Why I can't stand the term "Religious School"

Ever since I was a little kid, "Religious School" has had a bad rap.  I didn't like "Religious School" as a kid, and even though I am the Director of a Religious School now, I still can't stand the terminology.  Let's see if I can break down the reasons why the term "Religious School" drives me bananas (but also why we haven't changed it at Temple Isaiah):

• Neither "Religious" nor "School" describes Jewish education very well.  The term conjures up images of kids sitting at desks with textbooks discussing 'religious' things like what the Bible says about X or Y and what kids should know / believe about God.  However, that is not what Jewish education is (or should be, in my view)...
• Jewish education is best when it doesn't look like, sound, or feel like "school."  Yes, we have a curriculum and teachers, and yes, we are trying to help our students learn.  But in my mind, that's where the similarities between "Jewish education" and "school" should end.  We are not trying to teach subject matter for the sake of mastery of facts or progression from one grade to the next.  We are trying to teach identity, to instill a sense of commitment to and excitement about Jewish life and Jewish peoplehood.  Many studies have shown that the best forms of Jewish education (i.e. the ones that 'work' the best) are informal - Jewish camps, youth groups, trips to Israel, etc.  So the less our educational programs look like 'school,' the more successful they will be in trying to achieve our goals of building Jewish identity, enthusiasm, and commitment.
• Jewish education is not necessarily (and certainly not always) "religious."  Judaism is a religion - sort of - but it is also a culture, a people, a way of life, a tradition, a community, a nation, a sense of identity and a way of seeing and understanding the world.  Jewish education ought to help kids find various entry points to Jewish life - to see themselves as part of the chain of tradition of the Jewish people, in whatever way that might be.  So when we call our program "religious," it is pretty misleading.  For some people, the religious aspect of Jewish life is essential, compelling, meaningful.  For others, 'religion' itself is a turn-off and something to avoid.  We do talk about and learn about 'religious' things in Jewish education - we explore different connections to God, we study 'religious' texts, we experience prayer - but it is a misnomer to say that what we are doing is 'Religious School' in its entirety.

So why do we still call our program at Temple Isaiah "Religious School"?  I think it's due to advertising / PR... because of the longstanding view that many parents have that they should send their kids to "Religious School."  When people visit our website, and they have children ages Pre-K to 6th grade, one of the first things they look for is information about our "Religious School."  If we change the name of our educational program to something else, we would probably still have to put the term "Religious School" in parentheses to let people know that it's our version of Religious School, even though it has a different name.  

Also, what would be a better, more descriptive name?  The term "Talmud Torah" is a little bit better, since the word "Talmud" comes from the Hebrew word for learning / teaching, and the word "Torah" of course refers to the actual Torah but also to the whole corpus of Jewish literature / text / learning.  So that could work.  Do you have other ideas?  I'm open to suggestions!!