Too much Christmas Education in my Public School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She made a Christmas tree, a Rudolph ornament and an Elf ornament, and a Santa hat pencil holder. They were gifts from her to us. All the kids had to make the same thing. I would have been fine with one or two Christmas themed and then a snowman, snowflake, etc.

Those are all secular and non religous things.

They learned about menorahs. Did they learn about advent wreaths? That would be an equivalent religious item.

A menorah is religious.

Santa, elves, reindeer and Christmas trees are not.

But it’s all Christmas, a holiday my kid doesn’t celebrate and is excluded from because we are not Christian. Do you get it? The menorah was a 5 min activity. This was all day everyday for a month. And they learned about the nativity, the wise men and baby Jesus.

If this is really true - name the school

And if it did happen, did your kid really feel excluded or did she happily participate and then you made her feel bad at home with your faux outrage?
And if she did feel excluded, so what? The every kid must be happy every moment environment has been such a disservice and now that my kid is in middle school I wish they had not had the “every kid is a winner! Every kid most never, ever have an uncomfortable moment, ever. No feelings allowed! “

DP. You're missing the point. We have a constitution that provides for separation of church and state. This is a public school. One of the driving forces for our forefathers coming here was freedom of/freedom from religion. It's troubling how many Americans have no clue about our constitution and the principles on which our country was built.

Freedom "From" religion was invented in the 1960s, not by the Founding Fathers. The Constitution also addressed the national government only, and many states clearly had religious elements in their own constitutions. Next time you try to educate folks, make sure that you understand the issue yourself.

Elves are not religious anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school is this?

My kids are out of elementary school now, but their schools were always very careful to make everything about winter holiday fun, and never, never did anything directly Christmas related, other than situations where they learned about many different religions and cultures. I’d be curious to know what school is allowing what is described in the OP to happen: it sounds as though they are going backwards instead of forward.

I know, right?! This was never the case when I was younger. I was surprised and kind of sad for her. They did do a thing where parents can come in and talk about your holiday and we did that over Chanukah... but the last three weeks have ONLY been Christmas. I do t want to call the school out, but it’s in DC.

Doesn’t sound like Ga, Tenn, the Deep South, or the Midwest.

It sounds like Oklahoma to me - though they would have thrown the 10 commandments in there too, it’s true.

Ever heard that Moses was Jewish????

Jesus was born Jewish too, so why not celebrate Christmas anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps we should not make a mountain out of a molehill.
Kids do crafts at school in Kindergarten.
Elves predate Santa and are found in several old folklore tales made for children
Give it up and find something else to fight about

Right. And as soon as your child is doing an Eid or Janmastami coloring project you’ll be standing in a crowd of parents holding pitch forks and fire at the next school board meeting.
Your Christian privilege is showing!

It's Anglo/Euro privilege. Get it right.

I don't apologize for celebrating the culture of the majority. Would you move to China and demand that they stop celebrating or mentioning Chinese New Year because you are a religious and cultural minority?
Probably not. In fact, you would call a person who did that culturally insensitive.

The many non Christians moving to the United States should understand that they will be part of a minority group. Our Constitution (and yes, Anglo/Euro legal and cultural traditions) will preserve their rights to celebrate their own holidays, take the day off from school, etc. but they should not expect us to erase our own culture to save their tender feelings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps we should not make a mountain out of a molehill.
Kids do crafts at school in Kindergarten.
Elves predate Santa and are found in several old folklore tales made for children
Give it up and find something else to fight about

Right. And as soon as your child is doing an Eid or Janmastami coloring project you’ll be standing in a crowd of parents holding pitch forks and fire at the next school board meeting.
Your Christian privilege is showing!

It's Anglo/Euro privilege. Get it right.

I don't apologize for celebrating the culture of the majority. Would you move to China and demand that they stop celebrating or mentioning Chinese New Year because you are a religious and cultural minority?
Probably not. In fact, you would call a person who did that culturally insensitive.

The many non Christians moving to the United States should understand that they will be part of a minority group. Our Constitution (and yes, Anglo/Euro legal and cultural traditions) will preserve their rights to celebrate their own holidays, take the day off from school, etc. but they should not expect us to erase our own culture to save their tender feelings.

