JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

conducted in the secular settings of Canada’s largest academic
institutions.
Day schools across Canada offer the typical full day of
studies with varying proportions of general studies vis-à-vis
Jewish studies, based on the ideology of the school. A typical
Ultra-Orthodox school might have a morning and early afternoon
of intensive holy studies followed by a late afternoon period
of general studies. Another denomination will emphasize
high-quality general studies for two-thirds of the day and a
Jewish studies curriculum for the remaining third. Most day
schools teach both textual and modern Israeli Hebrew, while
some teach Yiddish for varied ideological reasons. Jewish curricular
content and emphases are determined by the ideology
of each particular school.
Pedagogical methodology is also case-specific to each
school. The approaches range from rote recitation of texts to
Montessori, multiple intelligence instruction, and arts-based
techniques.
Supplementary schools are even more varied in their
content and form. They range from volunteer-taught Sunday
or Sabbath schools to three-day-a-week institutions with fulltime
directors and professional teachers. There are schools
linked to synagogues and temples, community schools, Orthodox
kiruv schools for non-Orthodox children, and forprofit
commercial establishments. In Canada, supplementary
schools account for the minority of children in Jewish schooling,
but have demonstrated great potential for outreach to peripheral
and marginal Jewish families.
Youth groups and summer camps are divided by religious
denominations or Zionist movements, with some community-wide
groupings. BBYO, Beitar, Bnei Akiva, Habonim-
Dror, Hashomer Hatzair, NFTY, NCSY, Tzofim, USY, and Young
Judea all have chapters and groups in various communities
across Canada. Zionist camps, community camps, denominational
camps, and private camps are active near most of the
larger communities.
Teacher education has a unique character in Canada
due to two university-based programs at McGill University
in Montreal and at York University in Toronto, respectively.
The McGill program was established in 1973, with York opening
its version soon after in 1977. These are Jewish teacher
training programs based on an undergraduate degree and a
teaching diploma, using faculties of general education and
Jewish studies programs in both institutions. York University
has an agreement with western Canadian communities to
train teachers for the schools of the western provinces. Other
teacher training takes place either in pre-service seminaries
of Ultra-Orthodox systems or in in-service professional development
offered by central agencies such as Toronto’s Board
of Jewish Education or Montreal’s Bronfman Jewish Education
Centre.
Aside from teacher training, which is professionally oriented,
there are multiple modes of adult education sponsored
by a variety of synagogues, temples, service organizations, and
community federations. They range from kolelim in the Or-
thodox community, sporadic lectures in a JCC, home study
groups, on-line courses, synagogue shiurim, Daf Yomi classes,
to the kolel in Toronto’s liberal community.
It should be noted that although several provinces provide
partial funding for day schools, all other Jewish educational
activities are funded by users, voluntary organizations,
and federated communities. In two such federated communities,
Montreal and Toronto, there are central agencies for Jewish
education, which provide a variety of services to Jewish
schools, youth groups, camps, and Israel experiences such as
the March of the Living and Birthright for Israel. In Toronto,
where there is no provincial aid to day schools, the UJA Federation’s
Board of Jewish Education grants millions of dollars
annually to subsidize day school tuition for parents in need.
Over 200,000,000 Canadian dollars are spent annually on all
aspects of Jewish education across Canada.
Data from the 2001 Canadian census, coupled with statistics
provided by Jewish schools across the country, provide
us with a snapshot of the status of Jewish education in Canada.
Of the 61,000 school-age children (those between the
ages of 6 and 17) in Canada, 87% lived in the six largest Jewish
communities, communities with more than 7,000 Jews.
A review of enrollment in day elementary, day high school,
and supplementary schools demonstrates the following: In
2001, of the 53,300 children aged 6–17 in the six largest Jewish
communities, 25,446 children or 48% were receiving some
form of Jewish education. In 2001, of the 34,215 Jewish students
aged 6–13 in these communities, 13,767 or 40% attended
day elementary schools; by comparison, in 1970, 30% of Jewish
students aged 6–13 in all Jewish communities with more
than 25 families attended day elementary schools. In 2001, of
the 19,085 Jewish students aged 14–17 in the six largest Jewish
communities, 4,889 or 26% attended day high schools;
by comparison, in 1970, only 10–14% of Jewish students aged
14–17 attended day high schools, so there clearly has been a
marked increase in high school attendance. In 2001, of the
53,300 children aged 6–17 who might have enrolled in supplementary
schools, 6,790 or 13% were in attendance.
An examination of the figures for individual communities
reveals that enrollment statistics vary widely:
Total Jewish
population
(2001
Census)
Student
population
ages 6–17
(2001 Census)
EDUCATION, JEWISH
Total
enrollment
in Jewish
education
Total %
enrolled in
Jewish
education
Toronto 179,100 30,365 14,569 48
Montreal 92,975 13,585 7,733 57
Vancouver 22,590 3,140 993 32
Winnipeg 14,775 2,240 875 39
Ottawa 13,130 2,650 913 34
Calgary 7,950 1,320 363 28
In Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver, approximately 30% of the
children aged 6–13 were enrolled in Jewish schools, with 5–7%
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6 209