Ezzie’s pals and gals discuss NCSY
Apparently, a couple of frum bloggers are discussing NCSY. Frum bloggers discussing NCSY means they will have about as skeptical an eye as an Artscroll “history� book reviewing the policies of Gedoylim. Still, in the comments, some interesting things are never the less seeping through.
Like this one – from a woman who felt the worst was expected of her. Who felt this way from NCSY staff, because she didn’t go the Touro or Stern College route. And when you don’t do dual curriculum (if you must do college), this happens:
“I feel like, through NCSY’s lens, I am a success story vis-a-vis frumkeit as a result of their influence, but in spite of my own personal choices. Each time I run into a former advisor I am treated to the same pleasantly shocked expression while my appearance is digested. As much as I appreciate that my reality is at statistical odds with the reality of most former NCSYers who chose secular institutions of higher learning, it still HURTS when confronted with the ASSUMPTION that because I did not go to Stern or Touro that I must have relinquished my spiritual identity (which I obviously did not).�
This is the vile youth group you have let into our public school system. These are the people you are trusting with our teens. Everything I have been saying that I learned from NCSY’s own documents and from NCSY’s own stated policies. And such policies are echoed by others anecdotally as well.
Hat tip: Ezzie
6 comments
There is a bit of a leap from being hurt to calling something vile.
I would NEVER call NCSY vile, and am offended that you have used my words out of context to do so. I think that NCSY is an extraordinary organization which does important work with nothing less than good intentions.
To my own discredit, I see (in hindsight, sadly), that my words did not do justice to the sentiments behind them. I meant only to point out that assumptions about kids who don’t follow the prescribed route can be very painful to the person about whom they are made.
I feel a great deal of hakaret hatov to NCSY. Their program fosters learning opportunities, leadership skills, and a huge social network. The system isn’t perfect, but in my nearly 42-trips around the sun, I haven’t yet encountered a system which IS perfect.
To set the record straight, my ONLY criticism of NCSY is the segue from high school to college for the kids who don’t go to YU/Stern/Touro/Insert-other-seminary-Yeshiva-program-here route. And to be completely honest, the issue which existed for me (nearly 20 years) ago may be corrected now.
“There is a bit of a leap from being hurt to calling something vile.”
I never said yo called them that. See my other posts on NCSY as to why I call them vile.
“I meant only to point out that assumptions about kids who don’t follow the prescribed route can be very painful to the person about whom they are made.”
The “prescribed route” itself can be quite painful for those who do follow it.
I didn’t accuse you of misquoting me.
I do think you deliberately took my words out of context to bolster your own contentions.
I seem to also remember saying NCSY was a HUGE part of my teen-aged existence. As a (then) conservadox kid living in the sticks, NCSY was a major part of my social life, and I can’t imagine what my high school years would have been like without it. There is a huge kharma-debt there to be certain!
Surely you must have known that in truncating the comment you violated the integrity of the greater message.
// I feel a great deal of hakaret hatov to NCSY. Their program fosters learning opportunities
Like trying to tell guyts that we shouldn’t talk to girls? I am honestly not sure if NCSY peeps are bold enough to tell that to public school kids but I have heard plenty of orthodox rabbis say that it is preferable for guys to not talk to girls.
And the guys who follow them are idiots.
* guys
typos -.-
SJ,
In NCSY where I went, people dated each other all the time.
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