Applying to High Schools in Israel for Dummies
Some practical advice from a n00b
Along with turning 40 comes applying to high schools. For my kids, that is. I already finished high school. Overall, I am speaking here of my thoughts on the application process from the perspective of a first-time parent, specifically in regards to religious (Nationalist Zionist) educational institutions for boys. Here is a mid-process report live from the front lines:
Three Key Factors to Keep in Mind
Most important, like just about everything, is to stay calm. This is key to a lot of things in life.
I think it is important here to keep in mind what I call the 10% rule. The 10% rule is that in any situation where there is a competitive market, the standard deviation between any one product in any criteria is going to be 10% in either direction from the mean. For example, let’s take supermarkets, you may like Supermarket A over Supermarket B for any number of reasons (close by, decor, prices, freshness, etc.). If I choose the other supermarket, the difference on the whole between any of these traits will be at most 20%, but much more closer to 10%, which is generally negligible (ok, it might end up being a few extra [choose your currency] over the course of the year, but if your budget can handle it and all things considered you prefer one over the other, go for it!). The same is most likely true here. Your child will at most come out 10% more in some categories based on what you choose to assess for, but know they will also come out 10% less in others.
Then, of course, like all things with parenting, your role is to help your child in whatever way they need, but the way things turn out is in the hands of Hashem (God). Prayer here (and in general) is key.
You Need to Know Your Kid
Hopefully, this goes without saying, but knowing what kind of kid your kid is is crucial to finding the correct high school for them. High school intensity here is a scaled system from low intensity to high intensity. By intensity, I mean the rigorousness of the learning program. There are options of all kinds, from a typical high-school setting (6-7 hours a day, period-like class structure), all the way up to basically full-time Yeshiva learning with just enough time in the schedule to squeeze in secular academics (but with the thought being you’re smart enough to basically do well on these subjects with minimal instruction). Within this second group, the length of the day of study can also vary dramatically, and in the intensity of the learning expected. The yeshiva-track programs are basically exclusively boarding schools (though the amount of time spent in the dorms can also vary significantly), so keep that in mind.
These are kind of the first questions you want to ask your son when kicking off the process, though, you, as a parent, may have already decided which type of program your child will be going to based on your ideals and learning goals for them. But also keep in mind that your child is old enough to have discussions about this (see below). It is also important to know that these are not boarding schools in the sense of the word that the staff is there to reform your child. If they are not excited about learning Torah (more) intensively, then pushing them into that setting is going to backfire horribly and harm them more than help them.
Choice Paralysis
One thing I am definitely suffering from is choice paralysis. Applying to high schools in Israel is a national affair within the Religious Zionist school system, so any high school in the country (in this system) is a potential candidate, especially the ones with dormitories. This can lead to a wide range of choices, and it would seem from the meetings I have attended, in addition to data released by the school, that some 50% of Israeli high school students choose to attend a school that is not in their general vicinity. So another choice you will need to make is if you or your child wants to remain close to home, or be farther away (the schools provide transit to various regions of the country when it is time to return home, e.g., various weekends and holidays, also sometimes once a week so that the students can attend their youth groups).
On top of that, being a recent immigrant, I have another level of choice paralysis, because generally in the diaspora (at least in the Modern Orthodox world) there is generally only one school to choose from, and many go straight from Kindergarten through 12th grade. I did not really have any choices when it came to high school so the fact that there are even two, let alone hundreds of schools to choose from, is quite a luxury and difficult for me to wrap my head around.
College, Four Years Early
I think one of the things that differentiates the Religious Zionist/Modern Orthodox population is our emphasis on both Torah and Secular studies. That each one informs the other in a way that you can’t understand one without the other. The caveat here is that higher education in general Israeli society is not the given that it is in other Western cultures. What this ends up meaning is that much of your education and your thoughts about your career path begin and take place in high school rather than in undergrad. National army service also plays a role, since that is often a time when soldiers learn applicable skills that they may be able to parlay into a career without further private education.
But not to the extent that this is the last chance to make these choices. The system stresses Torah because these are the years of your life when you are relatively free to learn Torah, and when the Torah can shape your outlook on life, so I think this emphasis is correct. Learning Torah well translates into being able to learn other things well as well (well, that was a lot of wells in that sentence).
49%/51%
For many kids, this is the biggest choice they will be making so far in their lives. It is possibly the first big choice they are going to make. As I’ve said previously in this column, this takes guidance fromthe parents. It is also important to remember that the parents are still the ones who have to make the decision here, albeit with a lot of input from their kids. They are not yet of the age of the majority, and they also are not the ones paying for the schooling. Also, teenagers are notoriously bad at making decisions on their own. So let them give a lot of input, let them speak their minds about what they think is important, and then take all of that into consideration when making the choice.
Vicarious Living
One other hazard you need to look out for is to not try and make your child walk in a path you would want to go if you were to go through high school again (why anyone would want to do high school again is beyond me, but hey, you do you). Anyway, for myself, looking back, I would have loved to have an extra 4 years of learning Torah at the level or with the amount of opportunity that my son will have. But I can’t push him in that direction just because with 20/20 (they say 6/6 here in Israel) hindsight I would have made a different choice if I could have. This is not the time to atone for non-existent sins you have.
Exclusivity
I also want to bring up one other apparent issue that I’m not sure is really an issue. Going to the parent nights, you’ll see 100-150 families, and then the principal gets up and says that there are only 35 spots in the class. Wait, what? Then you go to the next, and there are the same number of parents or more, and they have 75 spots in a grade. There seems to be way more demand than there is supply. On the other hand, though, I have never heard of anyone not being able to get into a Yeshiva (you can apply to up to three) so this would seem to mean that there is enough space for everyone.
A Note about Parent Nights
Schools: this is your time to shine. Don’t make me sit through 90 minutes of talk that was the same as the other schools I visited. You need to stress your X factors and tell me the kind of kids you are looking to “produce”. You all have “amazing rebbeim”, and a yoetzet/advisor on staff who gets to know every boy over their time in the school. This is what a school is supposed to have. But maybe those same staff also play sports with the kids, or maybe your math team has won the national championship 10 years out of the past 12 despite having more hours of Torah learning than schools A, D, and R.
Also, have your prize students practice what they are going to say to the parents who are gathered. Let them share an essay they wrote, or a chiddush they came up with, or run a game with those who are visiting. The rest of the stuff I can get from your website and a couple of PowerPoint presentations.
Conclusion
I hope this has been helpful to whomever reads this and to those who will read it in the future. In terms of the logistics of actually applying, it is important to follow along on the chat that your child’s school will probably set up. There are established dates for everything in order to prevent constant spamming from the kids from the moment 8th grade begins. Good luck to everyone and remember that Hashem will find the best place for your kid. Shabbat shalom.