teachers email

[CakeEater]

Our daughter told us last night that the teacher told her that Christmas is to celebrate Jesus and we are agnostic/atheist. So I am just going to call and inquire if that was taught to the children or whats going on.

Well, that IS the history of the holiday called "Christmas".  I mean, Solstice holidays are older but it is where the word comes from. 

Yeah, Christmas is a religious holiday.  I mean, it's called CHRISTmas.  Her explanation doesn't bother me at all, and I'm an atheist.  And I celebrate secular Christmas.  If we're going to appropriate the holiday of a religion that we don't practice, we can at least respect the beliefs behind it.

Well said!

[jedikaiti]

Our daughter told us last night that the teacher told her that Christmas is to celebrate Jesus and we are agnostic/atheist. So I am just going to call and inquire if that was taught to the children or whats going on.

Well, that IS the history of the holiday called "Christmas".  I mean, Solstice holidays are older but it is where the word comes from. 

Yeah, Christmas is a religious holiday.  I mean, it's called CHRISTmas.  Her explanation doesn't bother me at all, and I'm an atheist.  And I celebrate secular Christmas.  If we're going to appropriate the holiday of a religion that we don't practice, we can at least respect the beliefs behind it.

Well said!

Yea, but is the teacher also teaching about other religious holidays as well? Or just how to celebrate what is (presumably) hers? Or is this a religious school and I just missed it.

[Sharnita]

She could be responding to a specific question or comment from a student.

[TootsNYC]

Yea, but is the teacher also teaching about other religious holidays as well? Or just how to celebrate what is (presumably) hers? Or is this a religious school and I just missed it.

I wouldn't presume that, actually.

[workerbee]

I think the teacher's note is fine. I would appreciate a communication like this, and I would simply use it to start a conversation with my child. It wouldn't bother me a bit.

From the teacher's perspective, giving parents a heads-up like this could preempt calls from concerned parents whose children came home with a story about how "the mean old teacher took away free play for NO good reason!"

[jedikaiti]

Yea, but is the teacher also teaching about other religious holidays as well? Or just how to celebrate what is (presumably) hers? Or is this a religious school and I just missed it.

I wouldn't presume that, actually.

Fair enough, but my point stands - is she teaching other major religious holidays (like Ramadan or Chanukkah), or just this one? If it's happening in a "OK, some people are Christians and here's why they have Christmas" then that's fine, it's educational. Better if she touches on some of the other biggies as well. But if it's proseltyzing in a non-religious school, I have a problem with that.

[Take2]

Our daughter told us last night that the teacher told her that Christmas is to celebrate Jesus and we are agnostic/atheist. So I am just going to call and inquire if that was taught to the children or whats going on.

Well, that IS the history of the holiday called "Christmas".  I mean, Solstice holidays are older but it is where the word comes from. 

Yeah, Christmas is a religious holiday.  I mean, it's called CHRISTmas.  Her explanation doesn't bother me at all, and I'm an atheist.  And I celebrate secular Christmas.  If we're going to appropriate the holiday of a religion that we don't practice, we can at least respect the beliefs behind it.

Well said!

Yea, but is the teacher also teaching about other religious holidays as well? Or just how to celebrate what is (presumably) hers? Or is this a religious school and I just missed it.

I don't think it matters. If a teacher teaches my child a factual piece of information, I will not be upset with the teacher for teaching that one thing. The OP did not say she was upset because the teacher DIDN'T teach some other facts, but specifically because she did teach that one fact. I would be upset if my kid's teacher said Jesus is the Messiah who saved us from our sins and His believers to go to heaven. But that Christmas is a holiday when believers celebrate the birth of Jesus is not a religious belief or a disputed fact.

[sweetonsno]

Yea, but is the teacher also teaching about other religious holidays as well? Or just how to celebrate what is (presumably) hers? Or is this a religious school and I just missed it.

I wouldn't presume that, actually.

