a town as supposedly political as DC is, I’m shocked at the political cluelessness of DCUM posters.

They demand tracking, suspension/expulsion, and retaining kids, and they shout “DCPS is failing our kids!”

Guess what— DCPS is failing ALL kids. Your (and my) kids will be alive, not in jail and likely employed at 25. For many DCPS students, that’s not a given. Why are you shocked that DCPS doesn’t prioritize your demands at the expense of trying to help kids at risk of violence, incarceration, addiction, and poverty? Are you REALLY surprised by that?

If you want changes, figure out a way to advocate changes that help all DCPS students, not changes that are 100% associated with past segregation. I mean, how politically wavy do you have to be to realize that? Do you think in 1785 it would have been smart for the new US government to propose a tax on tea, even if that was objectively a good policy?

But DCUM parents make these demands without stopping to think about the political environment or taking a beat to listen to others in the system and what they want and need (which, by the way is mostly the same as what DCUM posters want, as evidenced by the popularity of charter schools).

It is not up to me to come up with solutions. I am not paid $400k and have a govt. paid car + chauffeur like our current chancellor. He and his team should be working on fixing the system. Instead they are failing to provide solutions for any kids - low and high performing kids are all losing out. It should not be a zero sum game. A system with the highest paid teachers in the nation should be able to serve a variety of kids effectively. Eliminating tracking has not helped the kids at the bottom. Successful outcomes for poor kids have not improved. Ballou and Anacostia high schools still have lousy scores and poor post secondary outcomes. There is an epidemic of crime in DC carried out by young teenagers. What exactly has been achieved by getting rid of suspensions and tracking? Wealthy kids will always have opportunities. The kids on the lowest rung are still a complete mess. The majority of kids in the middle have been hurt by the new lower DCPS standards. AA and Hispanic kids who want to go to school to learn and get a decent education are being robbed because the city only cares about the bottom 10% and no one else.

Yep, to the poster above, it’s a zero sum game. Let’s only care about the 10% bottom. No one else. The other kids will be alive and employable and that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter that they learned nothing, wasted what potential they have. These kids don’t matter and rightly so. It’s amazing the hypocritical thinking and rationale of the poster above all the while arguing DCUM posters are ignoring poor kids. But it’s OK to ignore everyone else but the bottom 10%.

Poster above is also living in the past. These studies she is quoting are old and dates from generations ago at a different time and place. Let’s use these relics to justify policies in DCPS today that is not working. Absolutely no tracking or higher challenging curriculum when you have specifics schools in other places like NYC who tracks/are tests in that comprises of majority low SES kids. Absolutely no suspensions and I’ll add no consequences whatsoever when right here in DC, KIPP does so much better than DCPS because they do enforce consequences and does not tolerate behavior issues. Lastly of course, absolutely no retention even when there are more recent studies showing benefits in the early elementary grades.

The problem is not tracking, suspension, or retention as poster above argues. The crux of the problem is that DCPS is unable to support these kids with what they need. Instead they give excuses like the poster above not to implement programs or strategies to help all the other kids. It’s sad and because of above, the schools in DC are one of the most segregated schools in the country. How is that all working out for you, SJW?

This poster’s notion that racial differences in discipline happened “generations ago” would be funny if they weren’t so wildly out of touch.

In fact, Black kids are 4 times as likely as white kids to have been suspended as white kids BY AGE NINE. This 2019 meta analysis does a great job unpacking the reasons for this difference, and it finds that about 47% of the difference is explained by straightforward different punishment of Black and white kids exhibiting the exact same behaviors.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133760/

As the meta analysis makes clear, there has been a huge amount of work on this, including lab experiments where teachers rank video of the EXACT SAME BEHAVIORS as far more severe for black kids and white kids.

The majority of this work research has been since 2010, and the oldest citation that I could find was from 1999.

Also, there’s been a lot of research on the effects of suspending kids (starting in elementary school, as happens to almost 40% of Black kids), and researchers have described a “cascade of catastrophic consequences.”

