pros and cons of celebrating holidays in the classroom

Please log in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organizations culture, industry, and practices. Our Jewish ancestors in faith celebrate Passover to recall their redemption from slavery in Egypt. An Anti-Bias Guide to Including Holidays in Early Childhood Programs, have contributed to the authors thinking.--Editors. Put a copy at each place setting. As we've already established, there are many pros and cons for working on holidays. For example, for many Jewish people, Passover is a more significant holiday than Hanukkah, but Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday that teachers often cover since it occurs near Christmas. This court decision has three important parts to it: [*such as classroom instruction in a public school]. Enhance your career and improve your knowledge, skills, and practices with our in-person and online training. As Catholics, we praise God that Jesus passed over from death to new life and pray that we, too, may one day share that new life. There are definitely pros and cons of celebrating this spooky day. That extends to these areas of potential conflict:Days off. 2. }); if($('.container-footer').length > 1){ Celebrations can be respectfulfor example, Honoring Our Families get-togethers; Thanking the People Who Make Our School Work (cook, janitor, bus driver, etc.) The answer is yes. Pros and cons. Serving and Supporting Immigrant Students, Bilingual & Dual-Language Education: Overview, Schools and Families: An Important Partnership, Supporting ELLs During COVID-19: Educator Voices, Family Literacy: Multilingual Video Series, Meaningful Multicultural Education in a Nation of Immigrants, The December Dilemma: Acknowledging Religious Holidays in the Classroom, The December Dilemma and English Language Learners, TESOL Resource Roundup: December Holidays, Teaching the Holidays: The December Dilemma. Tell your students that they will have the opportunity to participate in a modern-day Seder in this session. Diversity, a Greenwich, Conn.based firm that promotes diversity in the workplace. Find research-based resources, tips and ideas for familiesfrom child development to reading, writing, music, math, and more! At least 32 people were killed and 85 injured in northern Greece when a passenger train collided head-on with a high-speed freight train late Tuesday night, just before midnight. Christmas is the reason for the season, he said. The word seder means order or arrangement. Rabbinical scholars tell us that the Seder has evolved over the years. The highest amount is $38,804, while the lowest amount is $45,909. While students look forward to those holidays as a break from their regular studies, there is a growing fear that American students are falling behind because of the lack of actual classroom time. There are other differences but, hopefully, the integrity and spirit of the celebration have been maintained and will enable your students to enter respectfully into the experience. While we are more explicit about our recognition of various groups and ethnic differences, we have always been a diverse nation. These are topics that require clarifying conversations. Advantage of moving during the holidays - it is cheaper. Expand your toolbox with the tools and techniques needed to fix your organizations unique needs. The general rule of thumb is to do this carefully. Instead of being at school, students are merely shuffled to another home or institution. They can return to our website and order the items you selected. For example, when talking about Christmas, focus on giving and kindness rather than Santa or the religious implications of the special day. Encourage awareness, understanding, and inclusion, not the practice of or devotion toward any religion. The head teacher explains Edwards right to practice fasting. During a discussion of the Seder ceremony, the teacher explains the meaning and tradition behind matzo. Explore accreditationofearly childhood higher education programs, discover the accreditation system standards, and view a list ofaccredited programs. . Even as things opened back up and returned to normal, some schools continued to offer a . Edutopia and Lucas Education Research are trademarks or registered trademarks of the George Lucas Educational Foundation in the U.S. and other countries. Whether or not to include any holidays in your curriculum, and what activities to use if you do, requires thoughtful decision making. She is upset when Edward, a student teacher, doesnt eat anything. This does not mean that you must teach about every holiday your families practice. He explains why he hadnt eaten and assures the child that he is happy for her birthday. A lifetime activist for children and families, she continues to write, teach, and consult on issues of equity, diversity, and anti-bias. Here are some key ideas. The kindergarten has spent a few days learning about Passover. This is an important element in children learning about, rather than celebrating, a holiday grounded in a specific faith or celebrating a historic event. The Good (Pros) Celebrating holidays can bring students together and help create a sense of community in the classroom. Become a leader in your professional association. Pros and Cons PROS Students have more control over their learning. $('.container-footer').first().hide(); --Making the season about more than traditional cutout cookies and grab-bag gifts. These overarching themes and lessons will appear in holidays across the board, which can help bring greater meaning to your lessons. Celebrations can also be whimsical and playfulfor example, Bring Books Alive Day (making and wearing costumes from books, eating foods from favorite books, acting out favorite stories); Pajama Day (wearing pjs and slippers to school, telling bedtime stories, sharing family bedtime rituals); or Backwards Day (wearing clothes backwards, doing things in reverse order of an ordinary day). It teaches them to be more social Many parents and kids alike enjoy the fun and games of including this yearly ritual in their Christmas celebrations. 