The Best Institution Is Not the One With No Failures, but the One That Checks and Fixes

"The real question parents should ask is not whether there was a failure, but what happened afterward. Unfortunately, I have encountered cases in which management knew about real problems and made gross mistakes in handling them. Not out of indifference, but out of fear that the right response, including transparency, would cause irreparable harm to the institution, so they chose to sweep it under the rug" (Family) Shneur Rochberger (photo: courtesy of the photographer) Shneur Rochberger, from the Ahvata bulletin of 'Ahvat Torah': Dear parents, in my childhood I heard about two bakeries where insects were discovered. The difference was what happened afterward. In the first bakery, most of the energy was invested in hiding the incident, and in the second, in making sure it would not happen again. This was done by changing suppliers, sharpening procedures, increasing motivation, and careful supervision. Both sold products with kosher certification. But only one of them was worthy of trust. That story has never left me, and it always comes back to me in the face of negative events that occur in educational institutions.

So let us begin with the basic reality: there is no perfect institution, no perfect principal, and no team that never makes mistakes. From time to time, failures happen in educational institutions. Cases of violence that were not dealt with immediately, social exclusion, a teacher who said something that should not have been said, management that responded late and without attention. These are not necessarily evidence of a "rotten" institution. There is no educational institution where nothing has ever happened. The real question parents should ask is not whether there was a failure, but what happened afterward. Unfortunately, I have encountered cases in which management knew about real problems and made gross mistakes in handling them. Not out of indifference, but out of fear that the right response, including transparency, would cause irreparable harm to the institution, so they chose to sweep it under the rug.

I am writing this column also for you, the parents. Because the question I always ask when something happens is, what did they do about it? What correction was made, and did they learn from it? When a respected car company issues a recall, we know two things at once, that there was a defect, and that its managers can be trusted. A recall does not weaken trust, it builds it. Because it says, we see it. We admit it. We fix it. The same logic applies exactly to education. An institution that discovers a problem and deals with it transparently and responsibly is an institution that can be trusted. An institution that sweeps it under the rug, even if everything currently seems quiet, is an institution where the next problem will explode more forcefully.

Therefore, as parents, bear in mind that a first failure on a certain issue does not necessarily reflect badly on the institution. A second and third failure on the same issue already shows that it is negligence. And then the question is clear: did the institution learn? Did anything change? If the answer is no, then this is no longer a failure but a policy of negligence and lack of seriousness.

But above all, the most critical thing that reduces failures and allows for quick and proper handling when they occur is attentiveness. Educators who hold real conversations with students. Regular homeroom hours every week, where different issues are discussed openly and there is an opportunity to raise concerns in a pleasant and calm way. A principal who lives with the staff, holds productive staff meetings, and knows what is going on. Regular routines of dialogue with parents, where even a parent without a "formal complaint" feels allowed to pick up the phone and share. A team that sees parents as partners, not a threat. When all of these exist, problems surface early and are easier to handle without fear of major consequences that create the thought that perhaps it would be better to "sweep things under the rug." And the small things that seem "not serious" are addressed before they become big.

So first of all, when there is a failure, acknowledge that it happens. Take a deep breath and do not automatically blame the staff. Recognize that the fact that you know about the failure at all may be a good sign. I know many cases in which very serious things were discovered only when children came to a psychologist at age 40 with a psychological structure full of "scars" from childhood.

In addition, recognize that choosing an educational institution for your children is mainly a choice of management culture. Ask yourselves: does the leadership talk about failures it has learned from, or only about successes? Is there a genuine mechanism for hearing parents? Are they available to talk? When you approached them in the past with a concern, did you receive a response that felt sincere? Did they get back to you with answers and update you that the issue had been handled? An institution that answers these questions correctly, even if one day a failure is discovered there, and it will happen, is an institution you can stand behind and expect to correct itself. Good luck!

Shneur

The article was written in the Ahvata bulletin distributed throughout the country. 🗞️ To receive the bulletin as a PDF file, send a message on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/972723714400 📲 To receive the bulletin by email: alon@achvat.co.il 📦 To distribute it in your synagogue: https://achvat.fillout.com/t/4SCUrNZZ7fus