Seminary Scandal: Do warning bells ring when you read this student's praise of Peninim Seminary/

The following is an excerpt from an article from the blog Where What and When - Time  To Think About Seminary    which deals with issues in chosing a seminary. The excerpt below is about the Peninim Seminary when it was run by Meisels. Do you find anything upsetting about what she says? Or perhaps it is just because Meisels perverted the good but there is nothing inherently wrong about the interaction of the staff with the students.

January 22, 2014

  Tzipora who attended Peninim Seminary and is leaving in a couple of days to go to shana bet (a second year), was very happy to share her experience with me. I was astounded by her enthusiasm. “It was really amazing. It was the best year of my life so far,” Tzipora says. “The principal and all the teachers really care about the girls. They put the needs of the girls first above everything else. For example, there was a big emphasis on the hashkafa behind the halachos of tznius. Many girls came to seminary with skirts that were not very tzniusdik. After being there for a while, and absorbing the hashkafos of the teachers, many girls wanted to wear skirts that met halachic guidelines. In order to make it easier for girls to follow through on their new commitment to higher standards of tznius, Rabbi Meisels set up a program; if a girl turns in a skirt that is not so tzniusdik, he will give her money to buy a new skirt.”

  Peninim makes it a priority that each girl creates a strong connection with members of the staff. “Becoming close to a mentor was important to me,” says Tzipopra , “and the seminary went out of its way to see that no one falls through the cracks. In the middle of the year the staff goes through all the girls, and makes sure that everybody has a connection to some teacher or the principal. Girls often go to the homes of the teachers for Shabbos meals or to sleep over.

  Tzipora explains Peninim’s focus on hashkafa. “There is no homework, and most of the classes are discussions about what we can learn from the sources and apply to our own lives.” Tzipora  marvels, “We spent a whole month learning about the meraglim and how to apply the lessons of the meraglim to our own lives. The teachers welcome questions and will stay after class as long as necessary to answer all the girls to their satisfaction.”