Some parents who have never read any research love to come on DCUM and call DCPS admins incompetent, but DCPS admins are educators who HAVE read the research and are trying to improve the outcomes for all DCPS kids. Clearly, they need to do better, but ignorantly touting disastrous policies isn’t the way to help that process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with having Hebrew as a language option at school? It's a fascinating language and has practical applications beyond reading religious texts. It's spoken in Israel, which has a vibrant science and technology sector, archeological sites, etc. Middle East diplomacy is a big deal. I think it's great for a school to offer selections beyond the usual Spanish and French. I know a non-Jewish person (a polyglot) who is now learning Hebrew and loves it.

I think the number of adults in the world who speak Hebrew and don't also speak English is probably in the three digits, though; I'm Jewish and all for studying Hebrew-language texts, reading Hebrew, speaking conversational Hebrew, etc., but I personally would not make Hebrew the only non-English language I or my kids learned.

This claim is factaully incorrect.

It was an exaggeration, and not intended to be factually accurate. But I stand by the underlying opinion, which is that I would not learn Hebrew and English and no other languages if I were interested in learning other languages for communications purposes. I do speak some modern Hebrew and can obviously read it from prayerbooks, etc., but I also studied Spanish and some Portuguese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

Interesting.

This is from the Sela charter application:

"In addition to the materials mentioned above, and because HLPCS [Sela] is committed to the Hebrew language
as a core curricular element, we will align our Social Studies curriculum to this language by looking at
modern Israel as a model for both democracy and diversity."

Does Yu Ying describe modern China as a "model for both democracy and diversity"?

Many reasonable people would disagree that Israel is a democracy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And one more thought — for a town as supposedly political as DC is, I’m shocked at the political cluelessness of DCUM posters.

They demand tracking, suspension/expulsion, and retaining kids, and they shout “DCPS is failing our kids!”

Guess what— DCPS is failing ALL kids. Your (and my) kids will be alive, not in jail and likely employed at 25. For many DCPS students, that’s not a given. Why are you shocked that DCPS doesn’t prioritize your demands at the expense of trying to help kids at risk of violence, incarceration, addiction, and poverty? Are you REALLY surprised by that?

If you want changes, figure out a way to advocate changes that help all DCPS students, not changes that are 100% associated with past segregation. I mean, how politically wavy do you have to be to realize that? Do you think in 1785 it would have been smart for the new US government to propose a tax on tea, even if that was objectively a good policy?

But DCUM parents make these demands without stopping to think about the political environment or taking a beat to listen to others in the system and what they want and need (which, by the way is mostly the same as what DCUM posters want, as evidenced by the popularity of charter schools).

It is not up to me to come up with solutions. I am not paid $400k and have a govt. paid car + chauffeur like our current chancellor. He and his team should be working on fixing the system. Instead they are failing to provide solutions for any kids - low and high performing kids are all losing out. It should not be a zero sum game. A system with the highest paid teachers in the nation should be able to serve a variety of kids effectively. Eliminating tracking has not helped the kids at the bottom. Successful outcomes for poor kids have not improved. Ballou and Anacostia high schools still have lousy scores and poor post secondary outcomes. There is an epidemic of crime in DC carried out by young teenagers. What exactly has been achieved by getting rid of suspensions and tracking? Wealthy kids will always have opportunities. The kids on the lowest rung are still a complete mess. The majority of kids in the middle have been hurt by the new lower DCPS standards. AA and Hispanic kids who want to go to school to learn and get a decent education are being robbed because the city only cares about the bottom 10% and no one else.

Yep, to the poster above, it’s a zero sum game. Let’s only care about the 10% bottom. No one else. The other kids will be alive and employable and that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter that they learned nothing, wasted what potential they have. These kids don’t matter and rightly so. It’s amazing the hypocritical thinking and rationale of the poster above all the while arguing DCUM posters are ignoring poor kids. But it’s OK to ignore everyone else but the bottom 10%.

