Jewish students in DCPS

[Anonymous]

Christmas trees are actually a pagan tradition, FYI. The Bible thumpers just co-opted it.

So feel free to do a bush, a tree, wreath, whatever. It's not really Christian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calling BS on Jewish friends raising kids as practicing Jews with trees. Mixed households, sure. Culturally Jewish but not practicing households, Maybe. But none of these are people pulling kids out of schools for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Passover, Sukkot, etc. I hate tree fundraisers because I spend all my time explaining why I am not buying a tree and how I won't volunteer for a religious based activity at a public school.

So if you won't volunteer how do you know you spend all of your time explaining?

I've worked the tree sale at my local school over a dozen times and no one has ever noticed whether I bought a tree, and certainly I would never have had to explain if I didn't.

Also, it's not like there aren't a zillion more times to volunteer at a school during the year. It's okay to miss one volunteer opportunity. And I agree with the PP, there's really no reason to get worked up about it.

Signed,
Jewish parent without a Hanukkah bush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calling BS on Jewish friends raising kids as practicing Jews with trees. Mixed households, sure. Culturally Jewish but not practicing households, Maybe. But none of these are people pulling kids out of schools for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Passover, Sukkot, etc. I hate tree fundraisers because I spend all my time explaining why I am not buying a tree and how I won't volunteer for a religious based activity at a public school.

some fundraisers will include Hanukkah candles too, but I get your point. A Hanukkah bush and oberserving Yom Kippur were not compatible activities among the Jewish families I knew growing up. Now as a parent most of my Jewish peers have some mixed practicing households so I see more cultural overlap than I did as a kid.

Growing up I knew people who had a Hanukkah bush and celebrated Yom Kippur.

Did they also eat bacon wrapped cheese logs at home (on the outside it's all kosher, right)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Christmas trees are actually a pagan tradition, FYI. The Bible thumpers just co-opted it.

So feel free to do a bush, a tree, wreath, whatever. It's not really Christian.

Exactly, ignorant/ hater posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic dad here too: Lent Fridays and meat for the kids make me totally sympathize as well.

I feel like it’d be easy to have a panel to check in with on this. And a lot of it is public information. Taking a little care would be enough. Maybe even like a checklist would be enough. Check religious calendars for days off, for student dietary restrictions, when to place testing . . . Not sure what else but it feels like we should be beyond amateur hour here.

And Easter Holidays are a mess. Apparently Emancipation Day is more important that the death and resurrection of a certain person beloved by 2 billion people.

How disrespectful to the slaves and the ADOS (American DESCENDANTS OF sALVRS) who contributed to the economic growth of this country which has turned it into the powerhouse that it is today. It is from the blood, sweat, and tears of those people and of their backs which institutions such as Georgetown University and many others were built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic dad here too: Lent Fridays and meat for the kids make me totally sympathize as well.

I feel like it’d be easy to have a panel to check in with on this. And a lot of it is public information. Taking a little care would be enough. Maybe even like a checklist would be enough. Check religious calendars for days off, for student dietary restrictions, when to place testing . . . Not sure what else but it feels like we should be beyond amateur hour here.

And Easter Holidays are a mess. Apparently Emancipation Day is more important that the death and resurrection of a certain person beloved by 2 billion people.

How disrespectful to the slaves and the ADOS (American DESCENDANTS OF sALVRS) who contributed to the economic growth of this country which has turned it into the powerhouse that it is today. It is from the blood, sweat, and tears of those people and of their backs which institutions such as Georgetown University and many others were built.

*Correction ADOS (American Descendants of Slaves*), please excuse the typo error.

[Anonymous]

My NYC magnet got 3 Jewish holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Chinese New Year off every year.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're still reading, don't worry about it. Like PP said, you'll be a minority and your kid will learn to deal with it.

Know that DCPS puts A LOT of effort into the school calendar because of the diversity of educators as well as students.

Nobody is ever happy with the calendar. (I blame Gregorian adoption over lunar. )

If there's a conflict with official or unofficial calendar or activities, it's probably a mistake based on competing interests and not willful omission. Try not to take it personally. Regardless of what happens at school, ALWAYS put things in writing. Most DCPS have limited administrative support and a lot of crazy stuff to deal with you couldn't imagine.

It's public school. It's not perfect. But it can be a lot of fun for your child and you if you keep an open mind and a good sense of humor.

Signed, cuz I guess that's a thing, a fellow member of the tribe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And Easter Holidays are a mess. [b]Apparently Emancipation Day is more important that the death and resurrection of a certain person beloved by 2 billion people.

I know, right? I mean, how dare they not use the metric system?!? Literally everybody in the world uses it!

And why do they even bother teaching about the 50 states?!? It's a waste of time! We're not a state, so who cares!

[Anonymous]

In case anyone is confused about what Emancipation Day is about. It's a lot more than "Lincoln freed the slaves." And yes, there were Christians and Christian values involved so it shouldn't take away from anyone's celebration of resurrection.

https://emancipation.dc.gov/page/history-emancipation-day

[Anonymous]

No more holidays. Religious or otherwise. Including emancipation day. They rarely have a full week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No more holidays. Religious or otherwise. Including emancipation day. They rarely have a full week.

I couldn’t agree more.