What did your child do on
their day off last Monday? How will they spend their day off on Thursday, June
4th? Let me ask you THIS, how often do our kids even go to school any more?
I’ve been waiting a while to
voice my opinion on two Muslim holidays that will be observed by New York City public
schools in the coming year. In addition to the Jewish holidays they already
have off when school starts – including Rosh Hashanah on September 14th and 15th and Yom Kippur on September 23rd – classes also won’t
be in session on September 24th for the observance of Eid al-Adha. The other
Muslim holiday falls on July 17th, so children attending summer school will
have this day off as well.
So…when WILL our children go
to school?
I have nothing against giving
our students off on a day that religiously or politically affects our citizens.
However, students will soon be able to plan the upcoming school year and how
many MORE days they’re going to have off.
On the other hand, if we’re
going to be fair to the mélange of cultures and causes that exist, we need to
observe all the other holidays that
make a mark on our lives.
Are children given off a day
to observe the Chinese New Year? Public schools haven’t allocated a day so that
children of Asian decent can ring in the new year. Hey, we observe our new year
in America and students have this day off – why leave out new year’s celebrations recognized by another culture?
Also, with the increase of
Haitian immigrants living in the city, why can’t we add some of their holidays
to the school calendar? A calendar of
Haitian holidays lists October 17th as Dessalines Day – which is a
national/legal holiday. Even though it falls on a Saturday, why can’t we give
our students a day off that week to observe this holiday? November 18th falls
on a Wednesday and is Vertieres Day. Why won’t public schools close every year
on this day as well? According to next year’s school calendar, middle school
kids’ schedules will not be affected on this day anyway for parent-teachers
conferences.
What upsets me more than
anything – and maybe it upsets thousands of people across the country – is that
we’re quick to observe Muslim holidays – without hesitation – but we’re still not observing the day our city –
our COUNTRY – was attacked: September 11th! We’re still not giving students off on a day that changed history… a day
that our country was torn apart by terrorists…a day we lost so many FDNY and
NYPD heroes and first responders who risked their lives.
The same way we honor veterans,
laborers and those faithful Americans who perished at war, why aren’t we giving
students off on a day when some of them might have lost a loved one in the
World Trade Center attacks? Where’s de Blasio’s sense of patriotism when it
comes to observing a day that changed our country forever?
Another angle we haven’t
looked at is – how are students going to make up holidays as they’re added?
Good for you Mayor de Blasio! You’re giving observational rights to the increasing
number of Muslims living in the city but you’re also going to send our kids to
school when there’s a blizzard. Sure! Keep public schools open when it’s
dangerous for parents to drive their children around!
Let’s get real! There are so
many days that children have off from school for so many academic reasons adults
have created – parent-teacher conferences, superintendent and principal
meetings…Shouldn’t we be a little more particular when it comes to which
holidays they observe? We’re so focused
on students being able to excel, being able to opt out of standardized tests,
and we’re obsessed with keeping them off the streets and helping them create a
future for themselves.
Well…If they’re not learning
because they’ve got five holidays coming up where they won’t be in school, when
are they catching up on their studies? Another day off to some kids is just
another day they can be lazy and give their brain a rest from productivity.
I know I’d love more days off
from work! Give me off for Valentine’s Day…Ground Hog’s Day…Boss’ Day,
Administrative Professionals Day…Then again, if we had all of those days off
and the Canarsie Courier was closed,
no work would get done and our newspaper would be less productive. That’s an
observation that wouldn’t benefit anyone…
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