Earlier start date proposed for MCPS

[Anonymous]

Its not even certain that the holiday will actually fall on 9/12. So we have this totally messed up calendar for possibly no reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It's amazing to me that closing for one group's religious holiday results in such a significant change to the calendar, particularly given that it appears the Muslim population in Montgomery County is only a bit over 1% of the total population.

I don't think that Eid al-Adha has any magic calendar-disrupting properties. Unless you think that, if the BoE had added a different day to the calendar that was not a Muslim holiday, all would have gone smoothly?

Taking another day off in September makes no sense, and it's being done specifically to cater to a tiny segment of the population. What part of that are you having difficulty understanding?

Of course it makes sense! That's when Eid al-Adha is in 2016. What wouldn't make sense is taking a day off in December or April for a holiday that's in September.

The BOE has a stated policy of not closing on religious holidays. It doesn't matter when the holiday falls when there are so few celebrators in this county. If I lived in Dearborn, MI-where about 60% of the population celebrates the holiday-it would make sense. Here, no. This is BOE political correctness run amuk as usual.

lol right. that's why we're closed on Rosh Hoshanah, Yom Kippur, Christmas, and Easter.

No, we're closed on those days because large segments of the population celebrate them. Jewish schools have more time off around the major Jewish holidays than MCPS BTW.

Yes, I know there are more Jewish holidays than those MCPS gets off. What's the point?

The BOE made it clear that they have no idea what criteria was used 40 years ago to give off those two holidays. They just made a decision and did it and will continue doing it because they have been doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its not even certain that the holiday will actually fall on 9/12. So we have this totally messed up calendar for possibly no reason.

True. It could be the Sunday before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No, we're closed on those days because large segments of the population celebrate them. Jewish schools have more time off around the major Jewish holidays than MCPS BTW.

Large segments of the population? Not where I live in Montgomery County. Where I live, a large segment of the population celebrates Muslim holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The BOE has a stated policy of not closing on religious holidays. It doesn't matter when the holiday falls when there are so few celebrators in this county. If I lived in Dearborn, MI-where about 60% of the population celebrates the holiday-it would make sense. Here, no. This is BOE political correctness run amuk as usual.

Where does the BoE state this policy? If the BoE does have this policy, then it is clearly nonsense, given that MCPS is always closed for Christmas, per state law.

Do you read the paper ever? Just look at the school calendar. See any references to religious holiday closures? No, you don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The BOE has a stated policy of not closing on religious holidays. It doesn't matter when the holiday falls when there are so few celebrators in this county. If I lived in Dearborn, MI-where about 60% of the population celebrates the holiday-it would make sense. Here, no. This is BOE political correctness run amuk as usual.

Where does the BoE state this policy? If the BoE does have this policy, then it is clearly nonsense, given that MCPS is always closed for Christmas, per state law.

Do you read the paper ever? Just look at the school calendar. See any references to religious holiday closures? No, you don't.

Right, they removed the references to those holidays. They still give off those days (I meant Good Friday and the Monday after Easter -- thank you for correcting me, PP!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The BOE has a stated policy of not closing on religious holidays. It doesn't matter when the holiday falls when there are so few celebrators in this county. If I lived in Dearborn, MI-where about 60% of the population celebrates the holiday-it would make sense. Here, no. This is BOE political correctness run amuk as usual.

Where does the BoE state this policy? If the BoE does have this policy, then it is clearly nonsense, given that MCPS is always closed for Christmas, per state law.

Do you read the paper ever? Just look at the school calendar. See any references to religious holiday closures? No, you don't.

So if it doesn't say on the school calendar that it's a religious holiday, that makes it not a religious holiday? You, I, the BoE, and everybody else knows that MCPS closes for certain religious holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No, we're closed on those days because large segments of the population celebrate them. Jewish schools have more time off around the major Jewish holidays than MCPS BTW.

Large segments of the population? Not where I live in Montgomery County. Where I live, a large segment of the population celebrates Muslim holidays.

Where do you live? Because 12K Muslims out of 971K county population is a very small percentage.

[Anonymous]

It still says Christmas and Easter. Just doesn't say Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It still says Christmas and Easter. Just doesn't say Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.

That's just kind of offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It still says Christmas and Easter. Just doesn't say Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.

That's just kind of offensive.

This change occurred during the debacle last year about religious holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It still says Christmas and Easter. Just doesn't say Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.

That's just kind of offensive.

This change occurred during the debacle last year about religious holidays.

Yeah. The Christian/normal/benign holidays can still be acknowledged as such, but no threatening/ethnic holidays associated with Jews or Muslims can be acknowledged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No, we're closed on those days because large segments of the population celebrate them. Jewish schools have more time off around the major Jewish holidays than MCPS BTW.

Large segments of the population? Not where I live in Montgomery County. Where I live, a large segment of the population celebrates Muslim holidays.

Where do you live? Because 12K Muslims out of 971K county population is a very small percentage.

I live in Clarksburg.

Also, your numbers are out of date.

[Anonymous]

In the District's recommendation against establishing the new holiday, staff made clear that additional absenteeism for EID was de mini is, so BOE is not applying it's usual criteria and will probably get sued by another religion with an unrecognized holiday as a result. Maybe the B'hai.

But whatever the views on the wisdom of celebrating this holiday, or the method (professional day) this calendar nonsense is an unanticipated consequence that should just be avoided. Status quo, please!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No, we're closed on those days because large segments of the population celebrate them. Jewish schools have more time off around the major Jewish holidays than MCPS BTW.

Large segments of the population? Not where I live in Montgomery County. Where I live, a large segment of the population celebrates Muslim holidays.

Where do you live? Because 12K Muslims out of 971K county population is a very small percentage.

I live in Clarksburg.

Also, your numbers are out of date.

They're from 2010 but most recent available. Supply something more current from a reliable source if you want.