College Education (1920s-1950s)

During the 1920s and the 1930s, large numbers of Eastern European Jewish children entered secondary schools and higher education. After the 1920s, Jewish immigrants realized the importance of education and encouraged their children to pursue a college education. They saw education as a opportunity to move up in society. During this time period, Jewish immigrant parents tried to push their children away from the traditional Jewish culture. There was less emphasis on the Torah and it appealed less to the next generation of Jews. Furthermore, the older Jews tried to refrain from speaking in Yiddish as much as possible.

Here’s a clip on Jewish children education: Jewish Children Education((The Jewish Americans, 360 min., David Grubin Productions, 2008, video clip from <http://www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/education_and_philanthropy.html>))

At this time, there was an influx of Jewish students that applied to various different campus colleges that include the Ivy League schools. There was a great deal of competition among themselves to receive a spot into these education institutions. It was difficult for Jewish students to be accepted by these colleges and universities due to the anti-Semitic feelings in the nation at the time. The growing population of Jewish students in some of these campus colleges caused the establishment of unofficial quotas against Jewish students.

Here’s another clip on Jewish college educations. Quotas(( The Jewish Americans, 360 min., David Grubin Productions, 2008, video clip from <http://www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/education_and_philanthropy.html>))