The US has always been a melting pot. Expect “us” to erase “our” culture? WTF? We are all “us” and “we”, not just you religious nutters. Step aside, insufferable twit.

[Anonymous]

So, 75% us Americans are Christian. That means, three out of four Kindergarteners have a good chance of being raised with some idea of Jesus and the celebration of his birth. The rest celebrate a variety of religions, or, based on the responses to this forum, have no faith at all. I wonder, when the OP drives past the countless homes with inflatable Santas, wreaths, lights in the windows, reindeers, etc....are you annoyed that the majority of your neighbors force this 'religious/cultural' symbolism upon your child's vulnerable eyes. Mommy, why do the Jones have those lights on their bushes? I am done with this coddling..next year, it is Merry Christmas as my greeting to all, and no more Happy Holidays or Happy Winter Solstice. If you all who are Jewish, who truly hunker down with no decorations and no gifts at all, you can fairly cast the first stone upon us Christians, and you have a valid case to complain...the many, many others who embrace the secular, and the commercial components, including the paid holiday time, I have less empathy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, 75% us Americans are Christian. That means, three out of four Kindergarteners have a good chance of being raised with some idea of Jesus and the celebration of his birth. The rest celebrate a variety of religions, or, based on the responses to this forum, have no faith at all. I wonder, when the OP drives past the countless homes with inflatable Santas, wreaths, lights in the windows, reindeers, etc....are you annoyed that the majority of your neighbors force this 'religious/cultural' symbolism upon your child's vulnerable eyes. Mommy, why do the Jones have those lights on their bushes? I am done with this coddling..next year, it is Merry Christmas as my greeting to all, and no more Happy Holidays or Happy Winter Solstice. If you all who are Jewish, who truly hunker down with no decorations and no gifts at all, you can fairly cast the first stone upon us Christians, and you have a valid case to complain...the many, many others who embrace the secular, and the commercial components, including the paid holiday time, I have less empathy.

GFY, religious nutter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, 75% us Americans are Christian. That means, three out of four Kindergarteners have a good chance of being raised with some idea of Jesus and the celebration of his birth. The rest celebrate a variety of religions, or, based on the responses to this forum, have no faith at all. I wonder, when the OP drives past the countless homes with inflatable Santas, wreaths, lights in the windows, reindeers, etc....are you annoyed that the majority of your neighbors force this 'religious/cultural' symbolism upon your child's vulnerable eyes. Mommy, why do the Jones have those lights on their bushes? I am done with this coddling..next year, it is Merry Christmas as my greeting to all, and no more Happy Holidays or Happy Winter Solstice. If you all who are Jewish, who truly hunker down with no decorations and no gifts at all, you can fairly cast the first stone upon us Christians, and you have a valid case to complain...the many, many others who embrace the secular, and the commercial components, including the paid holiday time, I have less empathy.

Can you really not see the difference between what happens at public school and what happens on private property or in a personal greeting card?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, 75% us Americans are Christian. That means, three out of four Kindergarteners have a good chance of being raised with some idea of Jesus and the celebration of his birth. The rest celebrate a variety of religions, or, based on the responses to this forum, have no faith at all. I wonder, when the OP drives past the countless homes with inflatable Santas, wreaths, lights in the windows, reindeers, etc....are you annoyed that the majority of your neighbors force this 'religious/cultural' symbolism upon your child's vulnerable eyes. Mommy, why do the Jones have those lights on their bushes? I am done with this coddling..next year, it is Merry Christmas as my greeting to all, and no more Happy Holidays or Happy Winter Solstice. If you all who are Jewish, who truly hunker down with no decorations and no gifts at all, you can fairly cast the first stone upon us Christians, and you have a valid case to complain...the many, many others who embrace the secular, and the commercial components, including the paid holiday time, I have less empathy.

Can you really not see the difference between what happens at public school and what happens on private property or in a personal greeting card?

If 75% of the public is Christian, as PP above says, that's very relevant for public education. It was not atheist arabs who built our schools, you know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She made a Christmas tree, a Rudolph ornament and an Elf ornament, and a Santa hat pencil holder. They were gifts from her to us. All the kids had to make the same thing. I would have been fine with one or two Christmas themed and then a snowman, snowflake, etc.

