Education After the Melting Pot: One Jewish View

Publication Date: June 2009

Publisher: National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

Author(s): Tsvi Blanchard

Research Area: Culture and religion; Education

Keywords: Assimilation; Jewish Identification; Social Context; Educators

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author explores various pedagogical problems in both North American and Jewish education due to the new economic and cultural environment of 21st Century America. The author argues that as a " new America" has emerged which values cultural heterogeneity over uniformity; full participation in general society no longer hinges on the subjugation of one's ethnic or cultural identity to the American one. Instead, the boundary between "Jewish" (or other cultural and ethnic groups) and "American" is increasingly becoming permeable, necessitating a new approach to American life and education where inherited social and cultural traditions can and must contribute to an improved American life and education system.