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. 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. The pastries abound during Montgomery's annual Kolacky Days celebration. We love our team and love recognizing them with fun events so they can enjoy some fun at work," Hanks said. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 In fact, it isnt uncommon for families to cut Thanksgiving dinner short in order to secure a spot in line, amidst the chaos of Black Friday sales. John M. Cunningham, "Why Are U.S. The focus for students moves away from school and onto family and culture. 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. They replaced it with an evening harvest festival and a spirit 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. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? 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. I believe that having a month for black history compartmentalizes the issue, as if once the month is over we can turn our attention away from it again until the next year, said Hassan, a fourth-grade English language-arts teacher at Truesdell Elementary School in Washington, D.C. "Tourism has the opportunity to bring communities together and instill a sense of community pride and knowledge of their history," she says. While gifts and presents may be seen as kind gestures, the best gift you can give is the gift of love and companionship. 20, 2018, Annie McDonald, "Ensuring Access to Election Day for All, bppj.berkely.edu, Nov. 6, 2018, Suzanne Lucas, "No, Election Day Should Not Be a Federal Holiday, inc.com, Oct. 24, 2016, Kenneth Quinnell, "Know Your Rights: State Laws on Employee Time off to Vote, aflicio.org, Nov. 5, 2016, Osita Nwanevu, "Maybe Making Election Day a National Holiday Wouldnt Really Work, slate.com, Nov. 3, 2016, Abigail Hess, "A Record 44% of US Employers Will Give Their Workers Paid Time off to Vote This Year, cnbc.com, Oct. 31, 2018, Make Time to Vote, homepage, maketimetovote.org (accessed Sep. 24, 2019), Rose Marcario, "Time to Vote, patagonia.com, Sep. 24, 2018, Danielle Root and Liz Kennedy, "Increasing Voter Participation in America, americanprogress.org, July 11, 2018, Kelly Born, "Increasing Voter Turnout: What, If Anything, Can Be Done?, ssir.org, Apr. temp_style.textContent = '.ms-rtestate-field > p:first-child.is-empty.d-none, .ms-rtestate-field > .fltter .is-empty.d-none, .ZWSC-cleaned.is-empty.d-none {display:block !important;}'; Religious significance. Employees will also receive a special gift. Please note that Statesman has the right to monitor comments and accepts comments at staff discretion. New California Law Addresses Issue of School Fees Once Again. Read about how magnet schools differ and work when compared to other public schools. For Thanksgiving, Toppen suggests having students compare harvest dances from Indigenous cultures in parts of the world where they have ancestors. On-site spending includes admission fees, parking fees, food, beverage and souvenir sales and more. On the contrary, most public school teachers genuinely wish to be sensitive to each childs individual needs. Students should describe in detail a minimum of three options to resolve the conflict within the town. 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. Critical academic skills need daily repetition and teachers know that parents may not be able to carry out practice at home. As noted, hosting a festival is not without risks and costs. She notes that some traditional Thanksgiving activities, like making Native Americanstyle headdresses with construction-paper feathers, may be offensive to Indigenous peoples. 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 . Other popular year-round schedules are the 60-20 and 90-30 calendars, where students are in class for 60 or 90 days with vacations of 20 or 30 days respectively. "We'll be doing a raffle for all employees who attend the holiday party, with multiple prizes," he said. In the end, festival management means minimizing damage and maximizing opportunity. It would not be discussed as a side issue. He values a month when black authors and historical figures can be studied exclusively, but Hassan believes Black History Month as observed in many schools sends a troubling message to students that were allowed to grapple with [black issues] less in, say, March or April It is important to discuss issues of race in the context of current events throughout the year, no matter the unit topic., The classroom Hassan describes, however, is hardly the norm. ", Reece said he feels that having a party is important as a reward for his employees' hard work handling this year's real estate boom. The son of former slaves, Woodson received a Ph.D. in 1912 from Harvard University, where he studied under renowned historians who minimized the importance and vitality of black history. Second, because the majority of public school teachers are white, it can be assumed that the vast majority knows little or nothing about Kwanzaa in practice, which was created in 1966 as a ritual for African Americans to welcome the first harvest home. I wouldve loved to have delved into African history, the Harlem Renaissance, black life in the 1970s, and beyond.. Your email address will not be published. Like Karl Oskar Days, Kolacky Days draws visitors from near and far. Since schools he attended never taught Simons about Woodson, it made me feel as if my ancestors worth was only valuable in the shortest month of the year. Recalling his schooling, Simons now rejects the one-dimensional portrayals of black historical figures. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Celebrating holidays in the classroom is fun and exciting, but it can also be very educational and culturally valuable for students. By definition, festivals attract visitors. [1], Over time, voting rights expanded from only white, male landowners age 21 and older to include women and people of color, as well as citizens age 18 and up, resulting in a dramatic increase in the voting-eligible population and a shift in voter demographics. ", ProCon.org. But as cheery and family-oriented as traditional movies portray them to be, the holidays have become increasingly commercialized, with a large component of this being gift giving. Second, specific reasons to celebrate, like Administrative Professionals Week or Admin Day, keep holidays top of . Festivals promote community pride by celebrating things that make a town special and evoke good feelings. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. Should Public School Students be Allowed to Pray Before Lunch? If there is a concerted effort to approach Black History Month in new ways each year, then we can combat some of the issues of only highlighting certain movements, figures, and events, she said. It is important to note that like the values we instill in our children at school, the holidays of many world religions share common themes, such as thankfulness, caring for others, peace, and forgiveness. However, critics argue that doing so serves to amplify the problem, rather than fix it. