A generation without strong and inspired mothers
T
he following story is true. Only the name has been changed. We’ll call her Rivka.
When Rivka returned from seminary about 20 years ago, she was passionate about teaching. In every interview she was earnest: She believed Klal Yisrael needed energetic, inspirational teachers who could connect with their students and she thought she could be that person. She had been inspired by her own teachers, and she wanted to pass that on.
But the market in Brooklyn was saturated. No one wanted to hire a single girl with no experience. Rivka considered herself lucky to land a job teaching “English,” hoping that with experience she’d eventually find a job teaching limudei kodesh. In the meantime, she found plenty of places in the chol curriculum to inspire her students.
Rivka’s salary was $7,500 for the entire year. When the school ran into financial difficulties mid-year, they stopped paying her first, since she was single and therefore “didn’t need the money.”
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