2008 Woodie Awards
Too Big of a Stick for Too Small of a Carrot
Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Thanks to some insider information, I became aware early on in the process of the proposition to add Bible requirements to BMP. Originally, it was hoped that the rabbis themselves would teach these "Bible" sessions in a more traditional, less academic, manner. The mandatory credit and Sunday school were both an offshoot of this. I understand why this was perceived to be a good idea. The BMP administration heard the complaints from its student body that the afternoon Bible classes were both unpopular and too difficult, and wanted to make BMP more attractive to a more serious population. The hope was that this new serious BMP student body would infuse more energy into the seder slot of the program, what is frequently called the "Achilles heal" of BMP due to its weak attendance.
I can appreciate the acknowledgement that the program is less than perfect and the attempt to improve it. Unfortunately I do not believe this was the way to go about doing it and I am pleased that it was shot down by the YC faculty. First off, I think the YC Bible classes are one of the aspects of Yeshiva University that makes it unique amongst other liberal arts colleges. It is the only Bible department that I know of where a traditional Jew need not be afraid of having a totally God-depleted Bible class, while still learning from a Bible scholar and PhD. Although certain students may think that some Bible classes go a little too far in what they teach, the vast majority of what is taught can be found in the bt midrash and adds a whole new dimension to Torah study. I do not take such a prudish view about the Bible classes here in YU. I think learning anything about the book on which we base our lives can be useful. It would have been a travesty if Bible would have been tampered with by adding it to BMP and removing from it the academic aspect.
Another issue with offering Bible in BMP for credit is that it goes against a long tradition of not offering YC classes in the morning. There is a fear that if the precedent was set to offer Bible in the morning, it would not be long until physics would be offered as well in the morning as well. The morning should remain for the celestial while the afternoon should stay with the terrestrial. I applaud the attempt at making a porgram with greater potential, but you have to play by the rules.
It was later recommended that some of the afternoon Bible professors teach in the morning in the BMP time slot. This would also count for Bible credit and would be included in the general BMP credit. The BMP administration would have its choice of which professors to employ, potentially leaving some of the more unpopular ones among the BMP administration out of the program. This censorship of some YC professors just does not sit right. The proposed alterations to the program had the potential to completely dissuade BMP students from taking some of the most prominent professors of the Bible department.
With all of these objections, there still is a good point that is brought up by the proposed changes. This move would relax some of the credit requirements with which Yeshiva undergraduate students are burdened. Currently, there are twenty Jewish studies requirements for all students. Added with the general requirements and the necessary requirements needed for a major, the average three year student in YC takes almost no electives. Removing the eight Bible requirements would free up some elective space. Of course, the most obvious way to solve this problem would be to lower the credits awarded for study in Israel from thirty two to a more reasonable number, but all suggestions should be at least be listened to when it comes to improving the academic standards of the institution.
Without the added incentive of taking care of Bible requirements in a more comfortable setting, I fear that, instead of attracting higher caliber students to BMP, many will be lost to YP due to the blurring of the differences between the programs created by the addition of Sunday shiur. The mandatory minimum credit will most likely scare off to IBC the less motivated students in the program, leaving the bottom and top of the program severed from the rest of the students. The BMP administration's heart was in the right place but they did not make a program that had a large enough carrot to match its newer larger stick.
Eitan Kastner is an associate News editor of The Commentator.
I can appreciate the acknowledgement that the program is less than perfect and the attempt to improve it. Unfortunately I do not believe this was the way to go about doing it and I am pleased that it was shot down by the YC faculty. First off, I think the YC Bible classes are one of the aspects of Yeshiva University that makes it unique amongst other liberal arts colleges. It is the only Bible department that I know of where a traditional Jew need not be afraid of having a totally God-depleted Bible class, while still learning from a Bible scholar and PhD. Although certain students may think that some Bible classes go a little too far in what they teach, the vast majority of what is taught can be found in the bt midrash and adds a whole new dimension to Torah study. I do not take such a prudish view about the Bible classes here in YU. I think learning anything about the book on which we base our lives can be useful. It would have been a travesty if Bible would have been tampered with by adding it to BMP and removing from it the academic aspect.
Another issue with offering Bible in BMP for credit is that it goes against a long tradition of not offering YC classes in the morning. There is a fear that if the precedent was set to offer Bible in the morning, it would not be long until physics would be offered as well in the morning as well. The morning should remain for the celestial while the afternoon should stay with the terrestrial. I applaud the attempt at making a porgram with greater potential, but you have to play by the rules.
It was later recommended that some of the afternoon Bible professors teach in the morning in the BMP time slot. This would also count for Bible credit and would be included in the general BMP credit. The BMP administration would have its choice of which professors to employ, potentially leaving some of the more unpopular ones among the BMP administration out of the program. This censorship of some YC professors just does not sit right. The proposed alterations to the program had the potential to completely dissuade BMP students from taking some of the most prominent professors of the Bible department.
With all of these objections, there still is a good point that is brought up by the proposed changes. This move would relax some of the credit requirements with which Yeshiva undergraduate students are burdened. Currently, there are twenty Jewish studies requirements for all students. Added with the general requirements and the necessary requirements needed for a major, the average three year student in YC takes almost no electives. Removing the eight Bible requirements would free up some elective space. Of course, the most obvious way to solve this problem would be to lower the credits awarded for study in Israel from thirty two to a more reasonable number, but all suggestions should be at least be listened to when it comes to improving the academic standards of the institution.
Without the added incentive of taking care of Bible requirements in a more comfortable setting, I fear that, instead of attracting higher caliber students to BMP, many will be lost to YP due to the blurring of the differences between the programs created by the addition of Sunday shiur. The mandatory minimum credit will most likely scare off to IBC the less motivated students in the program, leaving the bottom and top of the program severed from the rest of the students. The BMP administration's heart was in the right place but they did not make a program that had a large enough carrot to match its newer larger stick.
Eitan Kastner is an associate News editor of The Commentator.