"But then again, I'm a troublemaker. "
You and I definitely have that in common!
"I'd wonder what kind of a person would want keep kids from celebrating Christmas. She must be very bitter. "
Good question--I'll tell you what kind of person, and I know because I was a part of those people once--l-e-f-t-i-s-t-s. Seriously, this woman was trying to make a subtle anti-war and pc point by using the traditional christmas concert. I went head to head with her and complained and she was nasty, arrogant and condescending. I complained to the principal, who was a wimp and practically begged me not to make a big deal out of it. There are maybe 40 muslims kids in a school of about 1,000. And if they don't like Christmas, they could have stayed home and not participated. I am not finished with this yet, by a LONG SHOT. Thanks for the support wbill.
Far as I'm concerned, if there are Muslim kids in the school, then the 'Star and Crescent' and songs about Ramadan are completely appropriate. In fact, it's a good opportunity to learn a little about other cultures (my best friend is Jewish, and I always enjoy the opportunity to go to his synagogue. It's good experience, and the food is always good!)
BUT - and this is a distinction obviously lost on the teacher - Learning about a new religion/culture does not mean that you can ignore or ostracize any others. Diversity and Inclusiveness is just that.....either everyone's invited, or no one is.
Sounds like the problem stems from the principal. I had a spineless wuss like that for a principal when I was a senior in High School. He tried to enforce some 'diversity' and PC BS on the school. The kids pretty much ignored him or just made a joke out of it and he went away. IMHO, humor is the best way to fight idiots like that. People that take themselves too seriously can't stand up to being laughed at.
I'm sure it's different with smaller kids, though. Need to set a good example, and all that. Must be hard to teach them to respect authority, when the authority in power isn't worth respecting.