Have we really gone so far as to push aside holiday traditions and family bonding, for discounted merchandise? First, Chanukah does not hold the same importance for Jews as Christmas does for Christians. He believed the heritage and contributions of black Americans was excluded from history, and he saw this knowledge as essential to social change. 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. By seeing their majority beliefs imposed upon classmates who do not celebrate Christmas, children may get the impression that their worldview and traditions are the only ones or at least the most important one. Another employer that will be celebrating in person for the holidays is Colony Roofers in Atlanta, according to owner Zach Reece, who also manages HR for his eight employees. Virtual & Washington, DC | February 26-28, 2023. To ensure that students dont feel excluded, some schools trade holidays that are rooted in specific religions, like Halloween and Christmas, for more general festivities, like autumn and winter celebrations. SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference, Weighing the Pros and Cons of In-Person Holiday Parties, New OSHA Guidance Clarifies Return-to-Work Expectations, Trump Suspends New H-1B Visas Through 2020, Faking COVID-19 Illness Can Have Serious Consequences, EEOC Lawsuit Highlights Cancer Discrimination in the Workplace, Recruiters Brace for a Challenging Year Ahead. As a former student in Rockville, Maryland, Zia Hassan recalls February as the time when students were encouraged, or sometimes even mandated, to read the work of black authors, which he found meaningful. They replaced it with an evening harvest festival and a spirit day. Holidays like Easter, Passover, and Holian ancient Hindu festivalcelebrate spring traditions and rebirth, and Siegel sings songs about spring like the Mexican "De Colores" and England's "Bells of Norwich." He shows students that fall holidays like the Mexican Da . The State of Spending for Public School Education: Who Leads the Country? But having a discussion that casts such good-intended events in a negative manner can be difficult to undertake. If kids want to dress up like ghosts or goblins, they can trick or . Last modified on October 1, 2020. Solutions vary: Some schools have canceled Halloween, for example, as families opted out for religious or personal reasons, and many schools struggle to teach students about Thanksgiving in a way that acknowledges the impact of the European settlers on the Indigenous population. 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. "I believe that we should work to live, not the other way around," he said. Texas Public Schools in Financial Mess: State Sued by Districts, What Our Public Education System Can Learn from Teach for Americas Superstar Teachers, As Louisiana Governor Jindal Fights to Reform Louisiana Schools, Teachers Push Back. if(currentUrl.indexOf("/about-shrm/pages/shrm-china.aspx") > -1) { We werent given tools to discuss and ask questions without feeling like it was inappropriate.. Holiday parties take away from classroom instruction. However, not all children share the same beliefs. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. We tend to only highlight contemporary celebrities and politicians, ignoring that we have activists and community organizers that are still making an impact on a daily basis.. Sawinery's party will offer a hybrid option to accommodate in-person and remote workers, said Johnson, who will be distributing gift cards to all employees. According to History.com, in 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving . Cultural festivals are a great way to immerse yourself in a new cultural without needing to invest in a plane ticket, time off, visas, and pre-trip doctors appointments. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? On the contrary, most public school teachers genuinely wish to be sensitive to each childs individual needs. January 25, 2015. Offering celebrations at school in line with that holiday could seem trivial to students who celebrate it. The focus for students moves away from school and onto family and culture. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. This is where the bonds among public and private organizations, government, and neighborhood groups are forged and where connections among elected officials, staff, volunteers and interested residents are made. For expats, holidays can mean liberation from pressures to celebrate with family in the usual ways, but also separation from the familiar and the comforting. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Raquel Willis, a writer and racial-justice activist in Atlanta, remembers annual Black History Month school displays in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia, as neither memorable nor notable. "Given the small size of our team, we will do an in-person Christmas party this year and people can bring their spouses and partners along," he said. The seed of what is now known as Black History Month was planted in the doctoral thesis of Carter G. Woodson, a noted scholar, author, and co-founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. "They offer personalization and practicality at the same time. [12], The idea that voting should be a celebration, not a chore is one argument for turning Election Day into a national holiday, according to Archon Fung, PhD, and Jane Mansbridge, PhD, professors at the Harvard Kennedy School. Or, for those elementary school students looking for a more . Recipients generally prefer the gift of choice and the ability to regift," he said. The benefits are similar to those for tourism, in general, according to Ingrid Schneider, former director of the University of Minnesota Tourism Center. The Answer is Hazy. