This past winter holiday season was a tough one for culturally sensitive principals. In Seattle, for instance, lunch menus printed with “Merry Christmas” messages were recalled at the last minute, and one middle school was forced to replace its evergreen Christmas tree with a metal “Giving Tree” (see here). As Easter approaches (Passover, too), administrators appear determined to stay ahead of the curve. At Arizona’s Trinity School District, Superintendent Ag Nostic has banned hallway discussion of eggs and egg substitutes, and removed all bunnies from their cages in elementary school classrooms. Philadelphia middle school principal Jennifer A. Theist went even further when she decreed that all Christophers, Christinas, Moseses and others with religiously related names must acquire new monikers. Said Theist, “If we don’t teach tolerance, who will? Clearly children are not learning it at home. I’ve got a little Dominican student named Jesus. For Christ’s sake! I even have one from County Kerry named Mary. I mean, what were their parents thinking?”
“School starts ‘No Personal Faith Zone’,” by Ramses Magdalen Pilate, Arizona Sidewinder, March 27, 2006
“Students celebrate diversity as one,” by Moishe Immaculatus, Philadelphia Replierer, March 24, 2006
“School starts ‘No Personal Faith Zone’,” by Ramses Magdalen Pilate, Arizona Sidewinder, March 27, 2006
“Students celebrate diversity as one,” by Moishe Immaculatus, Philadelphia Replierer, March 24, 2006