(cheerful music) - Welcome to Forum 360, this show with local view, but a global outlook.

I'm Sally Henning.

Today, we're chatty about the importance of preschool.

The top reasons that preschool is important for children, and critically, the important or fun things that parents can do to help their children succeed.

Our guest today is Rabbi by Yaakov Israel Jacobs who is the director of child development at Torah Nursery in South Euclid, Ohio.

Welcome to Forum 360.

- Thank you, it's so nice to be with you.

- So Rabbi Jacobs, we're talking today about the importance of preschool.

And our audience should know that you have a wide variety of experience in education, not just at preschool, but also with high school students and post high school, children who have perhaps behavioral issues or the like, and also with preschool, but what is it about preschool that made you decide to make that a career to be involved with it?

- So when I get asked this question, I like to tell people this story.

There was once young parents who just had a new baby, and they came to a wise man and they said, please give us some advice of how we can raise our child so it'll grow up to be a good child and a good member of society.

And the wise men said to them, you've come to me nine months too late.

Education, the future of how the child is going to be, really starts from the moment they're conceived.

And especially once the child is born, every single step of how they're educated will affect what they will ultimately turn into.

And scientists have studied and much research has gone into the fact that in the first five years of a child's development is really the most crucial time and it forms how they are going to turn out when they get older.

So in my experience that I've worked with troubled youth in their teenage years and post high school students, and when I realized that if we really wanna get to the core of the issue, start when they're just born.

So being involved in preschool, I feel really gives me the opportunity to kind of tackle it at its core.

- So what are, from those lessons that you learned working with with perhaps troubled youth, what are some of the important reasons for children to go to preschool?

- So preschool, first of all, it offers a child a good social environment.

And if the preschool is run well and its goals and values are in order, then it will help the child to develop the tools that they will need in the future for their social interactions, with their societal interactions.

And again, starting out the child at such a young age, it kind of drills it into their subconscious and gives them the tools.

It's really about the tools that they need in order to be a productive member of society when they grow up and prevent them from falling off the sidelines when they turn teenager and adolescent.

- So one of the things that a parent can do to help their child succeed is to find a well run preschool.

- [Rabbi Jacobs] Absolutely.

- So what are the measures of that?

What are some of the measurements of a well run preschool, as you look at it?

- So it's an interesting question because, you know, I'm sure there's much debate on what's the most fundamental ideals of education that you would wanna impart into the children.

I, myself am a follower of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe is the greatest leader in our time.

And what's very interesting is that he actually went to the University of Berlin in 1933.

- [Sally] That must have been challenging.

- It was.

Again, this is 1933, right at the rise of Nazi-ism.

And what's interesting is that once he came to America and he became the Grand Rabbi of Chabad, he said that he witnessed what was going on there with the youth at that time.

And he said, ultimately, all that happened could have been prevented had the children simply been taught from a young age that this world is not a jungle, but rather there's an eye that sees and a ear that hears and all their deeds are written down.

Meaning to say, if the children were educated, there's a higher power that is watching them at every step of their lives and a power that they will have to answer to.

They will ultimately grow up with the idea that it's not a free for all in a jungle.

So in answer to your question, I think the most important thing is that from the early days of a child's education, there has to be the initiation of something faith based, that there is a higher power, that there is a creator, and that there's an ultimate power to answer to.

- What do you think is the reason that a school like Torah Nursery prospers?

That it's got, what, over 120 students from being just a household project?

I don't mean that in a degrading way.

- Which I mean, just to give a little background, Torah Nursery, it started out in a home and it grew and grew until eventually purchased the building.

And today, it's a facility with over 120 students.

So I think the most important thing is creating a school.

Well, I mean, there's a few aspects too, but I would say one of the important things is creating community trust that you, creating an environment that people within the community that you are serving feel comfortable, they feel it's a safe environment, and they'll be happy to send their children to that school.

- What are some of the challenges?

- Well, there's many challenges.

Obviously education is a challenging field.

Very rewarding, but challenging.

