Reply to my daughter hates religious school

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "my daughter hates religious school"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. Thanks for weighing in, even those who say, in effect, stop torturing your child. The goal is a Bat Mitzvah at age 12, followed by lots of camps (she's still too young for sleepaway camp right now--she struggles with "sleepovers" at friends' houses, which she craves.) I do think that summer camp gives you the best positive experience, and I'm looking for a good religious summer camp, but she likes the camp she attends now. So. I'm encouraged that so many of us disliked Sunday school, but survived and I guess learned something.

[b]We tried a different synagogue closer to home and it was nice but not for us (too religious/conservative)[/b]. My parents belong to the synagogue we now attend, which is more our speed (relaxed), and my folks are thrilled that we attend. That's part of why we go. I might try the children's services, even though they are early in the morning. I find them dull, but they're short and sweet and she could more easily make a friend there. I will also ask, for next year, that she be placed with someone from her school. She just doesn't seem to reach out to the other kids in her class.

As to why go at all: I think to be culturally literate in the West, you've got to know Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, David and Goliath, etc. My daughter asks a lot of questions about death and God that I'd like a rabbi to answer since the questions are often beyond me. Yes, we have books at home, but learning in a group matters. The music is also wonderful. [b]I want my daughter to be comfortable in a synagogue[/b], and next year I think they visit and work on some community projects with some churches nearby, which I also value. The synagogue offers a lot. It's kind of like the doctor's office--she doesn't like to go there, either.  Yet she must go. Wish I knew how to make it something she values. [/quote]

Do you go to shul as a family?  Do you light candles on Fridays?  Celebrate holidays other than Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur/Passover?  i.e., do you practice what you preach?  Or do you just send your kid to Sunday school and call it a day?

I find that kids are often happier to go to religious school at more observant congregations because Judaism is more a part of their family's daily lives.  But if none of the things she learns at Sunday school are reinforced in her day to day life, I can see why she'd resent going.[/quote]

+1[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics