It's been interesting teaching during the Holidays. Teachers are having to be very careful about what is discussed in the classroom and what art/writing projects they should do because not everyone celebrates the same Holiday.
Lately on the social network I belong to, I keep seeing posts about how we all should demand that we say Merry Christmas. Or that if you walk into a store and the clerk wishes you a Happy Holiday, you should walk out. But what if you don't celebrate Christmas? What if you celebrate Hanukah or Kwanza? That is the reason for the Happy Holidays greeting, it is out of respect to others who celebrate different religious holiday. For me the true gift of the entire season is having enough love, respect and good will to share.
So, it was during a day in kindergarten when I overheard the majority of the class talking about their Christmas Trees that I began to wonder if everyone in the class celebrated Christmas. So I asked if anyone in the room celebrated Hanukah or Kwanza or something different. Almost half the hands went up and the those that didn't had no idea what I was asking. That is when I decided to go to the library at lunch and got a book on December celebrations (I have to go back and find the title. I can't remember it) and later that afternoon, read the book. It was a great day and I can only hope that I was able to plant that seed of respect in their brains.
Lately on the social network I belong to, I keep seeing posts about how we all should demand that we say Merry Christmas. Or that if you walk into a store and the clerk wishes you a Happy Holiday, you should walk out. But what if you don't celebrate Christmas? What if you celebrate Hanukah or Kwanza? That is the reason for the Happy Holidays greeting, it is out of respect to others who celebrate different religious holiday. For me the true gift of the entire season is having enough love, respect and good will to share.
So, it was during a day in kindergarten when I overheard the majority of the class talking about their Christmas Trees that I began to wonder if everyone in the class celebrated Christmas. So I asked if anyone in the room celebrated Hanukah or Kwanza or something different. Almost half the hands went up and the those that didn't had no idea what I was asking. That is when I decided to go to the library at lunch and got a book on December celebrations (I have to go back and find the title. I can't remember it) and later that afternoon, read the book. It was a great day and I can only hope that I was able to plant that seed of respect in their brains.
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