Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling
Have you ever studied with non Jewish people?
Previous  1  2  3



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 9:40 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
What is/was it like for you to study in a non Jewish environment?

What are/were the biggest challenges you came across.
How did you relate to the other students?

Was it hard to be the only Jewish person?

I didn’t come across any challenges. I related to the others students as exactly what they were- my peers.
I’m not really sure what non Jewish environment people are studying. I don’t think a library is a Jewish or non Jewish environment, it is just a place. When you say non Jewish, I think more like a non kosher restaurant, or some other place that is actively non Jewish.
I never had a hard time.
Back to top

Elfrida




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 9:41 am
I studied at a university in Israel, where about a third of the students in my class were Arabs. We got on well academically, and avoided discussing politics. It worked, but it wouldn't have been easy in the current situation.
Back to top

cnc




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 9:58 am
amother [ Oak ] wrote:
Yes, I did my Master's in a standard college. I had one jewish friend who did the program with me. Most people didn't realize we were Jewish. They just thought we dressed strangely.

I was absent A LOT compared to peers for YT, having a baby, etc. It was stressful but I managed ok.

I didn't love how intense people were about their studies compared to what I was used to. They had all this study "gear" - note cards, highlighters, special pens and markers, notebooks, dividers, fancy laptops and special coffee cups... While I had an old notebook with scribbles on the front and a clunky laptop. I always found the comparison entertaining. I guess school was very much their LIFE while my actual life (husband, kids, family) was my LIFE for me.

Now I work in a non-jewish environment and I actually love it. There is really no judgement. I can show up in a slinky skirt and my coworkers think it looks classy. Expectations are clear and boundaries are set. In frum environments (where I worked in the past), all those lines blurred and I found it frustrating at times.


This!!

I work in an environment where if I would wear my regular “NY frum attire” to work, the others would think I’m going to a wedding or event!! I love wearing casual comfortable clothing and looking “very dressed” at work .

And agree about the boundaries.
Back to top

icebreaker




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 11:05 am
Went to non-Jewish colleges and currently work in one now. I've never felt uncomfortable about being Jewish and the vast majority of the students and staff are wonderful people.
Back to top

amother
Mustard


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 1:49 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
What is/was it like for you to study in a non Jewish environment?

What are/were the biggest challenges you came across.
How did you relate to the other students?

Was it hard to be the only Jewish person?


I fell in love with my non-Jewish classmate with whom I was sometimes spending 16-hour days due to the intensity of our graduate program.
Thankfully it never went to an actual romantic relationship.
But I still think about him 20 years (and a marriage) later.

Wonder if anyone else had that problem.
Back to top

amother
Denim


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 1:54 pm
In a non-Jewish college. Missing class due to yomtov is pretty tough. BH don't have problems religiously because can always blame on discrimination, but it's still not easy. Shabbos is wonderful too but I feel like sometimes I can't afford only being able to do schoolwork 6 days a week (I know I got to change my perspective on that one). Tzniyus is tough, as is my flip phone. Basically, for me it requires a lot of self-confidence because people definitely look me and my scrub skirt up and down and it makes me feel uncomfortable.
Back to top

amother
Babyblue


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 1:56 pm
amother [ Mustard ] wrote:
I fell in love with my non-Jewish classmate with whom I was sometimes spending 16-hour days due to the intensity of our graduate program.
Thankfully it never went to an actual romantic relationship.
But I still think about him 20 years (and a marriage) later.

Wonder if anyone else had that problem.


I had similar. I don't consider it a problem.
Back to top

amother
Pink


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 2:08 pm
My first day of university in England, the teacher told us about a compulsory field trip the next week which would be a bit of a 'get to know you' event, but also essential groundwork for the course, and anyone who didn't come would not be able to continue... it was first day Rosh HaShana.

I hate being conspicuous or asking for favours, but there was no option. Absolutely trembling, I went up to her at the end of the class, and told her that I wouldn't be able to come on the field trip.
She glared at me. 'Why not?'
'Well, I'm an orthodox Jew, and that day is the first day of our New Year, and I can't do...' I ran down trying to think of a melacha that made sense...'anything!'
She looked at me closely for a moment, then smiled. 'Of course not. I know about that. I taught at the Weizmann Institute in Israel for a few years. Don't worry at all. You don't have to come on the field trip.'
She was the one who brought up the issue of early Fridays, and made the arrangements for me to study at a different time with a parallel class.

