My observations after close to 30 years of closely watching the educational system.
This is in a nutshell how Modern Orthodox Jewish education goes:
First the boy [the same applies to girls but I will limit myself to the boys] is put through 12 years of Jewish day school which costs tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Miraculously, he is still almost Jewishly illiterate. He can't read a gemara, a mishna or even chumash-rashi [without an English translation]. He is also not fully committed to a halachic lifestyle [negiya, minyan, desire to be a talmid chochom, shmiras einayim and often is engaged in drugs and other dangerous habits] and lacks a basic understanding of Jewish beliefs.
Then he goes to Israel for the year. But it is not a year because the actual learning time is about 7 months [mid Elul until mid Tishrei, cheshvan, kislev, teves, shvat, adar, iyar] throughout which there are constant breaks [weekends, tiyulim, parental visits, trips to "town" to hang out with the girls etc.]. Until he gets "into it" [if he ever does] it is the middle of the year. But he can't REALLY get into it because he has an iphone which he carries with him everywhere and he is constantly surfing, texting, calling, following the sports games etc. etc. Constantly. [In my youth, thank G-d we didn't have these כלי משחית].
When he actually goes to seder and learns, instead of the emphasis being on learning the rudiments of reading and basic comprehension, he is often presented with complex analyses of the rishonim and even of the acharonim. HE CAN'T READ YET!!!
Then, they marry, have children ..... and send them through the same system.
Wonder of wonders.
My advice: Before you send you children to a school, make sure that he/she will learn something there.
As for the yeshivos in Israel: They try their best but it is a rough battle. De-progamming 17 years of mis-education is no easy task, especially given the little toys everyone carries around all day ensuring that they will never be fully engaged in the task at hand.
What pains me most is that we lose so many Jewish neshamos to complete nonsense.
Try to save a Jewish soul today.....:-).