3. Many holidays include the motif of light, which you can use to begin to discuss what they have in common: Teachers sometimes focus on the winter holidays just to provide cover for discussing Christmas. If you want to learn about another culture but aren't sure where to start, a cultural festival can be a great springboard for your education. Keep in mind that it is adapted and condensed for use in your classroom during a normal session. When viewing video content or other materials at home, students have the option of learning at their own pace. Colorn Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. However, this can be a huge advantage if you are on a tight moving budget. If students of a certain religion will be missing school days, it would be helpful to post these on a classroom calendar and let everyone in the class know ahead of time. First, here are some of the good lessons. Celebrating a particular holiday is appropriate in faith-based programs or in programs in which the holiday is truly lived by every family in the program. Tours and tickets tend to sell out. Honoring the cultural diversity among the families you serve means recognizing that all have the right to their traditions and that the ECE program does not favor one category of families over another. It is hurtful to children and families to impose celebrating of the holidays of one group on all the children and staff, or to make the holiday traditions of some groups visible while others are invisible. Access accreditation data on early learning and higher education program characteristics and quality for research purposes. You will see things that spark your curiosity, make you wonder, and amaze you all at once. In the beginning, our nation was primarily the home of Native Americans and other indigenous groups representing more than 400 languages, Africans from a wide range of different regions, and Europeans of mostly British heritage. celebrating cultural diversity in your classroom! Our country has always been home to people of many different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. I went to the city with my family and cousins! Your session has expired. Kate Ristow, Contributing Editor to CATECHIST, has worked in Catholic publishing for over 25 years as a national speaker and writer, building on a wealth of experience in the religious formation of children and catechists in both parish and Catholic school programs. Flipped classrooms have pros and cons. Companies may have scrimped on workplace perks during the recession, but as the economy has steadily improved, workplace holiday parties have made a comeback, said Mike Baize, manager of HR services at Insperity, a Houston, Texas-based HR services provider. Grades: 6-8, 9-12. Thats why its interesting, even surprising, that nearly 100 percent of students say they celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Passover, and Halloween. The United States officially codified the five-day week for all workers in 1932. On Holy Thursday and throughout the celebration of the Triduum, we recall that Jesus redeemed us from the slavery of sin and death. Having taught about holidays for the better part of 15 years in four schools, I have rarely been questioned but know theres always the potential concerned parent. As long as you don't shoot fireworks off your hands like Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback C.J. Donate to help NAEYC advance a strong and dynamic early childhood profession and connect educators to cutting-edge resources. And dont be afraid to look for primary resources within your school. Learn about the rich Vietnamese culture. Join NAEYCs team and help us advance the education of young children across the country. } Learning about a holiday means teaching children about what the holiday means to different people and about the many different ways those families who honor the holiday celebrate it. There is an intrinsic connection between the celebration of the Jewish Passover and the Last Supper in our Catholic Tradition. Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. 4. Excessive screen time It can often seem that students are constantly in front of a device cell phones, tablets, computers, and gaming devices are prevalent in their lives. However, during the present-day global era, the role of traditions in schools has become an increasingly complex issue. But meaningful multicultural education must go beyond saying that we're a "melting pot," having an ethnic food celebration a couple of times a year, and acknowledging a few well-known historical figures. Everything you need is included: the nonfiction articles, a graphic organizer, stationery, and a rubric to grade the essays. And, given the significance of a wedding, honoring marriage on top of an already special occasion will make it much more memorable. Acknowledging or celebrating holidays in early childhood programs can bring pleasure to many families, staff, and children and can be useful in building connections between school and families. Linda Kamp, a primary education teacher in Arizona, shares ideas for accommodating students who don't celebrate holidays: "Make a plan with parents for situations like birthdays and holiday activities and discuss what an acceptable alternative might be.". Done thoughtfully, holiday activities also promote a sense of community among children in the program who celebrate different holidays. Popular Searches:DAP;Coping with COVID-19;E-books;Anti-Bias Education;Online Store. Celebrating holidays can be a fun and festive way to break up the repetition of day-to-day instruction. So what is a teacher to do? How we teach about holidays is a reflection of how our community values expanding our knowledge about ourselves and our neighbors. At my school, this lines up with our four pillars: knowledge, community, effort, and kindness. One benefit of participating in Halloween events and celebrations is that it could be used as a conversation starter, sparking discussion between you and your children. Published October 9, 2017. Step #2: Personalize My Email, Looking for more ways to foster an inclusive space at school? However, that desert meal, or even the meal that Jesus and his disciples shared, probably bears little resemblance to Seder celebrations of our time. This blog is a part of Equity in Action, a blog series exploring the many ways early childhood educators and administrators, higher education faculty members, policymakers, advocates, and other ECE allies can bring the new Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education position statement to life in practice and policy. Of day-to-day instruction or other materials at home, students are merely shuffled to another home or institution awareness understanding. A graphic organizer, stationery, and amaze you all at once, while the lowest amount $... 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