I was really terrified about how it would work out, but she helped me whenever there was an issue.
Back to top

amother
Babyblue


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 2:11 pm
amother [ Pink ] wrote:
My first day of university in England, the teacher told us about a compulsory field trip the next week which would be a bit of a 'get to know you' event, but also essential groundwork for the course, and anyone who didn't come would not be able to continue... it was first day Rosh HaShana.

I hate being conspicuous or asking for favours, but there was no option. Absolutely trembling, I went up to her at the end of the class, and told her that I wouldn't be able to come on the field trip.
She glared at me. 'Why not?'
'Well, I'm an orthodox Jew, and that day is the first day of our New Year, and I can't do...' I ran down trying to think of a melacha that made sense...'anything!'
She looked at me closely for a moment, then smiled. 'Of course not. I know about that. I taught at the Weizmann Institute in Israel for a few years. Don't worry at all. You don't have to come on the field trip.'
She was the one who brought up the issue of early Fridays, and made the arrangements for me to study at a different time with a parallel class.

I was really terrified about how it would work out, but she helped me whenever there was an issue.


A true educator!
Back to top

amother
Papaya


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 6:24 pm
I spent several summers attending public school "day camps" at which I was the only Sabbath-and-kosher observant person, possibly the only Jew. The activities were fine but I did feel a bit isolated, having little in common with the other kids and brown-bagging my lunch when they ate the school lunches. That, and nobody could pronounce my name.

In HS I attended a summer session at a public HS at which I was not only the only Jew in the class, I was the only white person. It wasn't my most brilliant idea ever. Maybe if it had been math or English it would have been ok, but it was a "creative" class I was taking for fun and the culture being celebrated was antithetical to mine. It wasn't long before I dropped out.

I attended a very large public college. But in college I wasn't a minority of one. There were white students and there were Jewish students and there was an orthodox Jewish students' group as well. There were Jewish professors, even some orthodox professors. Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis gave a talk during club hours once. So did Rabbi Avi Weiss. There was a Hillel house and a Jewish students' newspaper. There was no kosher caf, but given that it was a commuter college, brown-bagging lunch wasn't a big deal. I brownbagged lunch all through JHS and HS, after all. Some years having all the chagim midweek made things hard because we'd miss a lot of classes in a row. By then I was used to people being unable to pronounce my name.

I don't really understand why you think studying with nonJews --as opposed to attending a nonJewish college--would be materially different from studying with Jews. Chemistry, math and English grammar are the same regardless of your religion. It wasn't as if we were studying Biblical criticism with a Catholic priest. No nonJewish guy ever asked me out. Gym classes were not coed.

One of the most uncomfortable moments in my college career was when I was assigned to tutor a certain student who said he was born in "Palestine." As he was obviously born well past 1947, I was about to say "You mean Israel" but wisely managed to keep my mouth shut. No point inviting a stabbing.
Back to top

Kiwi13




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 8:43 pm
I spent about 8 years on college campuses from undergrad to grad school. I enjoyed most of it, but in grad school especially I had to carefully plan my course schedules in order to make sure I got into certain classes during semesters when they were offered on days other than Saturdays. B"H my professors, internship supervisors, and on-campus employers were very helpful when it came to taking days off for holidays and making up time. It started really going downhill culturally in some ways toward the end of my time there, and from what I hear it's only gotten worse. I wouldn't want to be on a secular campus these days. If I was just going to class and coming home, that's one thing. But I wouldn't want it to also be my social life anymore.
Back to top

amother
OP


 

Post Thu, May 13 2021, 8:57 pm
Thank you for all replies.
Seems like most have Gad a positive experience.

I find that I am an outsider and they can't really understand or get where I'm coming from...
Back to top
Page 3 of 3 Previous  1  2  3 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Jewish library Brooklyn 1 Today at 2:24 pm View last post
Musical people, please weigh in…am I doomed?
by amother
24 Today at 2:22 pm View last post
Did you deliver MM or wait for people to come to you?
by amother
39 Today at 9:43 am View last post
How do people make money?
by amother
11 Today at 12:35 am View last post
Do people have pets in your communities? 48 Today at 12:21 am View last post