The Pot-Hole Problem
We’re already past pot-hole fixing season, so I can reflect on it with some degree of dispassion.
Disclaimer: I know not a thing about road-fixing, pot-holes, construction workers, unions. What I do know is that the cycle of pot-hole making and fixing has no end in sight.
Years ago, after driving over one particularly large one, I must have ranted about it, not knowing that my very young son, in the back seat, was particularly paying attention. He pointed his finger in the air and loudly exclaimed in a royal voice (obviously pretending to be some sort of king): “I declare, there shall be no more potholes on the byways and the highways.”
This became a family joke, since, really, if he had all that power, would pot-hole fixing be such a priority?
Well, now that I think about it, maybe.
Gaps in services in the Jewish community are what we all can agree on, but the short-term fixes are just temporary. Unless I missed something somewhere, where are the long-term fixes?
We’re all too familiar with the band of orange-clad road workers, guiding you past their work area (most likely in rush hour), with the knowledge that they’ll most probably be there again, in seemingly just a few short months,doing the very same thing.
Why, when it is perfectly obvious that pot-holes occur in the same spot every year, are we trapped into that model of crack, repair, crack, repair.
I can think of several reasons, all of which can apply to the Jewish community, just substitute ‘pot-hole fixing’ for ‘(teen) leadership development’:
No one wants to invest in pot-hole fixing, it’s just not a campaign grabber or an interesting-sounding project
Even though everyone agrees that it is a recurring problem, the money to fix the small problem is much more manageable than to fix the problem for the long-term
It’s easier to redirect traffic in the short-run, than to try to convince everyone to get behind another method
In some areas, different methods have worked, but wouldn’t necessarily apply to another (weather, traffic, road conditions, etc.)
There is no overarching state agency that has the funds, to invest in the long-term solutions
There are not many local organizations that would have the infrastructure to manage the above, since they’ve been designed for the short-term fix
A Command Center Approach
Someone is needed at the helm
More disclaimers: There are wonderful programs that build teen leadership. But, we lack connectors from these programs to other programs. Missing are the follow-up programs and the links to the larger Jewish community.
Where are the natural bridges linking the teen years, the college experience, and mentoring from Jewish communal professionals?
Movements have talked about teen engagement, but for sure, it doesn’t seem that they’re talking to each other.
Birthright, agreeably one of the most successful programs to launch a young adult on the Jewish identity path, has no pathways from the teen years—although everyone seems to agree that reaching teens is crucial regarding Israel education and identification. Instead, what has happened, is that many youth-sponsored Israel trips have suffered because potential participants end up ‘waiting for the free trip’ in college.
Crack, repair, crack.
Let’s begin to think big. Long-term Investment. You might call it the “Warren Buffet* approach” to pot-hole repair.
We need large, systemic changes. We need a “Department of Transportation” that truly cares about the road ahead. These changes are possible. We’re living in a connected world. We can pave a smoother road ahead.
(Warren Buffet is known for his preference for investments that pay off in the long-term).
Related articles
How We Are Shortchanging Jewish Teens (ruthschapira.wordpress.com)
Photo credits: Wikipedia
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