1 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Isolation and Integration: Education and Worldview Formation in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Schools A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Field of Education and Social Policy – Learning Sciences By Moshe Krakowski EVANSTON, ILLINOIS June 2008 2 © Copyright by Moshe Krakowski 2008 All Rights Reserved 3 Abstract Isolation and Integration: Education and Worldview Formation in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Schools Moshe Krakowski Researchers have long recognized that schools are powerful environments for shaping students’ worldview and identity. The structured content, activities, and resultant culture of schools profoundly impact the way in which students learn to make sense of the world around them. In the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community this function of schooling is prominently visible, as the overall worldview of the community is in many ways inconsistent with that of modern secular society, and often stands out in sharp contrast. This dissertation uses ultra-Orthodox elementary schools as a platform to explore issues of worldview formation. In this work I argue that the central purpose of elementary education in the ultra-Orthodox community is the inculcation of the ultra-Orthodox worldview. This is accomplished through a comprehensive religious education oriented around apprenticeship into communal practices and beliefs, rather than the acquisition of conventional content knowledge, along with a traditional secular education that is conceptually isolated and restricted in content, whose purpose is limited to the acquisition of basic skills necessary to function in daily life. To make this argument, I use a novel conception of worldview, wherein worldview emerges from the activities individuals engage in and the beliefs they maintain. This conception is then used to demonstrate how the activities and beliefs presented in the school day work in 4 concert with the students’ home lives to instill in the students a sense that the world must be assessed in terms of its accordance with a specific model of the good life, that is, the correct and proper way to live. 5 Acknowledgements The cliché that this work could not have been possible without the support of many exists for a reason: it accurately reflects reality. In this instance, the obstacles and pitfalls that I encountered were such that it was far more likely that this dissertation would not be written than the reverse. Were it not for the exceptional intellectual and emotional support that I received from all quarters there is no question that I would have stumbled, and would not be writing these words today. I must first express tremendous gratitude to the individuals that make up the Learning Sciences program at Northwestern University. Though the program has profoundly shaped the way that I understand learning and education, and is a powerful intellectual environment, that is not its most outstanding feature. The Learning Sciences Program it is truly unique in the level of collegiality and support offered to graduate students and the true warmth that dominates the atmosphere (the atmosphere being an emergent property of the many, many individual acts of kindness and good will that individuals do for one another on a daily basis). In this regard I have to express great thanks to my cohort, an unusually special group of individuals, for all that they have done for me; they were instrumental in creating the warm atmosphere without which I would have likely abandoned my studies. In this vein, I must also express my gratitude to my committee, Bruce Sherin, Uri Wilensky, Eva Lam, Danny Edelson, and Shani Bechhofer. As a group they are remarkable in their diversity, representing widely divergent fields of expertise and interest; individually, they are remarkable for their commitment to a project that did not lie within any of their domains. 6 Their willingness to spend valuable time and energy on my project is greatly appreciated. I am lucky to have had their input, advice, and persistence in pushing an often stubborn and stiff- necked graduate student to greater rigor and precision. As my advisor and chair of the committee, Bruce Sherin has given of himself in a way that few, if any, advisors do. There is no question that without his mentorship I would not have completed this project (nor likely even begun). I have been profoundly influenced by his intellectual approach, and have finally, after many years, absorbed some of the difficult and challenging ideas that he has articulated. He taught me what truly careful work looks like, the importance of literary precision, and what it means to conduct research at the highest level. Perhaps one day I will be able to approach that level of meticulousness. Just as critically, he has given me his time and attention in a manner that goes far beyond the call of duty. I already miss our wide-ranging discussions, whether they concerned the utility of a construct for cognitive transfer or the utility of Rex Grossman as quarterback for the Bears. This project could not have existed without the help of the individuals at the three elementary schools where this study was conducted. They opened their arms to me, though they had no reason to do so, and though many of them doubted the benefit of this work, they were happy to indulge me. I had anticipated great resistance to this project at the outset, but instead, the schools went out of their way to make things easier for me. Similarly, the teachers, parents, and students who were willing to put up with me, to allow me to videotape classes and to answer my questions, deserve a great deal of thanks. Without the generous assistance of the community I could not have conducted this study, and for that I am truly grateful. 7 The Mechanchim Chabura at the Chicago Community Kollel has been a source of spiritual sustenance for me over these many years; each evening there gives me the strength for the long day that follows. I have learned a tremendous amount about what it means to live life at the highest level, and what true seriousness and commitment looks like. In addition, I have been academically enriched by my discussions with the many rabbeim, gaining insights into the experiences of teachers that I would never have had access to otherwise. In particular, I would like to thank Rabbi Mordechai Eisenbach, who first welcomed me to the Kollel and has been a true friend and mentor, and Rabbi Avrohom Shultz, who has studied with me as a Chavrusah for more than seven years, and has served as a role model for what it means to be truly Yoshor. My relationship with them, along with the spiritual foundation given to me by Rabbi Moshe Stav, gave me the necessary perspective and the spiritual resources to remain grounded in the real world, and not confined by the ivory tower. No matter how hard you try, you cannot escape your family; they remain with you for as long as you live. This is a good thing. As I build my life, brick by brick, I cannot lose sight of the fact that the foundation upon which it rests was put in place by my parents. There is nothing that one can do or say to appropriately repay the debt owed to them for this bedrock of stability; the best that one can do is to try to build the best possible structure upon it, and thereby honor their hard work, dedication, and love, which made everything else possible. On a related note, my sisters have been a profound influence on my life. The combination of emotional warmth and love and profound intellectual and religious discussion that characterizes many of our interactions, is, I believe, truly unique. They have always taken my 8 assertive (they might call it bombastic) demeanor in conversation with equanimity, and have taken my ideas seriously (while rarely ever agreeing). My in-laws and my brother in-law have also been a source of great support to me over the near decade that I have known them, and I greatly appreciate their love and care. I have been greatly enriched by my intellectual and philosophical discussions with them, and I could not have pursued this dissertation without their help. My in-laws have also given me something that has had a greater impact on my life than anything else, without which none of my achievements (meager as they are), let alone this dissertation, would have been possible. My wife, Eve, is the true source of all of my accomplishments. A scholar of exceptional skill and intelligence, she also manages to take care of three children and the attendant responsibilities that accompany them. There are no words that could possibly describe the thanks that I owe her (an omission she points out regularly), but I will try. I owe her thanks for this dissertation, for the push to excel in life, for the awareness of the difference between the mediocre and the sublime, for the recognition of truth, for the constant demand that life be lived without compromise, for her irrational belief that I am greater than I actually am, and for her constant love. These things make me bigger, and they have changed me into someone qualitatively different than who I was. I would be remiss if I did not also mention my children, Fruma Avigayil, Miriam, and Shalva, who have tried their hardest to prevent me from finishing this dissertation, but despite all their efforts have only helped ensure my success. The long hours awake at night with them, the chaos of white walls turned to giant marker murals, and the fatigue from cleaning up 800 plastic Ziploc bags in the living room, have been exponentially offset by the pure and absolute joy of 9 their existence.