PHOTO: Schools are asking parents to dispose of a magazine they feel is inappropriate for children to be reading this week. The Magazine, Jewish World of Wonders, ‘Exploring the universe through insights of Torah’ features this week pictures of sonograms and more, which schools feel should not be available to children.
At least one school today sent out an automated message asking parents to immediately discard the material.
The magazine is usually delivered with other Frum circulars. TLS-CCP/NB-RH/SH26
Really? Schools telling parents what their children should or should not read basically overriding parental authority? Perhaps the parents might independently believe that the miracles that occur before birth might be something their child should know about, especially done in a religious context.
What’s next? Book burnings?
Can someone plz explain to me what is inappropriate about the images shown?
I dont understand why schools are getting invloved! If they want to issue a warning that content may be harmful, then ok. But to BAN it from your homes?? who are they to decide?
Reply to #1 they are just making them aware of what came into their house and most schools do have policies about what is allowed in the home eg. Television internet ect. And to #2 its not the pictures shown here but the ones inside the magazine
Schools: THANK YOU
to the complainers do you really want your children reading this stuff?
What’s inappopriate about sonogram pictures? The purpose of the magazine is to show Niflaos Haborei and these pictures certainly do that!
This is published in a different community that may not have the sensitivities of our chinuch
please don’t bash the schools. A private school is allowed to make whatever restrictions it wants on the students because they are allowed to enforce their school values. They aren’t saying throw it out or you will be thrown out, they are just asking the parents to cooperate. If they don’t like it, they are free to go to a different school that works better with their lifestyle. Stop getting upset at things that make no difference to you at all.
A weekly rag that is not expected to have any inappropriate content is very often opened first by the children. The robo call was simply giving a heads up, that the parents should (re)view it first and throw it out as is appropriate.
I actually appreciate the telephone alert about the material in the paper, though I will read it through myself and make my own decision regarding this. I think it is not inappropriate at all for schools to pass on their concerns to parents, especially when they are keenly aware that many parents would object to it but may not be aware.
For those who do not understand: this is just another one of those things that people outside of the community will not comprehend about our ways, and for those within the community but with independent opinions about this issue, I believe you would not be opposed to this type of call regarding something that you find objectionable.
Gut Shabbos all.
I personally thought to myself that this seemed a little inappropriate, but to go and “ban” something just makes kids want to go out and see it more. Before I got an automated call from the courier, it was my decision whether or not to let my kids see it. Since they heard the message, they all wanted to see what it was talking about. It wasn’t specified on the message, but I knew from seeing it that that is what it meant.
It happens to be a part of life that they will eventually have to know about. It’s up to the parents, I think. Use your own sechel.
Don’t ban the magazine, maybe tear out those pages. It is a beautiful publication!
A healthy debate about whether these pictures are appropriate or not, is healthy and important.
But to say “live and let live” when others feel that your tznius standards are spiritually killing your childrens classmates in school, – at the same
time that YOU DEMAND that children not vaccinated be expelled from your childs school for physically killing their classmates, and you refuse to be told “live and let live”, is ummmmm hypocrticial.
This needs to be pointed out again and again.
This is why so many kids go off the derech, when their schools tell them its evil to see a picture of a sonogram, the most amazing miracle of all time, so rediculous and absurd.
Pathetic! I saw the pictures and thought it was amazing. Strange how everything must be banned. Its one thing to edit biology books but come on this is going a bit to the extreme.
If only this is the worst thing you bring into your house…….your sitting on the Internet right now……grow up!
The school has every right to enforce their rules, however this is not a rule this is a personal feeling on behalf of some “Mechanchim” that this is not fit for children to read. The issue i have is they could reccomend to parents before accepting them what they expect in regards to what comes in the house but this my friends is over sheltering. enough trying to hide kids under a rock!!!!! we live in the 21st century. i by no means am saying let your kids surf the web alone but this is unnecessarly sending a message that this is the most important thing in raising a kid, when in fact if more children were educated on these “inyanim” in the proper way they wouldnt have to go to the internet or thier bad friends to find thier basic education on how hashem created the world!!!
i am soo excited now my ad in this magazine will be widely noticed by all I THANK THE SCHOOL FOR PLACING THIS ARTICLE!!