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? [2] Sundays were for rest and worship, and on Wednesdays farmers typically sold their crops at the market, making Tuesdays the best day of the week. 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. [6] Election Day could be made a holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. However, not all children share the same beliefs. The economic benefits of successful festivals ripple throughout a local economy affecting tourism and non-tourism-related businesses alike. Celebrate the season of giving, from human being to being. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. The consumerism of holidays can be attributed to the growing amount of commercials and ads that we see in the media. Consumerism has become an increasing component of our culture, particularly around the holiday season. Margot Toppen, founder of a nonprofit called EduMotion, highlights commonalities and differences between different traditions through dance. In response to a questionnaire, 87 percent of celebration attendees indicated they had learned new information about lady slippers, while 47 percent said they were more knowledgeable about Native American culture after attending the event. However, there are a number of steps that can help these parties celebrate less about a specific religion or social practice and more about the beliefs that are common to many religions and cultural practices goodwill towards others, charity, and family among them. When this is done, it erases the fact that Rosa Parks organized against sexual assault, he said. Teachers in 19 States Allowed to Physically Punish Students, Whats Really Wrong with Detroit Public Schools, Controversial Curriculum Taught in Public Schools, Why It Can Take Six Years to Fire an Inappropriate or Ineffective Teacher, When Teachers Cheat: The Standardized Test Controversies, Class Size: Federal Funding of Class Size Reduction, Pepper Spray at School: From Lawsuits to Hospitalizations, What You Need to Know About Public Schools in a Recession, Teachers and Tenure: Both Sides of the Heated Debate. ProCon.org. Students get the same amount of instructional time. Siegel acknowledges holidays year-round through stories, songs, and games, connecting them by their common themes. Is Your Child Safe Riding Riding the Public School Bus? What does Minnesota celebrate? A third social benefit of festival sponsorship is stronger relationships within a community. The Karl Oskar Days event attracts visitors from as close as nearby St. Paul and as far as Sweden itself. Are Cell Phones and Public Schools Becoming a More Amicable Union? He said growing up it was always confusing why black history was only limited to one month. Instead of focusing on religious holidays, the school celebrates the different cultures within the student body, hosting a Lunar New Year and a Filipino festival that are reflective of the majority Asian student population, and an African American festival created in response to student requests. No: Too Inconvenient, Early-Voting Options Ample, orlandosentinel.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Henry Farber, "Increasing Voter Turnout: Is Democracy Day the Answer?, princeton.edu, Feb. 2009, Sarah Issenberg, "The Mystery of the Puerto Rico Voter, slate.com, Jan. 27, 2012, Paul LeBlanc, "Virginia Governor Makes Election Day a Holiday and Expands Early Voting,". 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 Englands Bells of Norwich. He shows students that fall holidays like the Mexican Da de Los Muertos and Chuseok, a Korean harvest festival, tie into honoring ancestorsas did Halloween originally. These are the top four pros and cons of having a December birthday. Attendees at the 2011 Irish Fair of Minnesota, for example, spent an average of $50 at the festival site. Substitute "festivals" for "tourism," and Schneider nicely frames the challenge to communities: "We need to be very careful about the product we have for Minnesota's tourism and make sure it's sustainable.". Recently, there has been an increasing emphasis on gift giving, getting the best deal on the right gift and shopping to make sure all of the items on the checklist have been purchased. If so, how? "I love a celebration that revolves around a Czechoslovakian pastry," he says. Should Election Day be a national holiday? To help community leaders achieve this balance, the University of Minnesota Tourism Center offers training in the essentials of festival and event management. When I was a kid, we didnt talk about differences, said Pemberton. Paige has students read two articles to understand Indigenous peoples perspectives on Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving: a Native American View by Jacqueline Keeler, of the Dineh and Dakota nations, and The Suppressed Speech by Wamsutta (Frank) James, of the Wampanoag. Virtual & Washington, DC | February 26-28, 2023. Are the holidays just a time off from schoolan opportunity to take advantage of sales that come with the season? With a large part of this being shopping and gift giving, Statesman discusses the gluttony and capitalism behind holidays, and whether these . When the economy is unstable, employers are faced with difficult decisions around staffing, pay and benefits. Teaching about a holiday requires that teachers make very clear that the class can enjoy learning about each other's holidays while holding to their own family's beliefs and traditions. "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." What does the word holiday mean to you? California School District to Monitor Social Media, Nearly Half of Nations Schools Falling Short of Federal Standards, Prayers in Public School? Why or why not? "The best thing about being involved with festivals and events is the opportunity to help build a community, foster a sense of pride within a community, and engage a community," says Chris Romano, a business consultant with Thrivent Financial Services. Over the decades, the week-long celebration evolved into a month-long celebration and year-round observance of African American History as American History. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. First celebrated in 1976, Black History Month was the result of a growing racial pride and consciousness of black Americans and Woodsons association pushing to expand the weekly celebration. The unintended consequence of doing so is that these children may feel singled out. 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. 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. Can Public Schools Legally Charge for Fees and Uniforms? Those things can be as "big" as ethnic heritage, or as "small" as a piece of pastry. 4. 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.. History, the pros and cons of celebrating holidays in school gift you can give is the gift of love and.! 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