A True Jewish Educator - The Trilogy

The gemara [bava basra 21] says that originally all children were home schooled but due to the fact that it wasn't working for certain children, Rebbe Yehoshua ben Gamla instituted mandatory schooling for all boys. This decree however was far from being the ideal. Ideally a father must teach his child as the Torah clearly delineates in the pasuk ושננתם לבניך. The reason it is so critical that a father teach his son is because the צורת נתינת התורה is באהבה, the Torah must be conveyed with love, and nobody can love a child like a father [see Maran HaRav Hutner's celebrated essay in the Pachad Yitzchak on Shvuos]. A Rebbe must aspire to emulate a father's love for his pupils.

Let's say a Rebbe is really mean but it WORKS! The talmidim are terrified of him and it is not out of love but out of fear that they learn. Of course there must be some element of fear in the relationship [just like a father-child relationship] but the fear should be yiras kavod, awe and reverence, and not fear of being slapped [physically or otherwise]. However the dominant element should be love. In an instance where the students are driven to learn by pure fear THAT IS NOT THE TORAH G-D GAVE US!

It works? In Aushwitz people worked so hard that after the war they displayed a tremendous work ethic that enabled them become rich. Did Aushwitz "work"? להבדיל. Does the end justify the means???

May the Jewish people always be blessed with loving Rabbeim.