Anonymous wrote:I do think if we start including all religious holidays kids will be in school less during the year.

I think the best thing to do is just give kids who are going to celebrate an excused absence and make sure to mark the holidays on the calendars but not as holidays just as reminders.

Anonymous wrote:Do people actually believe she's real, or is it more cultural?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Hindu, can I ask for extra instruction for my kid on Diwali?

what?

You are entitled already in MCPS to the day being an excused absence. For all, excused absences the teacher is legally obligated to allow the student to make up work missed without late penalty. That should suffice for your needs.

What you are not entitled to is forcing the teacher to provide work in advance or provide the exact same learning opportunity/assessment. So if Larla misses a simulation, her teacher may assign a reading with the equivalent information. Or if Larlo missed the written test that has 30 multiple choice items, he maybe given a makeup version that is oral or that has 15 short answer questions.

I think you misunderstood. I do not want a Diwali Holiday for my child. I just want extra assignments for him (above and beyond what was taught in school), so that he can learn more on this auspicious day!

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Anonymous wrote:Christmas is a Federal holiday.

Yes, because it's a Christian holiday and Christian holidays are normalized in a way that the people who celebrate them are reluctant to acknowledge. It shouldn't be a federal holiday.

all I have to say is that thank god it's a federal holiday. Our offices have to remain open and I would hate to be stuck working every Christmas.

This is how I feel every Rosh and Yom Kippur. Sure you can take the day off but if things are crazy at the office, it looks really bad. I would have had to cancel a work trip this year and instead fasted through a day on-site with a client. It was extremely difficult and I didn't get to observe the day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Hindu, can I ask for extra instruction for my kid on Diwali?

what?

You are entitled already in MCPS to the day being an excused absence. For all, excused absences the teacher is legally obligated to allow the student to make up work missed without late penalty. That should suffice for your needs.

What you are not entitled to is forcing the teacher to provide work in advance or provide the exact same learning opportunity/assessment. So if Larla misses a simulation, her teacher may assign a reading with the equivalent information. Or if Larlo missed the written test that has 30 multiple choice items, he maybe given a makeup version that is oral or that has 15 short answer questions.

I think you misunderstood. I do not want a Diwali Holiday for my child. I just want extra assignments for him (above and beyond what was taught in school), so that he can learn more on this auspicious day!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Hindu, can I ask for extra instruction for my kid on Diwali?

what?

You are entitled already in MCPS to the day being an excused absence. For all, excused absences the teacher is legally obligated to allow the student to make up work missed without late penalty. That should suffice for your needs.

What you are not entitled to is forcing the teacher to provide work in advance or provide the exact same learning opportunity/assessment. So if Larla misses a simulation, her teacher may assign a reading with the equivalent information. Or if Larlo missed the written test that has 30 multiple choice items, he maybe given a makeup version that is oral or that has 15 short answer questions.

Anonymous wrote:Is the Chinese New Year marked?

Anonymous wrote:Yes Easter is lunar, but is always tied to a Sunday. Maybe other religions could tie their holidays to weekends...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to a New York City study, declaring two Muslims Eids per year as a holiday would only knock off nine school days over the next 20 years.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-eid-school-20150923-story.html

I suspect Diwali --also based on a lunar calendar-- would have a similar limited impact.

In 2016, Diwali is on October 30. A SUNDAY.
In 2017, Diwali is on October 19. That is a Thursday, but MCPS already eliminated the day for teachers to attend the State conference in 2016. Just eliminate it again in 2017. FWIW, I teach for MCPS.

I think that Diwali is lunar in the way Easter or Passover is, that it's based on the moon but is tied to a season. So, it would always fall during the school year, meaning that it would be off about 5 days out of 7.

I still don't see anything in the petition that is asking for school to be closed. It's asking for it to be marked on the calendar. The fact that so many people don't know about Diwali is an argument for publicizing it. The more information a teach has about what the students are experiencing, the better.

Anonymous wrote:According to a New York City study, declaring two Muslims Eids per year as a holiday would only knock off nine school days over the next 20 years.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-eid-school-20150923-story.html

I suspect Diwali --also based on a lunar calendar-- would have a similar limited impact.

In 2016, Diwali is on October 30. A SUNDAY.
In 2017, Diwali is on October 19. That is a Thursday, but MCPS already eliminated the day for teachers to attend the State conference in 2016. Just eliminate it again in 2017. FWIW, I teach for MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:According to a New York City study, declaring two Muslims Eids per year as a holiday would only knock off nine school days over the next 20 years.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-eid-school-20150923-story.html

I suspect Diwali --also based on a lunar calendar-- would have a similar limited impact.

In 2016, Diwali is on October 30. A SUNDAY.
In 2017, Diwali is on October 19. That is a Thursday, but MCPS already eliminated the day for teachers to attend the State conference in 2016. Just eliminate it again in 2017. FWIW, I teach for MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read this as they are asking that Diwali be marked on the calendar. Not that school be closed on the day.

Well they won't have any luck in MCPS since no religious holidays are actually recognized as such on the calendar. But MCPS opened the door to having many more holidays "recognized" by closing schools for students on Eid and changing a professional day from August (sorely needed) to September (unneeded). They should have known that they can't choose to recognize one holiday without giving the same acknowledgement to other holidays. Now it's a free for all since they went against their own policy of only closing schools due to operational issues.

MCPS only closed on Eid because it coincided with a Jewish holiday.

It's doesn't coincide with a Jewish holiday

The year that MCPS was closed for Eid, Eid fell on the same day as one of the Jewish High Holy Days. That year was when the request was made to mark Eid on the calendar, and MCPS responded by removing any references to the Jewish High Holy Days or Christmas or Easter from the calendar.

I assume there are also years when they are closed on Eid, because Eid falls on the Jewish or Christian Sabbaths, which the schools take off, and there are years when it falls during Spring, Winter, or Summer Break. Other than that, Eid is a school day in MCPS.

It is no longer a school day in MCPS.