From two different Article's it say's different things. Castos, an entirely remote podcast hosting company based in Winter Garden, Fla., is opting not to have any sort of celebration, said founder Craig Hewitt, who also manages HR. Bring on the strenuous amount of Christmas cookies, movies, and also cold weather. And on Indigenous Peoples Day, Paiges students research and write about a Native person using resources from IllumiNative, a nonprofit created by Native peoples to increase their visibility. He believed the heritage and contributions of black Americans was excluded from history, and he saw this knowledge as essential to social change. Yet with all things, there are some downfalls. Two examples from Minnesota illustrate the point. At the start of the year, she surveys students to see what they celebrate and teams up with families to share their experiences. } Opponents say it allows only a few states to select the president. The debate that December consistently reignites is between those who believe that public schools should be allowed to teach religion, as long as all major religions are covered, and those who argue that public schools should refrain from any discussion of religion whatsoever. The holiday season is here, and with Christmas music playing and stores decked out in festive decor, its hard not to tell. We talk about how learning about others does not mean we are expected to practice the way they do, says Offerdahl. The consumerism of holidays can be attributed to the growing amount of commercials and ads that we see in the media. Will Public School Students Soon be Taking More Standardized Tests? 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Now a K5 teacher at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, New Hampshire, Siegel is motivated to highlight the cultural history behind a variety of holidays, which he teaches as a means to emphasize commonalities between different cultures. Of course, education (including greater awareness and new knowledge) is another social benefit of festivals. His view of Black History Month is more nuanced as an adult. According to the Tourism Center study, 83 percent of first-time visitors said they were satisfied with their experience and planned to return to the area. Where Did the Money Go? These are the top four pros and cons of having a December birthday. The holiday season is the most common time to have time off work and school. Or did they celebrate Christmas? Besides being fun, well-managed festivals and events offer a host of economic and social benefits to communities. When black history is not taught throughout the year, it is reinforcing anti-blackness., A classroom in Alabama's old Mount Sinai Junior High School, which was built for rural blacks during the Jim Crow era, Private Schools Have Become Truly Obscene. Learning is a big byproduct of the annual Lady Slipper Celebration in the northwestern Minnesota community of Blackduck, which lies at the head of the 28-mile long Lady Slipper Scenic Byway. Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. All rights reserved. Elections are federal holidays in Singapore, which, when combined with mandatory voting, resulted in a voter turnout of 93.6% for the 2015 election of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. From kindergarteners to middle school students, use this age-specific, sage advice to evaluate and help your child prepare for the next school year. feelings of belonging improve academic outcomes, school leaders realized they werent meeting their students needs. 2. Siegel connects the themes he covers to other aspects of instruction, sharing lessons on geography and social studies that connect to different cultures around the world. Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, in 2014 graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how well their public schools taught the civil-rights era to students. With a large part of this being shopping and gift giving, Statesman discusses the gluttony and capitalism behind holidays, and whether these have taken a toll on traditional holiday values and celebrations. Making public schools more accepting and understanding of cultural differences is not just a job for teachers and staff members. The Karl Oskar Days event attracts visitors from as close as nearby St. Paul and as far as Sweden itself. "I highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their base of knowledge, creative thinking, and to implement fantastic festivals and events," says Shari Kunza of the City of Shoreview, a past participant. Moving forward, Simons would like to see black history taught every day, in his view the only legitimate way to build racial and cultural understandingand reflecting the spirit of Woodsons words and intentions. Connections are the "glue" that hold communities together; without them, a community stagnates and the quality of life declines. Residents with community pride are more likely to speak positively about their town to others and to volunteer with organizations and activities that support the common good. Assuming everything else goes well, the payoff to this relationship-building is a successful festival. [26] Creating laws in all states that let people vote before or after work would be more effective than a national holiday, which would quickly be viewed as just another day off to enjoy. You will be notified in advance of any changes in rate or terms. How Should