Sorry for the lapse in posts... I am on vacation and it's been difficult to find the time to compose a post. Being on vacation, I am also relatively unplugged from things, which is the way it should be, a good time to appreciate family and get out of regular patterns.
Fortune has a well written article about the relationship between technology and future prosperity. A key section is:
The No. 1 policy prescription, almost regardless of whom you ask, comes down to one word: education. In an economy where technology leadership determines the winners, education trumps everything. That’s a problem for America. Our fourth-graders are among the world’s best in math and science, but by ninth grade they’ve fallen way behind.
Although some reference is made to private schools with 'better' education the real issue is the parents' involvement. Parents used to sacrifice for the sake of their children's education. Parents demonstrate their appreciation of education by their own commitment to reading and continual learning. If we want to maintain our leadership in the world we can't get lazy and expect others to pull the weight for us. You don't inspire your kids by telling them to get educated or just footing a large tuition bill - you inspire them by participating in their education.
Perhaps this is a problem of the feminization of our educational system. As I wrote in an earlier post, our synagogue is losing membership and the most dire indicator is the lack of a committed future generation. The synagogue has a variety of popular programs but the most important, IMHO, is a strong educational program that involves the youngest. I have heard for instance that young children don't need to be taught Hebrew. I consider that a death wish. When our kids are young they are most receptive to learning. Not wanting them to miss this opportunity, my wife and I are teaching them Hebrew and Jewish heritage (in home school fashion) since our synagogue is either unable or unwilling to provide the appropriate education. Some parents lament that they don't possess the necessary background to teach this material but I don't buy this excuse. The material is readily available to teach children and the parent learns in the process. (We also experienced this with teaching our son chess.) A phrase that is similar in evincing this reaction is "you are so lucky to know Hebrew", actually it wasn't luck it was simply some hard work. As I mentioned in my previous post, there are attributes that may be considered feminine or masculine, one may be a relativist versus an absolutist perspective. The same mind set which is driving men out of churches may be driving men out of education. An aggressive approach to developing technology that encourages a feminine as well as a masculine mind set is essential.
A coworker of mine is Canadian and got his Master's at the Technion. He studied Hebrew as a child and thought he had the basics for conversing in Israel. He amusingly recalled arriving there and announcing "Hineni" and using words such as "Anochi." It turns out the biblical Hebrew he studied was nearly useless for the streets. So, for your kids' sake, make sure they know all the words I know you are familiar with :)
Posted by: Saar Drimer | July 25, 2005 at 03:26 PM
I am partial to the Hebrew vernacular [blee sefek] but the Biblical Hebrew is worthwhile also for rituals like being called up for aliyah. My wife and I were in an Istanbul suburb years ago and took in a Shabbat service - our only common language was Hebrew which served us quite well.
Just like English - knowing proper English and slang are both helpful. (However I was once in a British garage and couldn't understand a word of the local dialect - good luck in England, Saar!)
Posted by: Stuart Berman | July 25, 2005 at 04:33 PM
Stuart, Thanks.
Agreed. There are 2 types of Hebrew for 2 distinct purposes: biblical and current.
The language was practically dead for centuries until Eliezer Ben-Yehuda revived it early in the last century. Interestingly, his grand daughter is leading the fight against the official linguistics in that she advocated adopting new words and keeping Hebrew with current times instead of artificially inventing new words into submission. In other words, adopt slang and common names for things into the dictionary. Odd (yet clever concatenations) words like "SachRachok" for "telephone" dreamed up by the linguistics is a good example. No one uses it, everyone says "telephone." There are many such examples.
Posted by: Saar Drimer | July 25, 2005 at 04:56 PM
Saar,
I always liked the (failed) Hebrew term for ambulance, 'sheger peger' - sort of a cadaver carrier.
Posted by: Stuart Berman | August 09, 2005 at 11:39 PM