Poster above is also living in the past. These studies she is quoting are old and dates from generations ago at a different time and place. Let’s use these relics to justify policies in DCPS today that is not working. Absolutely no tracking or higher challenging curriculum when you have specifics schools in other places like NYC who tracks/are tests in that comprises of majority low SES kids. Absolutely no suspensions and I’ll add no consequences whatsoever when right here in DC, KIPP does so much better than DCPS because they do enforce consequences and does not tolerate behavior issues. Lastly of course, absolutely no retention even when there are more recent studies showing benefits in the early elementary grades.

The problem is not tracking, suspension, or retention as poster above argues. The crux of the problem is that DCPS is unable to support these kids with what they need. Instead they give excuses like the poster above not to implement programs or strategies to help all the other kids. It’s sad and because of above, the schools in DC are one of the most segregated schools in the country. How is that all working out for you, SJW?

This poster’s notion that racial differences in discipline happened “generations ago” would be funny if they weren’t so wildly out of touch.

In fact, Black kids are 4 times as likely as white kids to have been suspended as white kids BY AGE NINE. This 2019 meta analysis does a great job unpacking the reasons for this difference, and it finds that about 47% of the difference is explained by straightforward different punishment of Black and white kids exhibiting the exact same behaviors.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133760/

As the meta analysis makes clear, there has been a huge amount of work on this, including lab experiments where teachers rank video of the EXACT SAME BEHAVIORS as far more severe for black kids and white kids.

The majority of this work research has been since 2010, and the oldest citation that I could find was from 1999.

Also, there’s been a lot of research on the effects of suspending kids (starting in elementary school, as happens to almost 40% of Black kids), and researchers have described a “cascade of catastrophic consequences.”

Some parents who have never read any research love to come on DCUM and call DCPS admins incompetent, but DCPS admins are educators who HAVE read the research and are trying to improve the outcomes for all DCPS kids. Clearly, they need to do better, but ignorantly touting disastrous policies isn’t the way to help that process.

You were so very close. You cited the data and debunked the insane position that somehow differences in discipline are yesterday's news. Then you went and did that thing where you decide to argue that suspending kids and/or holding them back is bad for kids. We don't have good data on that. We don't have data on juvenile arrests and detention because those records are sealed. We don't have data on the impact to communities from failing to discipline and hold to account problems of any race. Particularly the impact in black and brown communities who are victimized by those same juveniles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with having Hebrew as a language option at school? It's a fascinating language and has practical applications beyond reading religious texts. It's spoken in Israel, which has a vibrant science and technology sector, archeological sites, etc. Middle East diplomacy is a big deal. I think it's great for a school to offer selections beyond the usual Spanish and French. I know a non-Jewish person (a polyglot) who is now learning Hebrew and loves it.

I think the number of adults in the world who speak Hebrew and don't also speak English is probably in the three digits, though; I'm Jewish and all for studying Hebrew-language texts, reading Hebrew, speaking conversational Hebrew, etc., but I personally would not make Hebrew the only non-English language I or my kids learned.

This claim is factaully incorrect.

Then I guess don't go to Sela - and continue speaking your poor Hebrew and not having cultural competence in Hebrew? I mean, I would never never not teach my kid multiple languages - but you do you?

It was an exaggeration, and not intended to be factually accurate. But I stand by the underlying opinion, which is that I would not learn Hebrew and English and no other languages if I were interested in learning other languages for communications purposes. I do speak some modern Hebrew and can obviously read it from prayerbooks, etc., but I also studied Spanish and some Portuguese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

Interesting.

This is from the Sela charter application:

"In addition to the materials mentioned above, and because HLPCS [Sela] is committed to the Hebrew language
as a core curricular element, we will align our Social Studies curriculum to this language by looking at
modern Israel as a model for both democracy and diversity."

Does Yu Ying describe modern China as a "model for both democracy and diversity"?