What's interesting is in today's day and age, I would find the most challenging thing for preschool education specifically is finding suitable people to work as preschool teachers.

- With the right commitment.

- That's correct.

And what's interesting is, I mean, there's many reasons maybe to why that is, but what's interesting is that our children are our most prized, our most important part of our lives.

And we're entrusting them into people's hands for most of their day.

I mean, they're spending a lot of their time with it.

And the people who are set out to be the ones educating them, maybe they're not being compensated enough for their time, and that's creating an environment where it's not so motivating for people, let's say when they're coming out of college or they're going into college to go into that field of education in the first place.

So that's creating a shortage of people who are working in the education field.

So I would say the biggest challenge today is definitely finding people to work, finding staff to educate the children.

- Yeah, COVID has had an impact also.

- That is definitely, it's exacerbated the issue, but the issue existed even prior to COVID.

- So what has been the most unexpected part of running a preschool from your point of view?

- I guess, you know, we go in with the attitude of expect the unexpected.

So any challenge that comes our way, we'll adjust and learn and take advice of how to manage through it.

But I would say the most unexpected for me was this issue of the staffing issue.

I really didn't understand before joining on how much of a challenge it would be and create.

And that's what I've experienced up until now is the greatest challenge.

- Is there a way in which a private school like Torah Nursery benefits, in some way, the public facilities that are around it?

How do public facilities benefit from having?

- Well, I would say that a, in general, I mean, there's as much to be discussed about private education versus public education.

But in general, what I would say is that a well run private preschool is creating and educating children who are in turn going to be role models for their peers.

And if they go on to join the public school education system, you have a child who's coming with a very solid fundamental background that they are now able to be a role model for their, for their peers and create a positive class environment as they grow up and go into the first, second, and third grade.

- And as you talk about a positive environment, what are some of the items and things that happen at Torah Nursery that create that environment?

What are some of the programs?

- In general, in educating the children, there's a very strong focus on positivity.

Redirecting the child's actions as opposed to telling them off and reprimanding, but rather reinforcing the positive.

Showing them the positive way.

Showing them how sharing is good for them and good for everyone else.

So really the focus of positivity, reinforcement, encouraging the child, and building them up is what we focus on at Torah Nursery and what I think really makes these children stand out as role models.

- As you think about the achievements that the school, Torah Nursery has had, what are some of the achievements that you're proudest of?

- Well, Torah Nursery, like we discussed earlier, it started out in a basement with six children and continued to grow until the house was full, and ultimately purchased a building.

And at this point, because of its, you know, thank God, it's success in educating the children and the demand that it has been created around that, we expanded the building recently, and now we're able to take a little over 120 children.

So I would say that's a big milestone that we have achieved.

- Yeah, provided you find the staffing that are at the appropriate level.

What type of training do you have to provide?

What type of training do teachers have to?

- Well, first of all, we are star rated in the Ohio of the quality program.

And we are a licensed daycare.

So there's much training that every single teacher is mandated by the state to go through.

In addition to that, many of the teachers at our facility today have gone through post high school programs where they were taught preschool, specifically preschool education.

Many of them have higher degrees in education as well, which is not a requirement, but many have on their own done that.

So the training for the staff members is up to a very high standard, and they're constantly going through more training every single year and periodically throughout the year.

- You've been tuned into Forum 360.

Our special guest today is Rabbi Yaakov Israel Jacobs, and he's talking today about the importance of preschool education.

So we, I just asked you about the achievements.

Would you talk about your point of view about moments of silence and how that, obviously that's not a public school issue, but in a private school like Torah Nursery, how important is something like that?

- So it's very interesting because our country, the United States of America was founded by pioneers who were really seeking religious freedom.

They were running away from persecution of their way of serving God, and they came here to create a country and an environment where no one will ever be persecuted for their beliefs.

With that being said, they created a system where there's a separation of church and state, which is an important part to make sure that the religious, I'd say the religious powers or those who within the administrative part of religion don't overtake the state administrative powers.

And that's why they created a separation of church and state.

With that being said, their idea was to create a separation of church and state, but not a separation of church from state.

