Reply to What does "equity" look like for the calendar?

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Reply to "What does "equity" look like for the calendar?"

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[quote=Anonymous]The proposed solution was the four holidays (Eid, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Diwali) included in Calendars A and B. Instead, seven School Board members decided to ignore the recommendations of their own Task Force, which is just a slap in the face. The calendars were not perfect solutions to equity, but they would have been a start, and they were put together by a Task Force that included stakeholders from multiple different faiths (including Christianity), and weighed minority faith worship, school needs, and a whole host of other factors.

Equity is fairness, not sameness. It is unfair that children from minority faith households are put at a disadvantage from their secular peers. They either miss school to observe religious holidays, or miss important religious holidays in order to not miss school. I don't think there is a "solution" that will be fully equitable, because as multiple people have pointed out, there is a slippery slope problem in giving some groups their holidays off, but not others. However, I think the slippery slope argument that ended in Calendar D is lazy and shirks responsibility to even TRY.

I'll add that I think those who say "just send your kid to a private religious school" fundamentally misunderstand two things:
1. Many religious people actively want their kids in public schools, where they can get a great education and be part of our diverse community. Diversity is a strength and should be prized. Being religious shouldn't have to mean that public school isn't a viable option for my family. There is obviously going to be some give and take that wouldn't exist at a private religious institution, but Calendars A and B acknowledged that by only asking for four days off and not, for example, the first day of Passover. The Task Force recognized that religious families would still have to make choices about holiday observance and public school; they just wanted to make it a little easier.

2. Private schools are expensive. I'm not advocating for a voucher system, because I don't think that public money should go to religious education and I believe in the value of public school. But for many, private school is just not in the budget. What that means for religious education is a separate discussion and religious families who WANT religious private school education have those conversations with their families, their communities, and their private school admission counselors all the time.

In short (I know, too late), I think we were asking the School Board to take a STEP in the right direction, not SOLVE equity. And seven of them refused.[/quote]

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