It's Not Your Holiday

[THL]

Schools juggle holidays for Muslims, other faiths

ALBANY, New York (AP) -- Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, and Christian -- each faith has its holy days. Schools across the country are asking how to respect them all.

Consider the University at Albany, which canceled classes on major Muslim holidays. Faculty wanted the move out of concern for Muslim students after the September 11 attacks. But then came the questions: What about Hindus? Buddhists?

President Kermit Hall last fall decided to return to the original calendar.

"Can you operate a university and give each religious group an accommodation? I think the answer is, 'No,"' he said.

Make that "maybe." School administrators across the country are rethinking their calendars as their student bodies become more diverse.

In May, Muslim parents asked New York City's education department for days off on two major Muslim holidays, which some districts in Michigan and New Jersey already have granted. In January, a Long Island mosque petitioned New York Gov. George Pataki to consider the holidays when scheduling mandatory statewide testing. Last month, the state Legislature passed a bill that would take all religious holidays into account when scheduling the mandatory tests. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called it the first step toward recognizing Muslim holidays in public schools.

But also last month, despite a Muslim group's lobbying at every board meeting, the Baltimore County district in Maryland approved a calendar with a day off for the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana, but none for Muslim holidays. The group had hoped the district's growing diversity -- 47.8 percent of students last year were minorities -- would be persuasive.

"Either I go against my faith, or I miss my schoolwork and have imperfect attendance," said 15-year-old Kanwal Rehman, who will enter 10th grade in Baltimore this fall. In January, her midterm exams fell during Eid al-Adha, one of the two most important holidays in Islam.

It can get complicated. When Muslims in the Tampa Bay region of Florida asked for a day off to celebrate the end of Ramadan, another local religious group perked up.

"There was discussion in the Hindu community if we should also push for a holiday," said Nikhil Joshi, a board member of the national Hindu American Foundation.

The Hillsborough County school board responded by ending days off for all religious holidays. The move inspired more than 3,500 e-mails. Christian leaders pleaded for the Muslim holiday. Finally, the district restored this fall's original calendar, with days off for Good Friday, Easter Monday and the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

The Muslim community was relieved it hadn't hurt other faiths. The Hindu community decided not to ask for days off.

"You would hope in a country of religious freedom all would be recognized, but we know that's not practical," Joshi said.

School districts say they can't take days off for purely religious reasons, but they can act if they think operations are affected by students or staff taking the day off.

That practice gives school holidays a certain regional flair. Some schools close for the beginning of hunting season. San Francisco schools have Cesar Chavez Day on March 30 to celebrate farmworkers, and Chicago schools have March 5 to honor Casimir Pulaski, a Polish count who helped the American side in the Revolutionary War.

Religion is more sensitive. Some districts mark "special observance days" when no test or exam can be scheduled. Other districts find inspiration in the business world -- each student gets a number of "floating" days to celebrate his or her own holidays with an excused absence.

"'Choose your own holiday' has become more popular," said Kathryn Lohre, assistant director of Harvard University's Pluralism Project, which studies diversity in religion. "It takes pressure off the school boards."

New Jersey's board of education now lists 76 excused religious holidays, from Russian Orthodox to Sikh. New York City schools are even more flexible. Students with a letter from parents get an excused absence for a holiday in any religion.

Some have tried the traditional route of schoolwide holidays, and failed. In Ohio, the Sycamore Community School District once canceled classes on the Jewish High Holy Days after some parents asked why schools closed on Good Friday. Muslim and Hindu parents then asked why they didn't get days off. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the district.

The case was settled in 2000, and the High Holy Days became school days again.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/07....ap/index.html

Who are they kidding? One cannot please all of the people all of the time. Maybe schools should be run like companies: I get New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas and either the day after or before whichever is not a weekend day. We also get two floating holidays to use at our leisure.

For vacation days, I get two weeks, but since I now work 4 days on and 4 days off, it works out that I get two sets of 12 days each for a total of 24 days. Sick days are not counted - as many as I want within reason.

So let's have the kids go to school all year long and get 24 vacation days and 10 holiday days to use however they want. Same with the teachers. I am sure there are sub teachers out there that are willing to work through the holidays.

