The Cambridge School district in Massachusetts has voted to close school to observe a Muslim holiday. This is the first school district in the state to do this. This same request has come up in my school district and has not been approved. The holiday will be observed for the first time November 11, 2011. My question is should other school districts adopt this policy? We celebrate Christian and Jewish holidays shouldn’t we do the same for Islamic holidays? Tell me what you think.
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No. We should not close schools for any religious holiday.
Lest you call me on this, I don’t consider Christmas a religious holiday. It has evolved into a mid year seasonal, yet secular holiday, and is celebrated by everyone regardless of religion.
If someone want to take the day off for religious reasons, let them do so on their own. If they get marked absent, it’s not the end of the world, and if they miss something in school, they’ll have to make it up, just like those that take their children out of school to visit Disney World, or attend a funeral.
Education is far more important than religion. If we keep making exceptions for religious holidays, where do we stop? My religion celebrates the World Series, so I would expect at least a week off for that.
Spanish you do make me laugh. Whether you acknowledge it or not Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. I will agree it has been commercilized but it still is a religious holiday.
This is a slippery slope which will assuredly spin out of control. Yes we do close schools in observance of Christian and Jewish holidays as it is the priciples of these these religions on which this nation was founded.
If we make concessions to close school for any other religious group this will start a cascade of demands from every other represented groups which could include Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism,Baha’i, Juche, Shinto, Jainism, Cao Dai, Zoroastrianism, Tenrikyo, Rastafarianism, Neo-Paganism, Confucianism, Taoism, Vodun, Druidism, Wicca, Hare Krishna and on and on an on.
If anyone thinks that we are being challenged to educate our kids presently, let start closing schools in observance of holidays for every represented religion and watch what happens as the number of available days for instruction dwindles.
While I respect everyone’s right to worship any religion he or she chooses, I doubt that any adherent to any of these religion were disappointed to learn that the schools in this nation did not close in observance of their respective holidays. This is a terrible idea.
OK. If you want me to be consistent, do away with Xmas too. I wouldn’t mind. I was throwing a bone there, because you’re going to piss a lot of kids off, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Wiccans, Native Americans, and yes, atheists, but what the hell.
Or, call it the Winter Solstice Holiday and give them a week off. The holiday predates Christianity anyway. Christians appropriated it from the pagans. It’s doubtful Jesus, if he actually existed, was born on December 25th.
BTW, if Christians believe life begins at conception, why do we celebrate Xmas in December? Why not 9 months earlier?
I really hesitate to close schools for every conceivable holiday, especially with the dire need for LONGER school days and LONGER school years. This is a predominately Judeo-Christian nation, and that should be the extent of the SANCTIONED holidays. If someone has a need to celebrate another holiday that is a part of their culture or faith, do it on a case-by-case basis. When I was in the service, it was not uncommon for some of my Jewish peers to volunteer to stand duty on Christmas Day and Easter weekend so the maximum number of Christians could have the day off. In return, they took time of for Yom Kippur and other Jewish holidays. They weren’t “sanctioned” holidays, but the powers that be allowed as much flexibility as possible in these areas. I think that can be duplicated in the classrooms.