An Excellent Education
Last year, the senior administration grappled with the question, "What is the WYHS Way?" We sought to spell out what we are really trying to accomplish at this school.
It was a valuable experience, and it led me to ponder a broader, related question: What constitutes an excellent education?
At WYHS, we regularly discuss the balance between the Judaic and College Prep components of our curriculum. The whole world of higher education debates the value of Liberal Arts vs. "STEM" courses, courses oriented toward Science, Technology, Engineering and Math ("where the jobs" are in the 21st century).
But while acknowledging that content lies at the heart of learning, we also need to address the issue of essential skills.
Our teachers implicitly understand that they need to impart much more than facts, especially in an age when factual information is only a click-of-a-button away! What are the capabilities students actually need so that they - and all of us involved in the process - will conclude that they have received an excellent education?
Below is my own attempt at a brief guide, relevant to the study of all subject areas - Judaic and College Prep, Liberal Arts and STEM. I believe that an excellent education is one which enables students to develop the following:
1. The ability to listen and process
2. The ability to read with understanding
3. The ability to write clearly and persuasively
4. The ability to talk in an articulate and engaging way
5. The skills to tackle and solve a wide range of problems
6. The capacity to manage multiple tasks within limited time
7. Respect for the acquisition of knowledge and skills, and for those who have acquired them
8. Acceptance of constructive criticism of one's own ideas, along with tolerance for others'
9. Appreciation and understanding of one's religious, cultural, national and intellectual heritage
10. Appreciation for the beauty and the complexity of G-d's world
11. The confidence and the desire to develop one's personal potential
12. The skills and the desire to help bring out the best in others
We have wonderful human resources at WYHS: administration, faculty, parents, students. I would like to see everyone associated with our school engage in regular self-examination, because we need to know what we are (or are not) achieving. Working together, our outcome can and must be an excellent education which will enable our graduates to experience success in college, in the workplace and in the community while living lives of religious and personal fulfillment.
Shabbat Shalom,
Dr. Laura Becker
Director, College Preparatory Studies