People whine and moan that they do not get "their" holidays off to do whatever needs to be done on that holiday, but I dont hear any of them whining that thet get two weeks at Christmas. I have never seen a story about how Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans, Satanists - whoever, has got to take off the day that Jesus woke up. So if you don't celebrate it - get your happy ass back to school or work that day and stop being a bunch of freakin' whinebags.

Oh yeah, and by the way - take down the dam X-Mas tree AND the lights, stop getting the kids picture taken with the fat man in the red suit, return the presents and stop filling Easter Freaking Baskets with candy and colorful eggs - IT'S NOT YOUR HOLIDAY, remember? And when the rest of are celebrating OUR independence stay inside and dont look at our fireworks - they are not for you.

There are people in the world that do not have schools, or jobs or who do not get summer vacations - be happy and a little grateful with what you have got for crying out loud.



THL grumbling to herself:
bunch of freaking whiny people in the freaking world, like having a country full of freaking 3 year olds

[HistoricalDavid]

Originally Posted by TopHatsLiberal

THL grumbling to herself:
bunch of freaking whiny people in the freaking world, like having a country full of freaking 3 year olds

Ach, don't be so insensitive!

It's their faith, man! Nothing's more precious than faith, never mind education or saving lives (like the oddities-of-Islamic-firefighting).

/end retardation.

I think I'll move to New York, found my own religion - 'historicism'? Oops, already taken - and claim days off.

[ZFBoxcar]

Oh yeah, and by the way - take down the dam X-Mas tree AND the lights, stop getting the kids picture taken with the fat man in the red suit, return the presents and stop filling Easter Freaking Baskets with candy and colorful eggs - IT'S NOT YOUR HOLIDAY, remember?

Uh...what kind of non-Christians do you know? I've never met a non-Christian who puts up a Christmas tree and lights and takes their kid to see Santa Claus and who celebrates Easter.

And when the rest of are celebrating OUR independence stay inside and dont look at our fireworks - they are not for you.

Why is Independence Day only for Christians?

So let's have the kids go to school all year long and get 24 vacation days and 10 holiday days to use however they want. Same with the teachers. I am sure there are sub teachers out there that are willing to work through the holidays.

Only problem with that is that what they miss might be vital.

Like you, I don't see this thing as a real problem that needs to be fixed, but I also don't really give a damn if Christian holidays are the ones that get respected or not (being a non-Christian).

[jame$thegreat]

Originally Posted by HistoricalDavid

Ach, don't be so insensitive!

It's their faith, man! Nothing's more precious than faith, never mind education or saving lives (like the oddities-of-Islamic-firefighting).

/end retardation.

I think I'll move to New York, found my own religion - 'historicism'? Oops, already taken - and claim days off.

just like in family guy when peter make the church of the fonz, i want to make a religion, its religous services would consist of me lighting fireworks, yelling and shooting guns and it would be legal because if someone tried to arrest me i would claim that they are being racist and preventing me from my religous practice anyone wanna join?

[platinum786]

Why is it you guys aleways have problems with little issues?

In the UK we don't have that big an issue. I know that siksha nd hindu's celebrate Hloi during the venings after working hours, i know nothing about jewish or buddhsit holidays and when they fall and how they celebrate them, but we muslims just take the day off school/work. Schools often have teachers training days and try to schedule them around Eid, it only happens twice a year for gods sake.

If not classes continue as usual if you missed anything so be it.

Why do you guys have such issues with that?
How about you all just take a few more holidays a year, for all the major faiths, like 2 for eid, one for holi one for diwali one for hannukah one for whatever a buddihist holiday is (forgive my ignorance i don't know any buddhists)....that covers all major rleigions and you get a total of like 5-6 more holidays a year, who doesn't want that?!

[HistoricalDavid]

Originally Posted by platinum786

who doesn't want that?!

People who want to get educated.

[platinum786]

Originally Posted by HistoricalDavid

People who want to get educated.

yeah right like you can't teac children everything they need by adding to holidays.

there no wonder you guys are all wound up...you can't chill....learns omething from jamaicans, they're not that far away from you.

[HistoricalDavid]

Originally Posted by platinum786

yeah right like you can't teac children everything they need by adding to holidays.

No, you can't. The more holidays you add,

there no wonder you guys are all wound up...you can't chill....

