Posted on 10/09/2005 2:01:43 PM PDT by FlowJo
FL: Schools May Drop Religious Holidays
Melanie Ave, St Petersburg Times, 10/7/05
TAMPA - There may be no day off next school year for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Also on the chopping block are vacation days for the Christian faith's Good Friday and the Monday after Easter.
After considering a request to recognize a Muslim school holiday, the Hillsborough County School Board next week will discuss ending student days off on all religious holidays, whether they be Christian, Jewish or Muslim.
The only religious holiday not affected will be Christmas, which occurs during the school district's winter break.
"From my initial look, it's a good way to respect diversity of all faiths," said board chairwoman Candy Olson.
There are numerous religions and even more holidays, said board member Jennifer Faliero. She asks how a school district can observe some and not others.
"It's in the best interest of schools not to coincide days off with too many holidays," Faliero said.
While educators said their proposed 2006-07 calendar will treat all faiths the same, some local Muslims fear a backlash from people angry about their holidays being converted to school days.
Parent Joan Zaki, who lobbied board members for greater acceptance of Islamic holidays, said it was not her intent to have everyone's holidays taken away.
"Muslims don't need any more negative attention than we're getting," said Zaki, the only Muslim and dissenting member of the district's calendar committee. "We were just trying to get equal treatment."
Zaki and Ahmed Bedier, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, asked the board about a year ago to include a Muslim holiday in the calendar.
If Muslims don't want their kids getting off christian holidays they should have two choices IMHO. 1). Send lil' Omar and lil' Muhammad to private school or 2). Leave the country and go back to whatever hell they came from.
CAIR is worse than the ACLU. The de-Christianization of America continues apace.
Yes, the Islamicization continues. And the bending-over and appeasing by GOOD PEOPLE who just want to be nice. Forget NICE!! How about -- 'this is a Christian country. We celebrate Christian holidays. When Saudi Arabia starts taking Christmas vacation in their schools, we can talk again.' Honestly, there are the most spineless people out there. Or clueless. Which is it?
FYI bump
Yes, the Islamicization continues. And the bending-over and appeasing by GOOD PEOPLE who just want to be nice. Forget NICE!! How about -- 'this is a Christian country. We celebrate Christian holidays. When Saudi Arabia starts taking Christmas vacation in their schools, we can talk again.' Honestly, there are the most spineless people out there. Or clueless. Which is it?
Oh, Zaki, try me....just try me. I can't feel much more negative about your stupid cult than I already do...
Just leave our country alone. Take CAIR with you...they'd be HAPPY to improve the quality of your own countries.
Muslims contribute ZERO to America except threaten it's existence and lifestyle -- yet demand "equal treatment" with regard to American tradition??
How is it Muslims are taken MORE seriously in America since they bombed the World Trade Center and Pentagon?
These people are blood-suckers.
We didn't have the jewish holidays or Good Friday as days off until last year. I wish we could have the three days back--two at spring break and one at president's weekend to make it a four day holiday. That way we can go away longer.
I never minded taking them out early on GF for services. And they never gave homework over the jewish holidays so those going to services wouldn't have to do it. That worked out better.
I am sick and tired of the liberals bending over and KISSING THEIR ASS if they don't want their kids off over Chistian holidays send them to school I'm sure there must be a muslim teacher willing to give his time for them to study, ande not the Quran either.
Hey,why shouldn't Florida school kids have Death To America Day off?
I thought, granted it has been years, but I thought if you needed another religious holiday off from school, all your parents had to do was write a note.
So, my resolution is for all parents wanting their children to take time off to observe the holy days of their faith, write a note of excuse for their kids.
Now the question is will there be enough parents to write the notes to shut down the schools due to lack of attendance?
What's next an exeption to Muslim prayer in school?
Damn these lowlife scumbags for trashing the lives of young Americans. We need another shootin' revolution in this country. Bad!
It's part of the grander scheme we've been reading about- they're trying to take over the world with their religion and this is just a stepping stone to succeeding.
Exactly. Give each student 2 or 3 PTO days.. Let the parents decide for their children.
Couldn't agree with you more! The longer we wait, the more of 'em there'll be and the harder it will be. What will it take for the majority of Americans to wake up and see where we're headed?
To All Americans: Don't throw God from this country. We still need him.
I know it would never be considered legal or politically correct but the fairest way is to give the holidays off due to a percentage of the student body.
If you have a mininal amount of Muslim or Jewish students in the school, why should everyone get the holiday off? It's almost silly.
I speak from a touch of experience, coming from a Long Island community that was heavily Jewish. Of course we always took Yom Kippur off. Otherwise too many kids would be missing. It's a day of atonement, a very serious holiday for the Jews. But in my area of FL, there are not that many Jewish students.
Maybe the way is to let the student body or parents and teachers VOTE for their days off.
Forget it...Just give the moozlims their day (9/11) off...
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