Records of the TSYSHO (Tsentrale Yidishe Shul Organizatsye)

TSYSHO is an acronym for Tsentrale Yidishe Shul Organizatsye (Central Yiddish School Organization). Founded in 1921 at a Yiddish teachers' conference in Warsaw, the TSYSHO was a secular, Yiddishist and socialist school system which consisted of the Central Office in Warsaw, a branch office in Vilna called the TSBK (Tsentraler Bildungs Komitet, or Central Education Committee) and a network of schools which included kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, a teachers' seminary and evening schools. The founders of the TSYSHO were either members of the Bund party or the left Poalei Zion. Their purpose was to promote the ideals of socialism and Yiddishism by providing a strong administrative center and organizational framework for an already existing group of Yiddish schools.

Among the leading figures in the TSYSHO central board were Beinish Mikhalevich, Jacob Pat, Jacob Lestschinsky, N. Buchsbaum, Chaim Kazdan, Shlomo Mendelson, and S.F. Gilinski. The Central Office exercised control in both administrative and educational matters. Its administrative functions consisted mainly of collecting and distributing funds to TSYSHO schools to support teachers' salaries, school building maintenance, teachers' courses, summer camps and children's feeding programs.

In the educational field, the Central Office took part in setting curriculum standards by preparing curriculum outlines, and choosing or publishing textbooks and pedagogical journals. Preparation of curricula included complication of Yiddish vocabulary lists to meet the needs generated by new subjects. Among the publications were the well-known pedagogical journals: Di naye shul (The New School), Shul un lebn (School and Life), and Shul vegn (School Ways).

Extra-curricular activities included a teachers' placement service, teachers' conferences, national level exhibits and psychological research programs. Noteworthy are the Mendele Moykher Seforim Exhibit of 1936, the Sholem Aleichem exhibit of 1937, the Education Conference in Vilna, 1937, and the Conference of History Teachers, Vilna, 1939. In addition, in Vilna TSBK sponsored the Yiddish Teachers' Seminary conferences in 1922 on Yiddish, natural sciences, Hebrew and history. The research activities consisted of psychological surveys conducted among TSYSHO children to test physical, mental, and emotional development.

The TSYSHO curriculum emphasized Yiddish language and literature, Jewish history and culture, sciences, mathematics, music, physical education, art, physical skills such as woodworking, and upholstery and gardening. Polish language, literature, geography and history were required by the government. Hebrew was included but did not play a major role; all subjects were taught in Yiddish.

The TSYSHO had three types of financial sources. A compulsory tuition fee of about 2-4 zlotys a month was introduced in all schools and became a regular source of income. Professional labor unions sympathetic to the Yiddish school system also contributed regularly. Third, relief societies from the United States, England and Canada sent subsidies, especially in the 1920s. The Joint Distribution Committee, the most significant of these organizations, sent substantial amounts until the depression period when the subsidies were stopped. Throughout its existence, TSYSHO suffered from severe financial insecurity and received no support from the Polish state.

Although obtaining legal recognition was high on the list of priorities and delegates were frequently sent to the Polish Ministry of Education to request state approval, the TSYSHO was never successful in its objective. The government's attitude was negative and suspicious because of TSYSHO's socialist affiliations. Existing schools were frequently closed by the state on trumped-up charges such as poor physical and hygienic conditions. Some individual schools, for example the Yiddish Teachers' Seminary in Vilna, succeeded in obtaining some kind of legal recognition.

The years between 1920 to 1929 were a time of growth, whereas those from 1930-1934 were marked by a decline in the number of schools as well as a drop in the quality of education. In 1935, the professional labor unions promised renewed support for TSYSHO and the period from 1935-1937 was marked by new development.

The figures below are taken from Jewish Schools in Poland, 1919-1939 by Miriam Eisenstein and The History of Jewish School Systems in Independent Poland (in Yiddish) by Chaim Kazdan:

With some changes, the list is valid for most of the TSBK period.

Short historical notes are provided for the Yiddish Teachers' Seminary, the Mathematics-Sciences Gymnasium, the Humanistic Gymnasium, and the Mefitsei Haskalah Boys' School.

Yiddish Teachers' Seminary

The Yiddish Teachers' Seminary was founded in 1921 by the TSBK as a 4-year program whose purpose was to produce teachers for the TSYSHO schools. In 1921 there were 21 students; in 1925 the first graduation took place with 25 graduates. Among the heads of the seminary were S. M. Gurevitch. R. Simchovitch, Abraham Golomb, and Dr. I. Biber. The curriculum was based on the TSYSHO philosophy and fulfilled government prerequisites as well. Student teaching was done in the L. Gurwicz School. The seminary had a dormitory. Official state recognition was granted to the seminary in the early 1920s. In 1931 the school was closed by the Polish government for political reasons.

Mathematics-Sciences Gymnasium (Real Gymnasium)

The Mathematics-Sciences Gymnasium was the first Yiddish language high school in Vilna. Also called the Real Gymnasium, it opened in 1918 with about 300 children. By 1922-1923, the school went up to the 8th grade. In 1923 the first graduation took place with 55 graduates. By 1922-1923 there were 18 classes and 700 students. Besides regular studies as prescribed by the Polish government, Yiddish, Jewish history and Hebrew were taught. Emphasis was placed on establishment of student clubs and on self-government among the students. After much effort, the gymnasium acquired government status in 1933.

Humanistic Gymnasium

The Humanistic Gymnasium was opened in 1923 by the TSBK with 4 classes and 140 students. The purpose of the new school was to provide instruction for the students whose talents lay in the humanities rather than the sciences. By 1925 there were 200 students.

Mefitsei Haskalah Boys' School

The Mefitsei Haskalah Boys' School was founded as a Yiddish school in 1915 by the Mefitsei Haskalah Society. In 1919 the school was taken over by the TSBK. The first graduation took place in 1921; by 1924 there were 350 students. In 1928, following a dispute, I. Gurevitch, the school's director for many years, left the TSBK and participated in the founding of the Shul-kult school system. In the 1930s the school was renamed after Zemach Szabad and was thereafter called the Szabad Boys' School.