Last week we discussed the serious problem of how our community is choosing to address the inclusion of special needs children into our Jewish day schools.
Sadly, it does not seem that things are, as of yet, improving for these young boys & girls. It is truly sad to see and hear how such a culturally and financially rich community as ours is allowing the future of these children to be addressed in such a cavalier manner.
It is, as if, we believe that if we ignore them, they will go away. Actually, that may very well be what will happen. If we ignore them, if we do not help our children to acquire the tools they need to fulfill their potential, they will surely and sadly go away.
They will go away from our community, from our people, from our families and see themselves in the same way our community treats them- as outsiders.
They feel stupid, because we have not given them the key to open the door to their intelligence.
They feel short changed by Gd, when they are really being short changed by the system.
They feel they have no voice, because we choose to not hear their cries.
Was Shearim School the best we could do?
Did it have its problems?
Should it have been closed?
Who knows?
But certainly, should we really have allowed the school to close before the planning was done as how to better educate and include the students of Shearim, present and future students, within the Jewish school system? That, it appears, is the question.
Be it the “cloak & dagger” politics behind the scenes, be it the finances or be it the ongoing arguments as to what is the best method of educating special needs children- the bottom line- are we really prepared to allow our children, perhaps the one’s who need us the most, to be collateral damage?
The cost of Jewish education is great, the cost of Jewish education with Special Needs is even more, yet, the cost of not providing it is even greater. We can pay the schools to reach the precious minds & souls of our Jewish children with special needs or we can pay with our tears and our broken hearts as we see the look on their faces when they come to the realization that they really are outsiders, somehow less important then the others.
The choice is ours and it seems that it has been made.
