A recent article in the Trenton Times newspaper noted that the
State of New Jersey State Board of Education
has officially recognized and approved a list of 120 religious holidays.
This means that children observing these holidays must be given the day as an
excused holiday and they must also be permitted to make up any missed work. While
trying the acknowledge the cultural diversity of the school children in the state, school
district administrators are hard pressed to determine which days to close
school and how to” “celebrate” this wide array of holidays in the classrooms. Christmas
is celebrated universally in America’s schools. I am not aware of any public in
this country school that is open on Christmas Day. But what is to be done with
Diwali or Rosh Hashanah? School districts must learn to walk a fine line the
parents in the decision making process allowing parents to vote on holiday acknowledgments.
As the population of the United States becomes more diverse, the issue of
holidays will continue to play an important part of what happens in schools. As
is often the case, all of the stakeholders- teachers, administrators, parents,
students and community leaders must participate in the process to equitable to
all.
C. 2014 J. Margolis
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