The yearly battle over how to celebrate the holidays in public schools has resurfaced again this year against the backdrop of the recent election that highlighted the divide in the United States over moral issues and the place of religion in public life. The Christian Science Monitor published an interesting article today on the subject of how difficult the issue has become for some schools.
Part of the problem of course is that rather than understand the law, many administrators and teachers are quick to ban anything that might be controversial. (I submit that this is often the case with other school issues as well.) This year we saw controversies over the "pagan holiday" of Halloween. The Washington Post also published an article about Christian groups filing lawsuits to have religious themes reintroduced into school celebrations of the winter holiday season.
What do you think? Have schools been appropriate in observing Christmas and abiding by the First Amendment or have they swung too far to one side or another? I used my "Charlie Brown Christmas" t-shirt as a discussion starter in one of my classes last week.
What should I say to my students as they leave for break? Happy Hannukah? Merry Christmas? Happy New Year? Happy Holidays? Wonderful Winter Break? Be of Good Cheer for Whatever Reason You Might Have For Being of Good Cheer?
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