Dear Matzav Inbox,
I write today with an issue that weighs heavily on my heart—and should weigh on the heart of every parent in Klal Yisroel.
Last year, my daughter, a beloved teacher with a sterling reputation in the classroom, made the difficult decision to leave chinuch for an office job. Why? Because despite her passion, dedication, and the countless hours she invested in our children, she simply couldn’t pay her bills. She left, disillusioned and broken, not because she wanted to, but because the system left her no choice.
What is happening to us? What is happening to our chinuch system?
The dedicated, professional teachers we so desperately need are leaving b’achas, and in their place? Young, inexperienced seminary girls who are fresh out of school, trying their best, but who lack the seasoned experience and depth that only years in the classroom can provide.
Don’t believe me? Speak to any menahel, and they’ll tell you the same thing. The turnover is staggering, and it’s Klal Yisroel that’s paying the price.
Our children are being shortchanged. The chashuve teachers who used to dedicate their lives to chinuch are disappearing, and we are left scrambling to find anyone willing to fill their shoes. We’ve created a situation where teaching has become a stop-gap job, not a lifelong calling.
Yes, we pay tuition—often exorbitant amounts. But it’s clearly not enough. We seem to find money for everything else, from our incredible mosdos like Hatzolah and tzedakos that Baruch Hashem flourish, but when it comes to those who spend hours day in and day out with our most precious commodity—our children—suddenly, the funds are nowhere to be found.
We must, we must, find a way to compensate our teachers k’fi kvodam, so we can keep them in the classrooms, giving our children the quality chinuch they deserve. Because right now, let’s be honest: we’re accepting mediocrity, and it’s our children who will suffer.
We are shooting ourselves in the foot by allowing this to continue. There is no greater investment than our children’s future, and yet, we are watching helplessly as the best and brightest leave because they cannot make ends meet.
We cannot afford second-rate chinuch. We cannot afford to lose any more of our top talent. This issue must be addressed miyad!
B’virchas kol tuv,
A deeply worried father
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