Meaning to say part and parcel of the constitution of the United States is the fact that we believe in a higher power, and we believe that there is a creator to the world.

- So you're in part, Torah Nursery is providing an outlet for people who have certain beliefs that they can have them during education, and they don't have to put pressure on the public schools to accommodate them because they're here.

- I would say that's that within the public school system as well, there is room to offer kind of a middle ground where you are not pushing religion or any specific religion on the children.

- [Sally] But you're providing a mechanism.

- But you're providing a mechanism.

- So that it's can be handled without alienating other folks.

- And that is to introduce a moment of silence into even a public school setting where the children at that assembly in the morning can be offered a moment of silence and reflection where it's a moment of just being quiet.

And when the child goes home and asks their parent, well, what are we doing during this moment of silent?

Each parent in their own way can educate their child how they feel to teach them about the fact that there is a higher power in the world and there is a creator and we don't live in a jungle, but we live in a world of law and order.

- Well, what do you enjoy most about working in the preschool environment?

You've been in all different ones with all different levels of students.

- You know, I would say working in the preschool environment has been the most rewarding task that I've ever taken in my life.

Children at such a young age are so pure.

And when you see them acting in a positive way and when you see them speaking in a positive way, the joy that it creates is unbelievable.

You can't really describe it.

It's extremely rewarding to be working in education, and the message that I would give to anyone who's thinking about it, either they're a senior in high school or in college, is that taking on a role in early childhood development will be the most rewarding task that you will ever take in your life.

And it is worth it, and I would just strongly encourage anyone who's even thinking of possibly going into this field to definitely pursue it.

- So we were talking before about things that parents can do to help their children to be successful when they're in school.

So what are some other things that parents can do to reinforce the success of their children?

- So, there's a great Rabbi that he wrote a book.

And one of the things he wrote in his book is that every single parent should spend a minimum of a half hour a day thinking about the education of their children.

As a parent, one of the greatest, I would say the greatest accomplishment that we can do is to bring children into the world and to educate them as good members of society.

And the only way that we are gonna succeed at that is to put that as our main focus in our lives and to think about it at least a half hour a day.

And think about not just how we can teach our children academics and have them succeed academically and be successful financially, ultimately, but I would say even before that is to see how can we encourage them in a positive way and in a fun way to be good people first and foremost?

And I think that there's a lot of tools out there, and there's a lot of places to look and to research online to find good positive and fun ways that parents can spend time with their children and impart within them really good values to be good members of society.

- So how does a school like Torah Nursery communicate with parents?

The things that parents, I mean, it's one thing to be working with the children every day and to have games and functions and educational tools with children, but how do you motivate parents to become part of the teaching circle?

Is that the right word?

- Yeah.

It's a very interesting question because what we find very commonly is that a lot of the parents that are sending their children to Torah Nursery are highly motivated in the education of their children.

So very often, the parents are taking initiative in talking to us about concerns that they have about their education.

- [Sally] They're ahead of you.

They're ahead of the story.

- They're ahead of the story.

And because they're concerned parents, especially seeing society around us and the many disturbances and kind of confusions that are going on in the world today, the parents are very often taking initiative and asking what they can do and how they can be involved.

But in addition to that, on a weekly, we send home newsletters to the parents which shows them pretty detailed what they've learned and what we are focusing on and what their children are learning.

So the communication lines with parents in general are very open with the teachers, with the administrative staff.

And thank God it's a very positive working environment.

- So what are some of the other achievements of Torah Nursery that you like to think about or like to plan for the future?

What are you proudest of?

- Well, it's pretty amazing Torah Nursery has been around for over 20 years.

And to see some of the people who started out as little children, some of them as young as six weeks old, who are today graduated, in college, starting businesses, growing to really be great members of society, it gives a sense of accomplishment that, hey, this institution started them out, gave them the tools that they need when they were just a young little seedling.

And today, it's grown and prospered and blossomed into a beautiful tree.

There's a very strong point that we live with in Torah Nursery, and that is that every child is like a seed.

