Just for information for the ListlerInnen who have raised questions about what one can and can't do in a public school. A quote or two from the brochure I received yesterday " for teachers" about religious festivals.

" Teachers must be alert to the distinction between teaching about religious holidays, which is permissible, and celebrating religious holidays, which is not."
" Sacred music may be sung or played as part of the academic study of music. ..."
" The resolution would seem to be in devising holiday programs that serve an educational purpose for all students - programs that make no students feel excluded or identified with a religion that is not their own."

This thing goes ON and ON. I won't bore you all. Added to which, we are an academic magnet school in which exams count for 25% of the semester grade, and we start said exams on Friday the 13th. My school system chose to finish the first semester before the winter break. This means I have to sacrifice a lot of seasonal stuff.

In one class I have enough Jewish students who volunteered to teach us all a Hanukkah song. In other classes I have enough good singers that I can hand them sheet music and they can do harmony.

This year, St. Niklaustag is on the same day as the first day of Hanukkah. We are doing our second annual Schuhfest. I got this idea from someone on this very list a year ago (check the archives). I sneak in a lot of cultural stuff on the side, and any kid who has religious objections is offered other options. I explain why we don't do more of it, and the kids roll their eyes and deal with it, but nonetheless I do regret the days when I had ninety-plus elementary kids making Advent calendars and Martinslampionen and putting cherry branches in water on Sankt Barbaratag.

I do manage to sneak in lots of why-the Northern-Europeans-all-have-light- festivals and do greenery and special foods at this time of year, so I suppose it isn't entirely purposeless. My kiddiewinkies, even the seniors, are dutifully memorizing St. Nikolaus poems and decorating their partner's shoes for Friday because they get the idea that Powerfrau won't give them goodies unless they perform.

I have had several kiddies come and volunteer to be the token "ich will nicht, sagte der kleine Hans und stampfte mit dem Fuss" in the confident knowledge that I will have some Ruprecht figure waiting in the wings to pounce on them. (I don't. Yet. But I do have a very large Rute which a kid made for me some years ago.)

For new listmembers - Schuhfest is wonderful! Check the archives from this list. I don't have the details.

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