Welcome back to all of the teachers who started back to school today! I hope you had a wonderful, restful break. We all know it will only take one day of being with our students to undo most of the good this break provided for our well-beings, but at least we had that brief moment in time to start to feel “human” again.
I enjoyed my break very much, and one of the guilty little pleasures I allowed myself was to watch as many of the Christmas specials as my busy schedule would allow. Syrupy Hallmark romances, stilted Claymation favorites from my childhood, and good ol’ black-and-white classics, like Christmas in Connecticut and the granddaddy of them all, It’s a Wonderful Life, filled my waking hours while I addressed Christmas cards and cooked and cleaned and decorated.
As I was watching my beloved It’s a Wonderful Life, it suddenly hit my heart like a ton of bricks that the scene at the end of the movie where Zuzu Bailey turns to her father and utters the iconic line, “Look, Daddy! Teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings’” could never happen anymore, at least, not in a public school anyway. I could no more talk about angels in my classroom than I could strip naked. Any discussion of my Christianity, the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (the whole reason for the holiday), or anything remotely associated is strictly forbidden.
I have heard of schools that have outlawed the mention or depiction of any of the holidays. While on the surface that seems more fair, I still think that’s going too far in the wrong direction and making a huge mistake.
However, in my experience, it has only been the Christian faith that has been squelched. In the name of “Equity” I am allowed, in fact, sometimes even encouraged, to include discussions of other faiths’ practices, such as Ramadan, Diwali, Hanukkah and Winter Solstice, and of course, non-faith-based Kwanzaa is allowed. But not Christianity.
I’d just like to point out to a school district, who spent a great deal of money and went to a lot of trouble to send me to diversity training when I was hired and who continues to further my professional development with equity training, this practice is neither inclusive, equitable, or fair.
How are holidays handled in your school?