So if you take a plant and you alter the plant just a little bit once it's already a grown plant, it'll affect it, but not so strongly.

But if you take a seed and if there was to, God forbid, be just a little scratch on the seed, the entire tree will grow crooked.

So the fact that we have the children in our institution at such a young, vulnerable age where every little bit of information that we give them has such a strong impact in the rest of their lives, it gives us an awesome sense of responsibility.

And it's a great feeling of achievement when you do see a child go through the entire system and grow to be a great member of society.

Looking towards our future, like we said, we just expanded about a year ago, and we already have a waiting list for more students.

So we are already in the planning stages of stage two of our expansion where we'll be able to accommodate approximately another 50 students.

And we're looking forward towards that within the near future.

- That's a big percentage of growth.

- It is.

- So as you think about being there at Torah Nursery and the preschool, and we've talked about the significant challenges, what are some of the unexpected things that have happened there?

Other than staffing issues, what are some of the other unexpected things that occurred?

- I guess-- - Maybe every day is a challenge.

- Yeah, you know, every day definitely brings unique challenges.

And, you know, working in a larger institution, there's a tremendous amount that goes on on a daily basis and there's definitely a lot of different challenges.

What I found unique is that, you know, very often, as a parent myself, you see a child, they grow up, you assume everything is just going to be kind of one after an another.

But then into the mix, you start to see there's children with special needs.

And what's interesting is that some of the special needs children, they don't actually, when they're born, it's not recognized that they have special needs.

It's only as they're going through the development stages when they turn two and three years old where these special needs kind of start to come out and they're not progressing as the rest of the kids in the class are.

And it can create a challenge for the teachers specifically while they're trying to educate the rest of the class, and this child is clearly on a different level of education.

So the challenges that we've experienced, I would say maybe a little bit unexpected, is how to specifically help this child so that they too could have a fair chance at growing up to be a productive member of society.

And it's opened up a tremendous amount of doors for us to learning about new education institutions that we can work together with.

- Partner with.

- Partner with, bring them in, be a part of our curriculum, and really help these children with unique challenges and special needs.

- So you've provided accommodations like shadowing?

- We've been able to partner with either government agencies or other private agencies who help to provide those services.

And we've been able to expand our ability of, expand the amount and the types of children that we can accommodate in Torah Nursery because we now partner with these institutions.

- That's quite a development.

That sounds like a big story too.

- It is.

And it's interesting because, like you had asked in the question, something that you didn't expect.

It's not something that I would've expected 'cause I guess it's just something that you don't think about it until the challenge comes your way.

And then you see, hey, this child, he needs a different type of approach, different than the rest of the children.

And if you want this child to have an equal opportunity like the rest of the children are, you need to find a way to provide for him specifically in his unique way of learning, his unique way of being educated.

And that challenge has really opened up a lot of doors to us to working with other institutions.

- You talked a little bit before about encouraging young people to go into this line of work, helping children.

What advice do you have for children, for parents who want their children to go into this field to help them to qualify for these kinds of positions to go into childhood education?

- I would encourage parents to really reinforce these.

If they have a child who's looking towards that direction to really enforce-- - [Sally] A career in education.

- Career in education to reinforce it, to help them, if it means getting higher education, to assist them in any way that they can in attaining their higher education, but really to encourage it and recognize that a person who does choose this as a career path will have a very happy and fulfilling life and have a strong sense of accomplishment and being a part of creating a better society for the future generations.

And nothing really can match that.

- Creating a better society for the future.

You've been tuned into Forum 360.

I'm Sally Henning.

Our special guest today, Rabbi Yaakov Israel Jacobs, the director of child development at Torah Nursery in South Euclid.

We are so appreciative of your coming to Forum 360, and we look to hear of many great things in the future.

- Thank you.

- From the preschool education that's being provided and encouraged.

- [Announcer] Forum 360 is brought to you by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, Hudson Community Television, the Rubber City Radio Group, Shaw Jewish Community Center of Akron, Blue Green, Electric Impulse Communications, and Forum 360 supporters.