Post of the Year?

One friend said to me last night that this post at Wolf may be the best or most important thing he's seen on a blog; it certainly is excellent and oh so important. And of course, as of now, it's the most important post of the year. I still haven't had a chance to listen to the lecture he links to, but I am told it's great and a must for parents.

Dr. Yitzchok Levine recently spoke at the Talmud Torah of Flatbush on the topic of secular studies in our yeshivos. The title of the lecture is "Why Can't Yankel Read, Write and Do Arithmetic?" I was not at the lecture, but it can be heard online here. A question and answer session followed.

Meanwhile, here's an excerpt of Wolf's post:

Part of the problem, unfortunately, is that the secular studies department is being undermined by the Rabbeim in the yeshivos themselves. In one case, Dr. Levine tells the story of an acquaintance of his who was a teacher in a yeshiva. The boys in the yeshiva gave him a terrible time. However, the straw that broke the camel's back and which prompted him to finally quit, was that he found out that the eighth grade Rebbi was advising the kids not to attend secular studies in high school. When one boy asked the Rebbi how he would support himself in life, the Rebbi answered that he's going to marry a wealthy girl.

Please check it out. As the quote goes... "for the children."