Educators Urge Curtailing of Public School Hours for Religious Instruction

(Jewish Daily Bulletin)

A resolution urging public school authorities to shorten school hours so as to make room for religious training was referred to the Executive Committee at a joint meeting of the National Council for Jewish Education and the National Association of Jewish Community Center Secretaries held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel here.

The resolution was offered by Dr. Emanuel Gamoran of Chicago, well known American Jewish educator and director of school extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The resolution expressed opposition to “any form of religious instruction within the public school building during school hours.”

Dr. Mordecai Soltes, director of Jewish Extension Education of the Jewish Welfare Board, who spoke on the subject of Jewish Extension Education for the Youth and Adult, listed thirty different types of smaller group and mass activities of a Jewish nature included in the Center program. He indicated that the most popular activities are mass celebration of Jewish holidays, lectures on Jewish topics and concerts of Jewish music, conduct of classes in Jewish subjects.

Concerning the place of the Jewish clement in the Center program, Dr. Soltes said: “Some organizations have found it more efficient from the point of view of administration to concentrate in the hands of an educational director or director of Jewish activities, the responsibilities involved in initiating, promoting and conducting the specifically Jewish activities. While this is a step in the right direction, it should not be misinterpreted to mean that the Jewish element is to be isolated and limited to a few Jewish courses conducted independently of the rest of the program. The progressive executive attempts consciously to extract Jewish values from the entire program, for every phase of the work may be made to yield elements of Jewish educational value.

“This is comparable to the situation regarding the teaching of civics in the public schools. The old-fashioned practice was to offer a course in civics for thirty minutes or one hour a week. The subject matter usually consisted of the teaching of the forms and functions of the Municipal, State and Federal Governments. Today an entirely different point of view prevails. It is realized that the entire school activity of the pupils, including all the subjects of the curriculum as well as the extra curricular activities may, if properly stimulated, be made to yield elements of civic value. Similarly in the case of the Jewish Center. The entire gamut of activities should be made to reflect Jewish values. The Jewish element, forming an integral part of the general program, should, as far as possible, occupy a central position. It should touch, influence and grow out of all the activities conducted in the Center.”

Dr. Soltes concluded with a detailed discussion of the program materials for older groups prepared by the youth organizations, and explained the policies by which the Jewish Welfare Board was guided in this work.