New immigrant Rachel is undergoing culture shock on behalf of her children. A friend once told me that I do my children a grave disservice by delaying their attendance in gan until they are 3, 4 or 5. She claimed that they need the gan experience in order to develop that tough exterior so useful in Israeli society. I don't know if she's right or not, but every action involves a tradeoff. If you only associate with American families, they will not learn Hebrew as quickly nor the ins and outs of Israeli society. And Israeli culture has positive values such as love of the land, close extended families, and less materialism. Even "protektzia" is positive when you are the … [Read more...]
“Don’t You Have More Love for a Child than That?”
December 24, 2006 by 12 Comments
I just received the following anonymous comment on my post What's Your Excuse? Leaving children alone, revisited: Hi. I just came across your blog by accident, but then again maybe it wasn't an accident. I just returned from a 12 day trip to Israel with a tour group. I love Israel and the Israeli people. While riding through Jerusalem one morning on the tour bus, I saw a lot of children walking alone. I'm assuming to school because of the backpacks they had. As the bus continued through town I remarked to my husband everytime I saw young children walking alone. Some holding on to one another, others talking carelessly and others, no more than 5 years old, walking alone. The more children … [Read more...]
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