Many public schools in Ontario (and I believe in other areas as well in Canada) have banned holiday celebrations– even to the point that occasions like Valentine’s Day, or even Mother and Father’s Day is omitted. I completely understand that many kids that attend any public school will be from a different religious background than the majority of kids; many won’t have a mother or a father, or are in foster care; some may be raised by gay or lesbian couples- which would explain the motivation for these schools to become politically correct.
Sure, they want each child that attends to not feel left out in anyway and that is fine, but to a degree. What they fail to realize is that they are making a huge mistake by completely omitting holiday celebrations- regardless of what it may be.
Instead of worrying about the feelings of the students who may “feel left out” during celebrations that may not apply to them – the schools need to embrace every celebration for the purpose of educating other kids that holidays other than only what they are used to are celebrated in other cultures and religions. That being said, it is crucial for kids to learn about other cultures, religions, and lifestyles so they are not only aware that they exist. However with so much hatred and racism that sadly exists even today, the only remedy to it is a lot of awareness. By banning holiday celebrations, public schools whether it is acknowledged or not are contributing the lack of tolerance in the world.
If a Jewish child attends a predominantly Christian school, it is a mistake for the school to not acknowledge anything in relation to Christmas for the sake of sparing his or her feelings. The school needs to educate all of their students about Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa. They need to embrace these holidays and talk about the celebrations. Kids in this day and age need to be aware of other cultures, religions, lifestyles, and what they celebrate. Banning holiday celebrations for the purpose of sparing a student’s feelings who may be in the minority is wrong.
If the school that your children attend ban celebrations, then it is the parents’ responsibility to educate their kids about others that have different beliefs- and that are different from them.
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