This is the first article in a series about dormitory education.

Many people feel that dormitory schools are better than day schools. This applies to high schools, colleges, and certainly for yeshivas. If the child comes home every day then he is missing a lot of education and not able to conform to the direction of the school. On the other hand, if a child goes to a dormitory school then he or she is able to be raised according to the guidance and direction that is advised by the school and he is supposed to be "better."

This is strange, because in the past we would have considered "institutionalized" children to be unfortunate remnants of Charles Dickens' novels. They may be orphans, or they may have a disability that cannot be handled at home, or their parents may be unable to raise them properly for some reason. They do not present an a priori desire to study in an institution.

Institutional food

However, you don't get excited about institutionalized food, do you? Home-cooked food is certainly better. As a matter of fact, institutionalized anything turns you off, right?

Why would you want your own child to attend a one-size-fits-all institution, where everybody comes out with the same cookie-cutter philosophy, and where there is only one "right" way to do things? Why would you want to substitute your own family's customs, traditions, and ways of doing things for the "better" or "right" way of the Yeshiva - any Yeshiva?

The second article in the series explains which children might best benefit from dormitory education.