THE ORTHODOX DAY SCHOOL AND ITS NONOBSERVANT POPULATION

Abstract

Many of Canada's day schools¹ are experiencing a phenomenon whereby only 10 to 20 percent of their student populations reflect the school's Orthodox ideology. This ratio of observant to nonobservant is also an accurate estimate of their parent population. Yet, virtually all Canadian senior high schools² and many elementary schools of similar populations remain Orthodox in their philosophies. Such a situation can present schools and parent bodies with a variety of dilemmas: Parents are often not aware of Jewish educational goals; children are more educated than their parents; there is little parental support to many school values (eg. kashrut, Shabbat, etc.); some school values are discouraged; and parent/school tensions can result out of a lack of understanding. Such schools as Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto,³ Herzilia Academy of Montreal,⁴ and Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate of Winnipeg⁵ all must address this issue since the observant population is a minority in their systems. Consequently, a significant percentage of their students do not subscribe to their school's philosophy. This situation is not unique in Canada. Many Orthodox day schools see their original mandate as increasing Torah awareness of all their pupils in the communities they serve.