Without bashing schools, and with total sensitivity to the chinuch standards of Lakewood, I would certainly show these pictures to my children! I have been in Lakewood for over 30 years. I raised my kids here and they are raising their children here. I have no idea what the problem is! A few people thought something was wrong (don’t know what) and everyone else just jumped on the bandwagon. Maybe they’re afraid their children might CH”V get an education about science.
Yes! I want my children reading this stuff. I want my children to be exposed to the Niflaos Haborei! I want my children to see this content via a Torah-dik Hashkafa rather than pick it up later on in life from the wrong places.
Why must we continue sheltering our children from everything good? All in the name of Frumkeit?
Its a great magazine and a great topic and a great way to teach our children, in our way, what they will find out anyhow.
Make a chain call about reading advertisements in the magazines on Shabbos, thats a much bigger problem.
To “this is why”:Ah! So that’s why! Where have you been all these years?! Do you perhaps have any more pearls of wisdom you can share with us?
For those of you who ar upset at the schools your prob the same parants who couldn’t get your kids in
I want to thank this publication for bringing to light (albeit inadvertently) a major issue in our community. Maybe after all the debates that will come out of this “mistake” people will realize that this type of sheltering may be going too far. By withholding such basic information from our children we are setting ourselves up for disaster,when a child discovers this information on his own. Furthermore when a child is under this impression that these scientific facts are evil, it will have a negative effect. I am not proposing that we totally expose these things to our kids CH”v ,however i am just saying that we can educate them in moderation and al pi daas torah. Let this just be a catalyst for people to realize that they may be going too far and they may not be necessarily doing the right thing.
Der Nana flegt zagin . . . Evil is in the mind of the beholder! My gosh . .SONOGRAMS?!
The velt says the difference between a Frum Yid and an Ehrliche Yid . .
Frum Yid: walks down the block, sees a tree, thinks it’s a woman, so he shields his eyes.
Ehrliche Yid: walks down the block, sees a woman, thinks it’s a tree, so he continues on his way!
V’dai l’chakimah b’remizah!
Der Mama flegt zagin . . . Evil is in the mind of the beholder! My gosh . .SONOGRAMS?!
The velt says the difference between a Frum Yid and an Ehrliche Yid . .
Frum Yid: walks down the block, sees a tree, thinks it’s a woman, so he shields his eyes.
Ehrliche Yid: walks down the block, sees a woman, thinks it’s a tree, so he continues on his way!
V’dai l’chakimah b’remizah!
We cannot protect our children from the facts of life. One thing no one has mentioned is the age of the children involved. If they are very young, fine. Restrict the magazine. If they are old enough to get this information, they should get it from their parents. The magazine would be a good starting point to discuss the facts of life at an appropriate age.
Uggghhh, it just disgusts me so much that people could get into such a hype over such innocent things! Why aren’t parents forbidding their sons from learning Maseches Nidah and Maseches Sota?? Is there really a difference in content here?! Answer me THAT before you go around banning such an innocent and beautiful publication!
How do i unsubscribe from the chain calls? It`s Illegal for them to call me without letting me unsubsribe-similiar to tele-marketing. I`m seriously considering a class-action lawsuit.
I read this article and looked at the pictures. Can someone explain to me what is wrong with them? I see no harm in letting my children see them.
Love the pictures in this publication. Showed them to my normal, lakewood kids who were amazed by niflaos haborei.
TLS PLEASE EDIT YOU ARTICLE. Clarification: The school just called advising parents to “examine” the material before they allow their children to read it. That is NOT a ban at all. They are just passing on a concern that they were notified about and you make your own decision what you feel is appropriate for your child!!!
Read the article.
Nothing in it that can be objectionable.
I am embarrassed that there were phone calls as reported here.
I didn’t get a phone call and my kids go to a main school, so I wonder which schools called about this.
No one should reag LakewoodScoop.com. I once saw a picture of a baby girl. What a Shandah! It was a sonogram picture of a girl. Guard your eyes. Yidden run!!!!!
Yes we received a call from the courier informing us, but was there a name of anyone who said this is inappropraite?Everyone is just ‘hacking’ which school , menahel said banned? No one! a parent has the sachel to either allow it or not…Does nayone have anme of someone who said ossur?
thanks to the chain call now my kids want to see it they keep on asking whats wrong etc
Winston Churchill once said ‘bad publicity is better than no publicity!” I guess now they have it made.
