Morgan Lanyon
It is that time of year again. Holiday music can be found on every radio station as we invite the holiday season into our homes. The excitement can be felt throughout the school halls and classes. Some teachers are more festive than others during this time, which leaves the question of whether or not these celebrations are school appropriate.
I agree that holidays are better celebrated at the family level and have no place in a modern classroom. Some of the students pay too much attention to the celebrations, while others only want to learn. If the festivities could be left out of school, then it would allow students to learn and prevent other cultures from feeling secluded.
Some of the reasons have to do with cultural sensitivity. Unless a class can express all religions through the holiday season, not letting any student’s culture be left out, then it is better to not get carried away with the holidays and let the students celebrate at home.
Other people allude to the fact that some classrooms get carried away with the festivities. In elementary schools, the class spends time crafting holiday decorations while the curriculum gets sidelined. This leads to young students who celebrate different cultures to feel isolated at a young age.
However, now at a high school level, there are now no holiday crafts and few decorations are spread throughout the classrooms, allowing it to stay a learning environment.
In my opinion, I think that is the way it should be. It would be best to keep the classroom environment educational and leave all the holiday celebrations at home. Students already get a break for the holidays, so they need the time they have in school to actually learn, instead of talking about their plans.
Overall, I believe that classes decking the halls for the holidays are discriminating towards those who do not celebrate as such. Unless the class can appreciate and embrace every student’s culture, then there is no place for it in a learning environment.
