Lucas Lornell- With the Holiday season upon us, we begin to constantly hear the phrase “Merry Christmas” from just about everyone in the community. In Sutton, with a population that is 96% Caucasian and predominantly Catholic (according to city data), you don’t see much knowledge of other cultures and their holidays among Suttonians. With this lack of knowledge, it is easy to see children and teens who don’t primarily celebrate Christmas feel left out in the festivities. According to multiple Sutton High students, public schools recognize and teach about Christmas more than any other holiday. Ever since elementary school, Sutton students have been taught about only two of the many major holidays during the winter season. These holidays include Christmas and Hanukkah. It’s fun and often important to certain religions to recognize these two holidays but by excluding others celebrated around the same time such as Kwanzaa (African American), Ramadan (Islamic), and Diwali (Hindu) it creates an ignorance towards other cultures and their traditions. Now nearing up to the year 2019 we, as a society, have to be as culturally and politically correct as possible and that could start by public schools around the nation teaching and providing knowledge, opportunities, and activities to our youth about different cultures and their traditions. Based on a survey taken by Sutton High School students, 92% of students had been taught about the origin and traditions of Christmas Day throughout their schooling career. In contrast, only 10% had even heard about Diwali, 34% had heard about Kwanzaa, and 38% about Ramadan. These numbers are not surprising but they are disappointing. As a young student in elementary school, I remember singing Jingle Bells, watching the Polar Express, and making Christmas presents in class, but not once do I remember even a mention toward another holiday. Not only is this putting the youth at a disadvantage for future relevance, but it also leaves children who have different customs, celebrations, and traditions feel left out. When asked if their holiday(s) is recognized by the public schools system and how they feel about how their holiday(s) is recognized, this anonymous Sutton High School student said “No. They don’t give days off for my holiday. So I can’t go to Israel to spend the holiday with my family. They also don’t usually decorate for Hindu holidays.” This shows how the prioritization of Christmas during the holiday season can ultimately affect someone’s holiday season and the traditions they hold with their families. People should be proud and excited to celebrate their traditions amongst their loved ones but when conflicting breaks set around one or two major holidays get in the way of that, it can make situations difficult and dampen the mood. Through my research I found this opinion to be a common one amongst the Sutton High School students but surprisingly one anonymous student mentioned an interesting view. One student explained, “I feel like there should not be multiple holidays celebrated [by schools]. I feel as if it takes the significance away and makes each individual holiday feel less memorable and special.” I had never thought of this perspective before but I find it very intriguing. However, students still believe that schools should at least provide a basis of information on different holidays. When asked about how their holiday’s representation in school, many students said they enjoyed how decorated the halls and classroom get but still believe there should be more variety in what holidays are represented. One student said, “ I like the recognition but I feel like they should represent all religions and holidays if they’re gonna do anything at all” With a more progressive world and generation it should be time the public school system adjusts to include everyone.
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