Many reasonable people would disagree that Israel is a democracy

Uh-huh. Many reasonable people would disagree that the US is a democracy. Or Greece...the birthplace of democracy....but your personal petty bigotries aside- it's an excellent school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

Interesting.

This is from the Sela charter application:

"In addition to the materials mentioned above, and because HLPCS [Sela] is committed to the Hebrew language
as a core curricular element, we will align our Social Studies curriculum to this language by looking at
modern Israel as a model for both democracy and diversity."

Does Yu Ying describe modern China as a "model for both democracy and diversity"?

Many reasonable people would disagree that Israel is a democracy

True enough. Certainly, I think few would now say that Israel is a "model for both democracy and diversity."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/israel-hasnt-been-a-democracy-for-a-long-time-now-israelis-need-to-face-this-fact

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: how much do people think Sela is tied to the terrrrrible politics of Israel these days? Does the Hebrew-is-one-country's-language-only thing mean it is inextricably linked to Israel's internal fights over whether it is a democracy with the rule of law, the interminable insurgency and settler radicalism, and the general/growing international perception that it is operating an apartheid state (in all but name)?

I for one spent most of my life thinking Israel was like the U.S., founded on great principles mixed with some problems but headed the right direction, but the past thirty years seem to have been an uneven slide toward emphasizing everything bad about it. (The U.S. has been a bit like this too, but nowhere near the scope of Israel's drama.)

Wanted to say I loved your brilliant letter to Mundo Verde telling them to take down those awful Dominican Republic, Salvadoran, and Mexican flags because of your strong opinions on their internal politics - but your ten page blank verse soliloquy to Yu Ying about the evils of Communism was even better. Writing to Stokes with perfect usage of le subjunctif to protest police violence in les banlieues? Chapeau! Like you, I believe strongly in collective punishment, especially when kiddos are involved. Well-run school? Classical language? Obvi just a front for those rootless cosmopolitans/globalists, wink wink.

Dumb.

Sela was also set up to focus on the "culture and people of contemporary Israel" (see below). Most of the Hebrew materials are, of course, are from Israel or involve Israel. You can't have a Hebrew immersion school that does not get into Israeli culture and political issues. For some (for example, Palestinians) that may be a non-starter.

"In addition, as students learn the Hebrew language they will also be exposed to the culture and people of
contemporary Israel. And this culture is uniquely equipped to provide students with a model of creativity
and innovation that can inspire them, and equip them, with practical values and skills for life. Israel is
unusual and notable in its culture, which is very young and yet provides extraordinarily fertile ground for
creativity."

Interesting.

This is from the Sela charter application:

"In addition to the materials mentioned above, and because HLPCS [Sela] is committed to the Hebrew language
as a core curricular element, we will align our Social Studies curriculum to this language by looking at
modern Israel as a model for both democracy and diversity."

Does Yu Ying describe modern China as a "model for both democracy and diversity"?

Many reasonable people would disagree that Israel is a democracy

True enough. Certainly, I think few would now say that Israel is a "model for both democracy and diversity."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/israel-hasnt-been-a-democracy-for-a-long-time-now-israelis-need-to-face-this-fact

Maybe not…but few would say that about the US, either. Certainly they have a more active left and voting populous than we do. But again, zero to do with a successful charter in DC. Haters are always going to hate, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Again, if you aren't making these complaints about Yu Ying, given China's human rights problems (Uyghurs, anyone?) and the fact that the Chinese state was never even intended to be a democracy, your complaints about Sela are clearly motivated by some other thing.

That said, if you don't want your kid there, don't send your kid there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, if you aren't making these complaints about Yu Ying, given China's human rights problems (Uyghurs, anyone?) and the fact that the Chinese state was never even intended to be a democracy, your complaints about Sela are clearly motivated by some other thing.

That said, if you don't want your kid there, don't send your kid there.

Again, Yu Ying doesn't claim that China is a model of democracy and diversity, and tie is language immersion instruction to the Chinese state.

Sela does exactly that with regard to Israel.