Public Schools Make Up for Snow Days? "COVID-19 may have postponed a lot of things, but not the spirit of the holidays. While some see the holiday break for a vacation and others for family bonding, the vast majority of us can agree that this time of the year remains alarge part of American culture. [9], Former Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern University Law Review, Beau C. Tremitiere, JD, stated, The demands of school and work schedules keep millions of Americans, especially those with children or long commutes, from ever getting to their polling stations The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. [10] A holiday would allow more citizens volunteer at polling places or drive the elderly to vote, and make a difference in states where long lines at the polls keep voters waiting for hours. I wouldve loved to have delved into African history, the Harlem Renaissance, black life in the 1970s, and beyond.. You can most likely find one within an hour radius of your home. Why Public Schools Across the Country are Closing Their Campuses, A Relevant History of Public Education in the United States, Do Lotteries Really Benefit Public Schools? However, once the holiday is over, everyone gets to work as before. Experts agree that hometown pride is a critical factor in the development and improvement of any community. "It's critical for us to celebrate our employees in this way because connection, celebration and appreciation build better working teams and strengthen our cohesiveness," she said. It opens kids up to diversity, says Siegel, and its also humbling because it allows them to realize that their way of being in the world is not the only way in the world.. Thus, espousing the mainstream Christian views of the holiday can serve to alienate children who do not engage in such celebrations and offend parents whose religious beliefs differ from those celebrated at school. Community festivalsBig benefits, but risks, too, Festival and event management online course, Timely Topic | Greening events: sustainable practices for festivals and events, Festival and Event Management online course, Vital Connections (articles | podcasts | videos), Hidden breadth and depth of Minnesota tourism, Connect the great outdoors to residents and visitors, Conversations across Minnesota inspire Tourism Center priorities, Searching for sustainability in the tourism industry. For Thanksgiving, Toppen suggests having students compare harvest dances from Indigenous cultures in parts of the world where they have ancestors. Already a member? I was the elephant in the room, or rather the token Negro, who was supposed to represent the entire race when students had questions about black history, said Simons, who was often on the receiving end of questions and awkward stares as the only black child in predominately white classrooms. He concluded that having an election holiday, by itself, is not an effective strategy to increase voter turnout. [34], Automatic voter registration, by contrast, could register an additional 22 million people and create 7.9 million new voters nationwide within a year. When discussing religious holidays, Siegel keeps things simple, explaining Christmas as the story of the birth of a baby who symbolizes hope in what was a challenging time. With older students, he elaborates that the baby Jesus represents life to Christians and tells them thatas is true of all religious beliefssome people believe the story is true while others dont. However, this Christmas-centric view does not align well with the actual makeup of todays public schools. But this isn't learning from a book or in a classroom this is hands-on, experiential learning offered in the fun context of celebration. Independent Contractor Randy Gutzmann is a fan. This schedule cycles consistently throughout the year while making minor adjustments for major holidays and teacher workdays. The Festival and Event Management program covers strategic planning, site management, budgeting and financial planning, marketing and sponsorship, human resource management and volunteer recruitment, and event evaluation. Please enable scripts and reload this page. After all, material items are not worth nearly as much as human affection. Its important to collaborate and communicate with students and their families throughout the year when teaching about the holidays, says Judie Offerdahl, a second-grade teacher at Centerview Elementary School in Blaine, Minnesota. After gathering information, they created presentations for their peers on the religious beliefs, traditions, and history behind a holiday. Edutopia and Lucas Education Research are trademarks or registered trademarks of the George Lucas Educational Foundation in the U.S. and other countries. Like many other HR professionals, Pizana believes it's important for her office to commemorate the holidays in person because of the many challenges its staff overcame together in 2021. The problem lies not with specialized months to commemorate marginalized groups and communities, said Willis, but with schools that fail to incorporate the full range of diversity as part of their mission. Celebrating holidays in the classroom is fun and exciting, but it can also be very educational and culturally valuable for students. More people would vote if they had more time to cast their ballots Furthermore, celebrating our democracy publicly would send the message that we value each others citizenship as much as we value honoring past presidents. [13], Donald Green, PhD, Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, found that nonpartisan community parties celebrating Election Day in 2005, 2006, and 2016 increased voter participation between 2.6 percentage points and about 4 percentage points. Woodsons dedication to the research and promotion of black history has been memorialized by his actionsin 1926 he declared the second week of February Negro History Weekand his words: If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated. School work, especially in junior high and high school, becomes a child's job. This autumn, several of my English friends stressed about spending the holidays with their families, and asked what Id be doing. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. "Our employees are the reason we are so successful, and we want to make sure they understand how much they are appreciated, so we will take the time to honor their dedication to our company.". Brittney Paige, a fifth-grade teacher at Maple Elementary School in Seattle, remembers that activity from when she was in school. For example, he discusses the history, geography, and cultural influence of China when teaching students about Chinese New Year. [33], Henry Farber, PhD, Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics at Princeton University, conducted an analysis of states that made Election Day a holiday for state employees. Public School Holiday Celebrations: Christmas-centric or Multicultural? ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. $("span.current-site").html("SHRM China "); Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? This will. Students get the same amount of instructional time. ", ProCon.org. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. When this is done, it erases the fact that Rosa Parks organized against sexual assault, he said. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). What are Common Core Standards and Why Do We Need Them? One of the primary concerns for people who are against a prolonged vacation is because of the "forgetfulness" factor. Holiday in school means suspension of classes while holiday in an office means that there will be no usual activities carried out like other days and the employees are exempted from work and need not come. Its important to embrace these occasions as an opportunity to appreciate what you have been blessed with and take time to spend with family and loved ones. Find the latest news and members-only resources that can help employers navigate in an uncertain economy. ACLU Says Yes. Done thoughtfully, holiday activities also promote a sense of community among children in the program who celebrate different holidays. In this video, The Doctors discuss a recent news story about a school district that banned all dominant holiday celebrations in the name of inclusion. Customer Service. Festivals promote community pride by celebrating things that make a town special and evoke good feelings. The holiday season is fast approaching, which means many HR departments have started planning their companies' annual office parties, as well as other ways to help employees celebrate the season. For the second year in a row, Human Interest, a retirement-plan provider in San Francisco, is holding a virtual celebration called "The Weeks of Wonder." [20][21][22] A part-time hourly worker is more likely to have multiple jobs, none of which are likely to offer time off for a national holiday. Watermelon and walleye; country music and hip hop; Cinco de Mayo and Syttende Mai just to name a few themes for festivals held annually throughout the state. var currentLocation = getCookie("SHRM_Core_CurrentUser_LocationID"); They are congresspeople, ballet dancers, designers, musicians, and astronauts, she tells her students. Are Waivers the Answer to the No Child Left Behind Program? Some of the most prominent are African-American History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Women's History Month. Why or why not? Also, learning more about black women and LGBTQ individuals in her formative years would have put her more at ease identifying as a transgender woman. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. Last modified on October 1, 2020. [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. When we look past the materialistic society we live in and past the glamor, we find the true holiday values we were taught from a young ageand thats something you cant put a price on. Pembertons work around teaching students about holidays they dont celebrate reflects the value that educators see in expanding their students perspectives. Kylie Ora Lobell is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. The Pros and Cons of Celebrating Holidays As an Expat. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. Now in its 40th year, questions remain about the value of commemorating it in classrooms. Paul and as far as Sweden itself when this is done, erases... The top four pros and cons of having a December birthday relationship-building is a freelance writer based in Los.. Experts agree that hometown pride is a critical factor in the U.S. and other countries a factor! S history Month, Hispanic heritage Month, and Women & # x27 ; it... Of black history Month, and asked what Id be doing an equal opportunity educator and employer do! 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