Fair enough, but my point stands - is she teaching other major religious holidays (like Ramadan or Chanukkah), or just this one? If it's happening in a "OK, some people are Christians and here's why they have Christmas" then that's fine, it's educational. Better if she touches on some of the other biggies as well. But if it's proseltyzing in a non-religious school, I have a problem with that.

"Christmas is a holiday that celebrates Jesus" isn't proselytizing. It's like "July 4th is a holiday celebrating American independence" or "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a holiday celebrating Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr."

I could see objecting if the teacher added "our Lord and Savior" to "Jesus," but it sounds like a pretty neutral definition to me. I'm agnostic and her explanation is pretty close to how I'd explain it. I might add that it's observed by Christians or that it's a celebration of Jesus' birthday, but no biggie.

I think it's important that kids learn about different cultures. Think of how much more well-rounded kids and tolerant kids might be if they learned a bit more about some of these things. I wish I'd learned about living faiths in school, but I had to wait until college.

[*inviteseller]

My DD's always had teachers who taught them about all the winter celebrations (older DD did have a Jewish boy in her first grade class whose parents were great about coming in with special foods and stories).  If hearing about religion based facts in the course of their education is problematic for your own personal beliefs, OP, you may need to either home school or at the beginning of each school year write a letter to each teacher that your child is to be excused from any class if this topic is to be discussed.  I agree that preaching personal beliefs is wrong (and we did have a teacher who made some comments about Halloween that I had to call her about to clarify and tell her why I felt she went over the line) but learning about religions and beliefs are part of history and social studies.

[JoyinVirginia]

Santa Claus brings presents on Christmas. saint Nicholas. A saint in a Christian faith. Christmas may be seen as a secular holiday by many, but the Christmas comes from christianity.
Now you can always celebrate Divali, or Chanukah, or even Kwanzaa too,.those are all celebrations associated with light and gift giving and thankfulness.  the class could have been learning about those cultural festivals.
just because you have chosen to be agnostic does not mean your child will choose that.

[Deetee]

Santa Claus brings presents on Christmas. saint Nicholas. A saint in a Christian faith. Christmas may be seen as a secular holiday by many, but the Christmas comes from christianity.
Now you can always celebrate Divali, or Chanukah, or even Kwanzaa too,.those are all celebrations associated with light and gift giving and thankfulness.  the class could have been learning about those cultural festivals.
just because you have chosen to be agnostic does not mean your child will choose that.

I think this and some of the previous posts are getting a bit too close to debating the origins of the winter festival that sometimes goes by the name Christmas. It's an interesting one, but I would suggest it doesn't belong on this board which bans political and religious debates.

[JoyinVirginia]

I think this and some of the previous posts are getting a bit too close to debating the origins of the winter festival that sometimes goes by the name Christmas. It's an interesting one, but I would suggest it doesn't belong on this board which bans political and religious debates.

you have a very good point Deetee, thanks for a good reminder.
I do find history of holiday traditions fascinating, its easy to get sidetracked.
I hope the op can communicate directly with the teacher and clarify things.

[Deetee]

I think this and some of the previous posts are getting a bit too close to debating the origins of the winter festival that sometimes goes by the name Christmas. It's an interesting one, but I would suggest it doesn't belong on this board which bans political and religious debates.

you have a very good point Deetee, thanks for a good reminder.
I do find history of holiday traditions fascinating, its easy to get sidetracked.
I hope the op can communicate directly with the teacher and clarify things.

Thanks for taking my reminder so well. I do love a good political or religious debate or discussion but I also understand why this board bans them outright to focus only on etiquette.

[laughtermed]

Years ago my son was in day care.  The parents received notes saying that the children were being unruly and misbehaving and asked for the parents' cooperation to restore order. This note was sent out the week after Halloween-the week before, the week during, and the week after, the kids were eating lots of candy at school. Some parents even brought candy their kids got at parties or trick or treating to get it out of their house! I complained to the director and said I knew candy made my child hyper, and that as child development specialists training at the university, they should have know better. When the candy stopped, the kids calmed down.