Those are all secular and non religous things.

They learned about menorahs. Did they learn about advent wreaths? That would be an equivalent religious item.

A menorah is religious.

Santa, elves, reindeer and Christmas trees are not.

But it’s all Christmas, a holiday my kid doesn’t celebrate and is excluded from because we are not Christian. Do you get it? The menorah was a 5 min activity. This was all day everyday for a month. And they learned about the nativity, the wise men and baby Jesus.

If this is really true - name the school

And if it did happen, did your kid really feel excluded or did she happily participate and then you made her feel bad at home with your faux outrage?
And if she did feel excluded, so what? The every kid must be happy every moment environment has been such a disservice and now that my kid is in middle school I wish they had not had the “every kid is a winner! Every kid most never, ever have an uncomfortable moment, ever. No feelings allowed! “

DP. You're missing the point. We have a constitution that provides for separation of church and state. This is a public school. One of the driving forces for our forefathers coming here was freedom of/freedom from religion. It's troubling how many Americans have no clue about our constitution and the principles on which our country was built.

Freedom "From" religion was invented in the 1960s, not by the Founding Fathers. The Constitution also addressed the national government only, and many states clearly had religious elements in their own constitutions. Next time you try to educate folks, make sure that you understand the issue yourself.

Elves are not religious anyway.

DP. So a doctrine of constitutional law that is, for now at least, still good law doesn't count? You make not like the living Constitution and what it has lead to, but that's the law. And freedom from religion was a concept at the time of founding, but it was certainly understood differently then than it is now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps we should not make a mountain out of a molehill.
Kids do crafts at school in Kindergarten.
Elves predate Santa and are found in several old folklore tales made for children
Give it up and find something else to fight about

Right. And as soon as your child is doing an Eid or Janmastami coloring project you’ll be standing in a crowd of parents holding pitch forks and fire at the next school board meeting.
Your Christian privilege is showing!

It's Anglo/Euro privilege. Get it right.

I don't apologize for celebrating the culture of the majority. Would you move to China and demand that they stop celebrating or mentioning Chinese New Year because you are a religious and cultural minority?
Probably not. In fact, you would call a person who did that culturally insensitive.

The many non Christians moving to the United States should understand that they will be part of a minority group. Our Constitution (and yes, Anglo/Euro legal and cultural traditions) will preserve their rights to celebrate their own holidays, take the day off from school, etc. but they should not expect us to erase our own culture to save their tender feelings.

No one is asking anyone to stop decorating their own houses, to stop exchanging gifts, to stop going to church, to stop making or viewing movies and TV shows aimed at Christmas festivities.

We are asking for sensitivity regarding the fact that there are some Americans who aren’t Christians and/or don’t celebrate Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, 75% us Americans are Christian. That means, three out of four Kindergarteners have a good chance of being raised with some idea of Jesus and the celebration of his birth. The rest celebrate a variety of religions, or, based on the responses to this forum, have no faith at all. I wonder, when the OP drives past the countless homes with inflatable Santas, wreaths, lights in the windows, reindeers, etc....are you annoyed that the majority of your neighbors force this 'religious/cultural' symbolism upon your child's vulnerable eyes. Mommy, why do the Jones have those lights on their bushes? I am done with this coddling..next year, it is Merry Christmas as my greeting to all, and no more Happy Holidays or Happy Winter Solstice. If you all who are Jewish, who truly hunker down with no decorations and no gifts at all, you can fairly cast the first stone upon us Christians, and you have a valid case to complain...the many, many others who embrace the secular, and the commercial components, including the paid holiday time, I have less empathy.

Can you really not see the difference between what happens at public school and what happens on private property or in a personal greeting card?

If 75% of the public is Christian, as PP above says, that's very relevant for public education. It was not atheist arabs who built our schools, you know?

Public education has the responsibility to educate all of the public, not just the majority of the public. As we separate church from state in this country (federal/state money can’t fund religious action), public education can’t favor one religion over any other, even if it is the religion of the majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school is this?

My kids are out of elementary school now, but their schools were always very careful to make everything about winter holiday fun, and never, never did anything directly Christmas related, other than situations where they learned about many different religions and cultures. I’d be curious to know what school is allowing what is described in the OP to happen: it sounds as though they are going backwards instead of forward.