Forgive me for wanting to be educated. After all, I wouldn't want to end up like a certain someone in this thread, eh?

http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/showthread.php?t=12532

Or in this thread?

secularism strikes back

Or this one?

http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/showthread.php?t=13204

And I wouldn't want to subsume my reason into 'faith', I wouldn't want to destroy my individual persona into 'unity', and I wouldn't want to turn myself into a robot of 'discipline'!

No thanks!

learns omething from jamaicans, they're not that far away from you.

Who's at No.98 on this list?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...elopment_Index

No thanks, again.

[TopHatter]

Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar

Uh...what kind of non-Christians do you know? I've never met a non-Christian who puts up a Christmas tree and lights and takes their kid to see Santa Claus and who celebrates Easter.

You haven't?

That's the biggest joke of the holiday season for me: Seeing the various ways that non-Christians (or Christians-in-name-only for that matter) celebrate a pagan Roman holida...I mean, Christmas.

[Parihaka]

Originally Posted by TopHatter

You haven't?

That's the biggest joke of the holiday season for me: Seeing the various ways that non-Christians (or Christians-in-name-only for that matter) celebrate a pagan Roman holida...I mean, Christmas.

Christs' mass, like most Christian festivals, co-opted pagan festivals left right and centre. This one of course pinched the celebration of mid-winter, a time for family and sharing of gifts to celebrate our ability to look after ourselves during the worst that the seasons could throw at us.
Easter of course is to celebrate spring, the re-birth (notice the connection, Nicea decided Jesus was 're-born') and the eggs are of course a symbol of fertility and rebirth, the bunny (Hare) is the sacred animal of the Saxon Eastre.
Hands off our pagan rituals all you Christians! Find your own celebrations!

[TopHatter]

Originally Posted by parihaka

Christs' mass, like most Christian festivals, co-opted pagan festivals left right and centre.

Nonsense! Christmas is about the birth of Jesus...wait no, it's about a fat guy that saw a Coca-Cola advert and thought "Red suit, what a great idea!"...no, no...wait, it's about TRADITION! (thank you Topol)...no, it's about getting together with your family and feeling all good and "Christmasy" inside...

Oh hell, can somebody please tell me the real meaning of Christmas?

(I smell a really bad Made-For-TV movie approaching...probably starring Jacklyn Smith and Art Carney)

[Lunatock]

Originally Posted by TopHatter

Nonsense! Christmas is about the birth of Jesus...wait no, it's about a fat guy that saw a Coca-Cola advert and thought "Red suit, what a great idea!"...no, no...wait, it's about TRADITION! (thank you Topol)...no, it's about getting together with your family and feeling all good and "Christmasy" inside...

Oh hell, can somebody please tell me the real meaning of Christmas?

(I smell a really bad Made-For-TV movie approaching...probably starring Jacklyn Smith and Art Carney)

You could just watch the video for the Dennis Leary song "Have A Merry F*cking Christmas".

I'm sure the Muslims, Jews, and Hindus here would love the line "unless you a Muslim, Jew, or some other gyp religion."

[platinum786]

Hysterical dave, don't be a dumb hick forever think sometimes.

what's wrong with a holiday?! Don't teah so much sh1t in school, concentrate on what you teach, increase the shcool day by 15 minutes if needs be?

do you know the benifiets that breaks have on people?!

I think you need one, go to Jamaica. you see the problem with you is that your materialisitc, everything must be about money and development and tall towers, nothing about enjoying the moment.

Enjoy the moment.

[Confed999]

Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar

Uh...what kind of non-Christians do you know? I've never met a non-Christian who puts up a Christmas tree and lights and takes their kid to see Santa Claus and who celebrates Easter.

To me Santa and the Easter Bunny are fun. Personally I don't see anything wrong with helping others celibrate their religious holidays, or even national ones, as long as fasting is not involved.

Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar

Why is Independence Day only for Christians?

That one would only be for American citizens.

Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar

I don't see this thing as a real problem that needs to be fixed

I can fix it right now, call "Christmas vacation", "winter break".

[Confed999]

Originally Posted by platinum786

Hysterical dave, don't be a dumb hick forever think sometimes.

By my count this will be the 7th time you've been warned. 7 day vacation, try to learn to hold a civil conversation.

Dave, don't bait people please.