Ultra-Orthodox
What's wrong with English?
Op-ed: Ultra-Orthodox boys are not instructed in even basic English; Tzvika Gronich pleads to have this subject, as necessary as arithmetic and grammar, instituted in haredi schools.
Harsh criticism was levied across various forums against Haredi members of Knesset who don't know how to speak English:
How dare they represent us in the Israeli parliament without knowing English, the language that has long been fundamental, even within our narrow borders?
I wonder if this requirement shouldn't have come from us, the voters, when we sent them to the Knesset.
The ultra-Orthodox claim that they "must preserve the status quo" and "not breach the ghetto walls" is true at its root. But why doesn't this wall allow us to learn basic English? Not the highest level, not the intermediate level, just the basic level of the spoken language.
Haredi pupils (Photo: Yoav Friedman)
Indeed, it can't be that Haredi schools teach arithmetic or grammar at a basic level, but not English, which is no less important than other disciplines and is not taught at all. It can't be, because English is no less necessary than arithmetic. In the first years of our lives, we don't encounter the fundamental differences in subjects' importance, but when we enter the employment market, we encounter it all too often.
Ultra-Orthodox MKs call on employers at every opportunity they have to accept Haredim in the job market. However, they remain silent when that the same employee that they asked to send to a leading Israeli company is accepted because of their pressure but fails to provide the goods when they discover his ignorance of English.
But forget about employment for a moment. English isn't just there; it begins considerably before. Last year, I flew multiple times to various countries in Europe, and I saw there the reality of the situation. There, I felt how much I'm an outsider.
Were it not for the rudimentary English of those around me, I highly doubt if we would have stayed abroad for more than few minutes. Without the language, "mobility" would be impossible. The taxi driver or the mall vendor don't really care that you don't know English because your teachers refused to breach the walls of the ghetto. The vendor and the taxi driver want to hear you, but they encounter a mute: a stranger in countries where he is supposed to be an ally.
During my stay in Prague, the Czech capital, this topic came up in conversation—how couldn't it? I found myself with my opinion to be in a minority of one against a majority of many. When I write "many," I mean the administrators of ultra-Orthodox junior schools that give our children quality education that hides within it the fact that many of us fear—Hebrew: in, English: out.
I asked those administrators this question: "What's wrong with English?" Everyone's answer was useless: "There's no problem, you're welcome to send your children to a tutor…"
A tutor. Sure. In the current day: when the hard economic burden lies heavily with a considerable part of the citizenry, who haven't the money to get through—or start—the month, they're invited by the administrators to pay hundreds of shekels a month for a tutor. We'll have to pay for it while we demand that the state budget for this, which every other Israeli child receives.
By the way, administrators of haredi educational institutions: Girls learning in seminary are taught English. If they don't, their standing is in doubt, while we, the boys, can't even learn the subject. Why? Is it that English can only destroy one of the sexes?
Far be it from me to interfere with the opinions of the greats of Israel on this subject. I just wonder about the administrators who understand that grammar and algebra are fundamental for ultra-Orthodox students, but English isn't.
Good thing there's Google Translate.
