Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like it is a way for DC to retain more Jewish families. We know Jewish families who would like it, non-Jews not so much unless they didn't get in anywhere else.

or put jewish primary day school out of business? eliminate some of the costs of private hebrew school?

People who choose Jewish Primary Day want the Jewish (religious) education. This seems to be a language immersion school, much like Yu Ying is a language immersion school (not a YY parent, and no, not turning this thread into a YY thread - just making a comparison). Would anyone argue that YY also teaches a Communist curriculum?

Mandarin is one of the world's most spoken languages in a huge country; Hebrew one of the least spoken languages in a tiny country. Hebrew and Judaism are intertwined throughout history. Chinese and Communism is a recent thing. Communism is a political party. Judaism is a religion.

Need I go on?

And more:
http://www.waldorfcritics.org/active/concerns.html

Anonymous wrote:What was bad about City of Trees?

Read up on the history of Waldorf. Based on white supremacy. Also, they don't teach kids to read until 2nd grade. Not going to fly in today's world. Might work for TP commune hipsters, but the bulk of DC? No way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like it is a way for DC to retain more Jewish families. We know Jewish families who would like it, non-Jews not so much unless they didn't get in anywhere else.

or put jewish primary day school out of business? eliminate some of the costs of private hebrew school?

People who choose Jewish Primary Day want the Jewish (religious) education. This seems to be a language immersion school, much like Yu Ying is a language immersion school (not a YY parent, and no, not turning this thread into a YY thread - just making a comparison). Would anyone argue that YY also teaches a Communist curriculum?

What was bad about City of Trees?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like it is a way for DC to retain more Jewish families. We know Jewish families who would like it, non-Jews not so much unless they didn't get in anywhere else.

or put jewish primary day school out of business? eliminate some of the costs of private hebrew school?

I bet a lot of well-off non-jewish families would put up with with a little Hebrew to get a decent free education for their kids -- if they won in the lottery, which they probably would because there aren't that many Jews and no low-income families would sign up for Hebrew school.

Clever. But hopefully church-state officials will see through it.

How about we do a magnet school for high achieving kids and leave Hebrew out of it?

The charter board saw through the wacky, Aryanist, Waldorf/nature-based philosophy charter proposal for City of Trees in the spring and (responsibly, I believe) denied them a charter. Four of 20 complete proposals made it through. I think this one, while inventive, will be hard-pressed to say what need they are fulfilling in the current DC demographic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like it is a way for DC to retain more Jewish families. We know Jewish families who would like it, non-Jews not so much unless they didn't get in anywhere else.

or put jewish primary day school out of business? eliminate some of the costs of private hebrew school?

I bet a lot of well-off non-jewish families would put up with with a little Hebrew to get a decent free education for their kids -- if they won in the lottery, which they probably would because there aren't that many Jews and no low-income families would sign up for Hebrew school.

Clever. But hopefully church-state officials will see through it.

How about we do a magnet school for high achieving kids and leave Hebrew out of it?

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like it is a way for DC to retain more Jewish families. We know Jewish families who would like it, non-Jews not so much unless they didn't get in anywhere else.

or put jewish primary day school out of business? eliminate some of the costs of private hebrew school?

Sounds like it is a way for DC to retain more Jewish families. We know Jewish families who would like it, non-Jews not so much unless they didn't get in anywhere else.

I really like the idea of a Semitic language school. Maybe learning both would enable those kids to solve problems their parents cannot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Couple of semesters wrestling with Talmudic debating would do DC's kids some good.

can this be done in a secular school?

The Talmud is written in Aramaic and Ancient Hebrew, so no Talmudic debating would likely occur - it seems this school is focusing on secular, Modern Hebrew. It will be interesting to see if it passes the charter board in the spring.

Anonymous wrote:Couple of semesters wrestling with Talmudic debating would do DC's kids some good.

can this be done in a secular school?

Couple of semesters wrestling with Talmudic debating would do DC's kids some good.

Anonymous wrote:I imagine students attracted to learning Hebrew would also form a strong cohort. Looks like a recipe for success.

Sounds like a kibbutz