Santas, and Dreidels, and Gelts! Oh, my!

In response to A. Wilson's blog on recognizing holidays in public schools, the following link provides guidelines. http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/first/findingcommonground/B08.Holidays.pdf
This topic is also timely, considering that our group (Dipti, David, and I) will be talking about teacher freedom of expression tomorrow night. In summary, the Supreme Court has ruled that public schools may not sponsor religious practices, but they can teach about religion as part of history and cultures (Teach it, but don’t celebrate it.). Also, the Supreme Court has let stand a lower federal court decision stating that it may be constitutional to recognize holidays for the purpose of secular instruction about religious traditions; however, the article warns teachers to avoid asking students to explain their religious beliefs and customs. Also, concerts dominated by religious music, especially when coinciding with a religious holiday, should be avoided. But interestingly, the article also recognizes that it’s unrealistic to ban all seasonal activities from school. All one has to do is walk down any elementary public school hallway in December to know that’s the case.