Teen-agers Conclave is Critical of Hebrew School Education in U.S.

Some 400 teenage members of the Greater Miami Jewish Community Center agreed at a conclave here that teen-agers remember very little of their Hebrew school education and that their morals and ethics come from total life experiences and that these are not related to their Jewish education.

The National Jewish Welfare Board, reporting on the all-day seminar hold on Dec. 17, also said that the young men and women reported they had the most enduring and pleasant memories of Sunday school attendance because emphasis was placed on Jewish history, holidays and culture which young people can best understand; They also felt that Jewish education starts at too early an age, becomes repetitious and tiresome so that many pupils refuse to continue.

Their conclusions added up to a belief that Jewish education in the United States could be improved if it were started at a later age, if it were related more closely with day-by-day experiences and if it were linked to young people’s natural interests.

The Miami teen-agers also called for higher goals in public education, for both average and gifted students and for greater emphasis on learning rather than grades. They also felt that improvements should be made in guidance toward college, educational television, mathematics and language teaching, study habits, teachers’ salaries and the general level of English teaching.

The participants represented 33 high school age Jewish Center clubs; speakers included Dr; Kenneth R. Williams, president of the Dade County Junior College, and A. B. Cutler, president of the Jewish Center.