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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But there are two days off that week.  Presidents’ Day and Tuesday is also a day off for teacher development or something.

So McPS is going to use both of them to get back the snow days? [/quote]

Tuesday is Lunar new year. If you want to respect religious holidays, you should respect lunar new year too. [/quote]

Lunar New Year is NOT a religious holiday, and families traditionally celebrate it the weekend BEFORE the holiday.  My family and I are of Chinese descent and we and others of similar backgrounds have no idea why MCPS has decided to make this a school holiday.  Making up a snow day on Lunar New Year causes no inconvenience whatsoever, and those who have made plans to travel can take a day off.[/quote]

Apparently this is the backstory: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2018/06/29/asian-american-parents-students-advocate-for-closed-schools-on-lunar-new-year/[/quote]

For those afraid to click links:

“For years, schools have been closed on the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, and the next calendar aligns a teacher planning and grading day with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr so students don’t have to come to class.

On Monday, several Asian-American students asked school board members to do something similar for Lunar New Year.”[/quote]

Lunar new year isn't religious though, right? It's like another country celebrating American Thanksgiving. It's a cultural holiday[/quote]

Correct - it is not a religious holiday, and it is traditionally celebrated on the weekend closest to the date.  I and my entire family are Asian.  We will celebrate Lunar New Year on Saturday and/or Sunday, February 14 and 15 and wonder why our kids aren't in school on Tuesday, 2/17.  [/quote]

Huh, interesting.  Apparently that's not what the folks lobbying for it said.  "More than 14 percent of the MCPS student population is Asian-American, and speakers this week said holding classes on Lunar New Year forces many of these young people to choose between academics and culture."   I can see how that argument was persuasive to the Board.[/quote]

Meh.  Teachers were lobbying to have more non instructional days for grading and stuff.  Packaging them as “culturally sensitive holidays” that would be more inclusive since MCPS observes so many Jewish and Christian holidays was just an extra incentive to get the days approved.  [/quote]

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