The start of a new school year is normally exciting but next week everyone is entering the new school year with tense apprehension. Everything we know about the mechanics of education has been upended and this coming Monday is going to be a first for everyone in education: the students, faculty and parents. Online education is a fairly new vista for most El Pasoans and the knowledge that everything can change overnight doesn’t make it any easier.
As we rethink so many areas of education it’s appropriate to dwell on the purpose of education as well.
This week’s parsha opens with a profound statement that reverberates in our personal lives every single day. “Behold I (G-d) have given you [the opportunity to choose between] a blessing and a curse.” After teaching the Torah to the Israelites for forty years in the desert, Moshe communicates on behalf of G-d the hard reality of life. We can be taught everything, but the opportunity to utilize all of this knowledge in a positive and constructive manner is our choice alone. Knowledge is powerful but can be dangerous as well. Penmanship can promulgate hatred and terror and arithmetic can be used to swindle and cheat. Medical knowledge can be used to save lives or terminate them efficiently and scientific discovery can enhance our quality of life or produce tools to destroy civilization. For over forty years the Rebbe spoke incessantly of the crucial need for the educational system to have a soul. Children are not computers to be fed information. They are humans endowed with a conscience and a mutual responsibility for their families, communities and the world at large. As parents and educators we cannot simply equip our children with the tools to embark on successful careers, we need to teach them how to choose right over wrong and good over evil. To live lives of service and higher purpose. To this end the Rebbe was a strong advocate for public schools beginning the day with a “moment of silence.” When school children reflect silently on the purpose of education it has an indelible impact on their moral and ethical perspective in life, with far reaching results. To ensure educators do not advance their personal religious beliefs in the public school classroom, parents inform their children of what values and ideas to reflect on during that minute - another golden opportunity to foster parental involvement in their children’s moral and ethical education. Today it is mandated in over twenty states including Texas, but the Rebbe explained that this moment of silence, when implemented meaningfully, can have a transformative effect on our youth and change the course of history. Sixty seconds of silence on Zoom is disastrous and will probably not be part of the curriculum of online education most children are returning to. I know the early morning hours in every household are hectic and no one is looking for more chores, but I encourage parents to ensure their children are afforded the opportunity of reflecting silently for a minute before starting their formal education each day so that the soul of education flourishes as we work together to get through this time period in a healthy and hearty manner.