I know, right?! This was never the case when I was younger. I was surprised and kind of sad for her. They did do a thing where parents can come in and talk about your holiday and we did that over Chanukah... but the last three weeks have ONLY been Christmas. I do t want to call the school out, but it’s in DC.

Doesn’t sound like Ga, Tenn, the Deep South, or the Midwest.

It sounds like Oklahoma to me - though they would have thrown the 10 commandments in there too, it’s true.

Ever heard that Moses was Jewish????

Jesus was born Jewish too, so why not celebrate Christmas anyway.

I know, it would be so much easier if these pesky religious minorities just adopted Christianity and its holidays. Then we wouldn't have to worry any of this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, 75% us Americans are Christian. That means, three out of four Kindergarteners have a good chance of being raised with some idea of Jesus and the celebration of his birth. The rest celebrate a variety of religions, or, based on the responses to this forum, have no faith at all. I wonder, when the OP drives past the countless homes with inflatable Santas, wreaths, lights in the windows, reindeers, etc....are you annoyed that the majority of your neighbors force this 'religious/cultural' symbolism upon your child's vulnerable eyes. Mommy, why do the Jones have those lights on their bushes? I am done with this coddling..next year, it is Merry Christmas as my greeting to all, and no more Happy Holidays or Happy Winter Solstice. If you all who are Jewish, who truly hunker down with no decorations and no gifts at all, you can fairly cast the first stone upon us Christians, and you have a valid case to complain...the many, many others who embrace the secular, and the commercial components, including the paid holiday time, I have less empathy.

Can you really not see the difference between what happens at public school and what happens on private property or in a personal greeting card?

If 75% of the public is Christian, as PP above says, that's very relevant for public education. It was not atheist arabs who built our schools, you know?

There is ZERO place for religion in public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school is this?

My kids are out of elementary school now, but their schools were always very careful to make everything about winter holiday fun, and never, never did anything directly Christmas related, other than situations where they learned about many different religions and cultures. I’d be curious to know what school is allowing what is described in the OP to happen: it sounds as though they are going backwards instead of forward.

I know, right?! This was never the case when I was younger. I was surprised and kind of sad for her. They did do a thing where parents can come in and talk about your holiday and we did that over Chanukah... but the last three weeks have ONLY been Christmas. I do t want to call the school out, but it’s in DC.

Doesn’t sound like Ga, Tenn, the Deep South, or the Midwest.

It sounds like Oklahoma to me - though they would have thrown the 10 commandments in there too, it’s true.

Ever heard that Moses was Jewish????

Jesus was born Jewish too, so why not celebrate Christmas anyway.

I know, it would be so much easier if these pesky religious minorities just adopted Christianity and its holidays. Then we wouldn't have to worry any of this nonsense.

Well the Jews did kill Jesus, so they need to be especially sensitive to respect Christmas and Easter.

Gross, you sure know how to pull out that f*cking martyr card. Typical. And disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school is this?

My kids are out of elementary school now, but their schools were always very careful to make everything about winter holiday fun, and never, never did anything directly Christmas related, other than situations where they learned about many different religions and cultures. I’d be curious to know what school is allowing what is described in the OP to happen: it sounds as though they are going backwards instead of forward.

I know, right?! This was never the case when I was younger. I was surprised and kind of sad for her. They did do a thing where parents can come in and talk about your holiday and we did that over Chanukah... but the last three weeks have ONLY been Christmas. I do t want to call the school out, but it’s in DC.

Doesn’t sound like Ga, Tenn, the Deep South, or the Midwest.

It sounds like Oklahoma to me - though they would have thrown the 10 commandments in there too, it’s true.

Ever heard that Moses was Jewish????

Jesus was born Jewish too, so why not celebrate Christmas anyway.

I know, it would be so much easier if these pesky religious minorities just adopted Christianity and its holidays. Then we wouldn't have to worry any of this nonsense.

Well the Jews did kill Jesus, so they need to be especially sensitive to respect Christmas and Easter.

Gross, you sure know how to pull out that f*cking martyr card. Typical. And disgusting.

Um, can you translate, please?