All Races, Cultures, Religions, & Ethnicities Must Demand A Quality Education

If you doubt the effect of religion, culture, and ethnicity on education, you need only listen to Tiger Mom Amy Chua, who says (in reference to her daughter's schooling) “A- is not acceptable.” Better yet, read her stirring book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," or her January 8, 2011 Wall Street Journal online essay, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.” (She admits to using the word “Chinese” loosely.) She did not allow her daughters to go on sleepovers or participate in school plays. Nor were they allowed to complain about not being in school plays.

Extreme? Perhaps. But the fact remains that parents’ the world over make determinations about the schooling their children receive or do not receive. In fact, geography and the happenstance of birth are conditions nearly always responsible for the extent of the education a child receives. Consider the fact that the American taxpayer forks over thousands of dollars for each child in the public school system. According to Adam Schaeffer in the Cato Institute Policy Analysis #662, March 10, 2010, spending ranges from $12,000 in Phoenix area schools to an exorbitant $27,000 in the New York City schools. As a nation — despite what the dropout rates indicate — Americans believe in education and are willing to fund it.

The German tradition of apprenticeship has virtually eliminated their dropout problem. In the Time Magazine article, “How Germany Keeps Kids from Dropping Out,” Julie Rawe explains it’s an “earn-while-you-learn” program for students not intending to obtain a higher education degree. Germany pays nearly two million students $20,000 to learn a trade from the 350 apprenticeship programs available.

In other parts of the world, of course, parents regard education as a luxury they cannot afford. In poorer nations, millions of children have no access to learning at all. Statistics from www.one.org/Education affirms the correlation between a lack of education and the ongoing immersion in the cycle of extreme poverty. Parents rely on daughters in particular, to help at home, tend to the farm, or collect water for their families, rather than attend school. Education is simply not an option for them.

The faith in which we are born is often another determinant of the attitude toward the knowledge with which we raise our children. Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman of Temple B'rith Kodesh in Rochester, New York, knows especially well the connection between culture and learning. Ordained from Hebrew Union College, she is particularly interested in adult learning and Bar/Bat Mitzvah education. The mitzvah ceremony is a coming-of-age ritual for Jewish boys and girls when they reach age 13. The event is marked by the young adults participating in the reading of the Hebraic text in the Torah.

“In our synagogue,” she notes, “we require the youngsters to give their own short homily, which they work on with a rabbi. The ritual is also an acknowledgement that they are reaching an age where they can read the Torah and apply their own interpretative skills to it. As they approach adulthood, the mitzvah candidates engage in the 'big questions' regarding their faith." 

Rabbi Gutterman has combined her studies of rabbinic duties with her interest in writing and performing. Clearly, on many levels, religion and learning are deeply entwined.

Gutterman explains the emphasis rabbis’ place on learning about Jewish culture and traditions. “I can speak from the Jewish perspective in that learning and education are true building blocks of Judaism. Our tradition is based on generations of rabbis taking our core texts and approaching them with their own questions and their own interpretations.

“That teaches us that all teachings are meant to be questioned. Ours,” she explains, “is not a monolithic tradition in which rabbis dictate what people should think, or what they should believe. Rather, based on multiple dialogs, rabbis examine the big questions from several perspectives and engage in ongoing discussion and analysis. Speaking in general terms, I can say these cognitive aspects of learning and education are valued by many in the Jewish religion and culture.”

Ideally, according to former president Bill Clinton, learning and education will one day be valued in a sustainable world, a world without walls. However, he warns that “If the world is dominated by people who believe that their races, their religions, their ethnic differences are the most important factors then a huge number of people will perish in this century.”