I didn’t see anything inappropriate or not tsniusdik about those pictures. It was a sonogram of a baby, not a woman chas v’sholom! I would likely show my own children a printout of a sonogram of their unborn sibling if I had the opportunity to do so. I just wouldn’t tell them ALL the facts of life.
To all you Lakewooders that is why there are so many issues in lakewood cause the parents don’t respect the schools so why should the children respect their rabbeim and principles. Who does is it need to be a whole hack and bash if you agree with what the school says good and if you don’t then have it your way but the whole world doesn’t need to know about it and especially the kids in the school.
Must Hatzlacha to all with whatever you decide.
The schools only have a right to tell other people what to do [i.e. parents of non-vaccinated children], but when it comes to ruchnius [which is what we send our kids to school for] all I see is comments that the school has no right to tell ME what to do!! interesting
B’H we have such “important” issues to hock about, such as this. If not what else wud we do? Its not like there are any sick/poor/broken people with real issues out there. So its great to see the community rallying over the “REAL” problems in our town!
how terrible it would be if children find out where babies come from…
Can someone please tell me what is wrong with it? I am really trying to understand…btw, what a brilliant marketing ploy this is to get EVERYONE to read it now!!!
I am trying to figure out, at what point do your kids realize that a store that sells babies, is NOT where u came from?
Honestly, are your kids that sheltered ?
look i’m not upset at anyone. i have no issue with the school cautioning me about something they see as a problem. i just don’t understand what about the article or pictures is objectional. i’m not complaining just trying to understand.
Loved the back cover ad!! Looking forward!
great mag. great article,,,i recommend it to anyone
indeed i received a phone call
as written above the kids are usaully the first to run get the mail after shabbos and the school was just alerting parents as to the content in this magazine published in long branch nj they werent asuuring your child but advising you the parent, may not want your child seeing the photos and start asking questions… etc
i personally see nothing wrong with the photos in question but keep in mind everyone has diffrent feelings about what should or shouldnt enter his home and what if all or some that enters be read by children
just as some are makpid not to have a radio or newspapers enter their home of course youl allow that one can choose what standard he wants to live by the advisement=heads up were meant for those who elevate themselves and are living a life of kedusha tahara preshus
for the rest of us we shudnt criticise others who are living a life of preshus and ruchnious above our own standards just as they shouldnt bellitte us for our lower standards
#47, explain to me what WASN’T kedusha, tahara preshus about the article?? So the children who read it, the parents that allowed it into their homes, are suddenly on a LOWER level, than those who don’t allow their kids to see such things?! Is learning about Niflaos HaBorei suddenly demoting yourself to a lower level in ruchniyos?!!
this whole thing is just so….. wrong.
to #49 – what whole thing is so wrong? The phone call from the schools or the article with the pictures?
For the person who wants to know what is wrong with the article….
What is right about having this discussion in a public venue? These are topics that many people don’t discuss openly. Why can’t that sensitivity be respected, More so because it is a rather widely held one. I love their magazine, and I like that they bring some real knowledge to the table and I can still say, (as they probably can) that this article was a mistake.
Yes my school called & happy they did! I personally don’t understand most of you but I & thousands of this community do NOT discuss these issues with our kids ! I happy my kids go to a school that DOES understand that. I hope all of you understand that a publication in town has to take in to account the feelings & the chinch preference of the vast majority of the town (ericha yisvisha & chasidish people) and NOT that vast majority of this blog ! To all of I will say that most people I know that went off the derech is was they were OVEREXPOSED & not because they kept there heads in the Gemora . I remain to be challenged on that !
whay don’t you let my posts through?
If the children are old enough to read the whole article, they are old enough to understand it. Young children will just to know what it is all about. Nothing wrong with the article.
to #47: What exactly were you implying by adding that the magazine was published in long branch nj?
Seems YOU are the one belittling your brethren living a short 20 minute distance away.
Love how people go one way but not the other! Not ok to belittle the more frum but its fine to do for the people you believe are a little less. Hypocrite…?
I’ll try again. Please do not moderate this out. Many years ago a certain scholl put the biography of the (moderated) into cherem as they didn’t like what they read. Rav (moderated) Ztl sent them a message basically telling them that they went overboard. I think this is the case here too.
sonograms? near my chasunah photos hanging in my dining room are sonogram photos of all my kids from 10 weeks till birth.
I thought that babies in Lakewood were delivered by storks. Now they tell me otherwise.