Yom Kippur School Holiday (Farmington: spring break, public schools, to live in)

[armx]

There are other democracies where the christian population is no more than 3% of the total populace but the schools are closed for the Christmas and New year's day to show recognition of their Holy days. One would think the world's leading democracy might be the leader in respecting and showing sensitivity to other religions. And if five days off a year makes half the year that is really worth being envious of the school career of those lucky people?

[ishing]

I am the original poster. Yes, I am new to DE and the US. I also live in the Red Clay school district.

From the postings above it seems to me that Yom Kippur is respected as a school holiday due to historical reasons - ie that's the way it's been done for years.

I grew up in the UK and attended a school where at least 20% of the kids were Jewish - and we all respected their faith and holidays, but didn't have a Yom Kippur holiday. But allowed the kids to miss school on those days if they wanted to.

As for Colombus Day - it isn't a holiday for my office...

[Sandee1213]

Wow I did not realize that any schools had off in De. today. I just moved here from NJ and most of those schools are off, but we had school today. I was glad we had school. If there is not a large Jewish population, there is no need to have it off. Plus we have a 4 day weekend for Columbus day.

[phlydude]

Originally Posted by armx

There are other democracies where the christian population is no more than 3% of the total populace but the schools are closed for the Christmas and New year's day to show recognition of their Holy days. One would think the world's leading democracy might be the leader in respecting and showing sensitivity to other religions. And if five days off a year makes half the year that is really worth being envious of the school career of those lucky people?

Christianity and Judaism aren't the only religions...in fact, Judaism is the 12th most popular religion world-wide.
Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Juche, Baha'i, Jainism, Rastafarianism, Scientology, Voodoo, etc would all need to be taken into account if we were truly sensitive to all religions...

While we are at it, why don't we not keep score in little league and be sure to apologize when you voice an opinion that someone doesn't agree with...OH WAIT, we are already doing that

[virgode]

Next year, schedule personal days on those holidays.

Originally Posted by ishing

It just creates problems for parents who don't celebrate this day and are both working - meaning a day off or child care. At least Christmas is a Public Holiday.

Also - our school is closed for Colombus Day - and we don't celebrate the Colombus faith either...

[ReluctantGardenStater]

Most of the schools are off in New Jersey (at least this area). I remember we always got off, throughout the high school years.

It's so silly. Just another example of this country foolishly attempting to bend over backwards to please a certain group just because they are a minority. It's like the department stores in the area; They come under pressure to include Hannukah merchandise during the Christmas season, and the obvious lack of Jewish customers leads to one paltry aisle being set up somewhere in the back.

If the U.S. gives the Jews a holiday, why not the Muslims or the Hindus? Enough is enough. I know some of the PC crowd will try to ignore the fact that Christianity is the dominant religion in the U.S. and will always come first, but it's the truth.

[Gone-2-Beach]

I love how certain threads bring out the best, and worst, in people.

[virgode]

If it weren't to complain, what would they talk about. A little bit
of controversy and they crawl out of the woodwork.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by ReluctantGardenStater

Most of the schools are off in New Jersey (at least this area). I remember we always got off, throughout the high school years.

It's so silly. Just another example of this country foolishly attempting to bend over backwards to please a certain group just because they are a minority. It's like the department stores in the area; They come under pressure to include Hannukah merchandise during the Christmas season, and the obvious lack of Jewish customers leads to one paltry aisle being set up somewhere in the back.

If the U.S. gives the Jews a holiday, why not the Muslims or the Hindus? Enough is enough. I know some of the PC crowd will try to ignore the fact that Christianity is the dominant religion in the U.S. and will always come first, but it's the truth.

NYC Public Schools also have off for Yom Kippur and they also have off for Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) when it falls on weekdays. (This year it was on a weekend.)
The Jewish community in the USA is much older in the USA than the Muslim or the Hindu communities.
Why should Christmas be a public holiday as Christianity is not national religion of the USA (as this country has a separate of state & religion)?

[zenjenn]

It may have something to do with the percentage of teachers in the district that are Jewish. Jews are sometimes disproportionately represented among educators. And, as another poster pointed out, Yom Kippur is not a "Jewish Festival" but the holiest day of the Jewish year. Many Jews who observe no other Jewish holiday will still observe Yom Kippur.

Many districts find that an inordinate number of teachers are all taking the same religious holiday off, and a suitable number of substitutes cannot be hired. So, for practicality reasons, they close the schools. It has nothing to do with being equitable. Nor should it. There are dozens of holidays in dozens of religions and it is not realistic to close down schools for each and every one.

However, closing schools for a practical purpose makes sense.

Why should Christmas be a public holiday as Christianity is not national religion of the USA (as this country has a separate of state & religion)?

For practical purposes! So many Americans, both secular and religious, set this day aside for family gatherings and/or religious observance. I'm not one of them, but I still maintain that the schools should absolutely be closed. It would be a joke and a waste of money if they weren't, because almost no one would be there anyways!

It just creates problems for parents who don't celebrate this day and are both working - meaning a day off or child care. At least Christmas is a Public Holiday.

It is not the school's responsibility to provide child care while you work. It's the school's responsibility to educate your child. They cannot do that if 10 or 20% of their teachers are all taking the same day off. So closing the schools is reasonable.

If suddenly tomorrow a Groundhog Cult springs into existence and gains 200 million American converts who all abstain from work on Groundhog Day to worship the Holy Rodent, then it may become only practical to close down schools and government offices on February 2nd. So be it. The fact that I do not personally worship Groundhogs or that the government is not a Groundhog-Worshiping government would not be relevant. You have to look at the big picture.