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. How Should Public Schools Make Up for Snow Days? In elementary schools, Santa might make an appearance. They should support each argument with specific evidence from research. Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. How Positive Behavior Programs are Improving Public School Campuses, Why Public Schools are Launching Marketing Campaigns, Adopt a Public School: Creating Partnerships that Benefit the Children, Segregation: A Modern Problem for Public Schools in the South, Busing and Desegregation: Understanding the Link, Local School Districts at Risk of State Government Takeovers, Resign or Face Termination: The Fallout from the APS Cheating Scandal. We celebrate him because he sailed the ocean with three different ships. 3. Sweden came second with 82.6%. Holiday celebrations build and strengthen connections between home and school, and among children who share the same holidays. Cases of Missing Monies in Public School Districts. Is It Time to Say Goodbye to No Child Left Behind? [31] Same-day registration boosts turnout by 5%, and universal implementation of it would have added as many as 4.8 million voters in the 2016 election, according to Danielle Root, JD, and Liz Kennedy, JD, from the Center for American Progress. Why or why not? 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. According to a study conducted by psychologist Tim Kassner, holidays centered around spiritual or family events are much more enjoyable than ones centered around presents and shopping. Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. Insurance can cover financial risk, but reputational damage is harder to address. 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. For seven weeks, starting on the first night of Hanukkah, the company will hold events that celebrate the season, small business and creativity, explained Loralie Young, culture and people enablement manager. As a result, my team deserves to be honored with a Christmas party, even though it'll be small.". That drive to expand perspectives is also apparent in the ways many educators approach the quintessential American holiday, Thanksgiving. Statesman Sound Station: March Part 2 Mar. Possible options. Experts agree that hometown pride is a critical factor in the development and improvement of any community. Will Public School Students Soon be Taking More Standardized Tests? The end of the year tends to throw this problem into sharp relief, but of course it extends well beyond December as religious and cultural holidays occur throughout the year. Arizona, for example, allows employees who do not have three consecutive hours before or after work when the polls are open to take paid time off to vote at the start or end of their work days. And visitors spend money, which boosts the local economy both on and off the festival site. Fourth-grade teacher Sarah Pemberton periodically uses 10 to 15 minutes set aside for in-class reading to teach her students about cultural, federal, and religious holidays and celebrations. For example, overnight visitors to the 2011 Irish Fair spent an average of $170 on lodging and $38 on food and beverages during the time they attended the festival. Holidays, law.cornell.edu (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Matthew Haag, "Mitch McConnell Calls Push to Make Election Day a Holiday a Democratic Power Grab," nytimes.com, Jan. 31, 2019, Drew DeSilver, "U.S. Trails Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout, pewresearch.org, May 21, 2018, Gustavo Lpez and Antonio Flores, "Dislike of Candidates or Campaign Issues Was Most Common Reason for Not Voting in 2016, pewresearch.org, June 1, 2017, Beau C. Tremitiere, "Election Day Should Be a National Holiday, cnbc.com, July 5, 2016, York Dispatch Editorial Board, "Editorial: On Voting, GOP Takes a Holiday from its Senses, yorkdispatch.com, Feb. 1, 2019, Tacey Rychter, "How Compulsory Voting Works: Australians Explain," nytimes.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Archon Fung and Jane Mansbridge, "Lets Vote, Party and Celebrate American Democracy on a New Holiday Called Citizen Day, usatoday.com, Oct. 26, 2018, Thomas MacMillan, "This Might Be the Best Idea for Turning out More Voters in U.S. Elections, nymag.com, July 8, 2017, Drew Desilver, "Weekday Elections Set the U.S. apart from Many Other Advanced Democracies, pewresearch.org, Nov. 6, 2018, Kathy Frankovic, "St. Patricks Day Not So Popular - Americans Would Rather Election Day a Holiday, today.yougov.com, Mar. Now a well-entrenched, nationally recognized observance, Black History Month is a commemoration that might be short in days but is increasingly long on controversy. 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.