devin553344
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Principal Suspended For Banning "J" Shapped Candy Canes
- Thread starter Bobber
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PloverWing
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Two points:
1) If you read to the end of the article, there's a statement by the Elkhorn School District that the principal's ruling does not reflect school district policy; it is permissible to display secular holiday symbols in the school.
2) There's an important principle that a government-run school in the US may not favor one religion over another, since that would be a kind of establishment of religion. I'm sympathetic to what the school principal is trying to do here, even though she got it wrong in this instance. Sorting out where the line is between religious and secular can be difficult. A snowflake is secular. A stable with shepherds and angels is religious. A Christmas tree is probably secular, except that it's a custom that Christians follow more often than Jews or Hindus. Santa Claus is secular, except that he's a myth that developed out of St. Nicholas, a religious figure. Candy canes are secular, except that Christians sometimes talk about them symbolizing the blood of Jesus and the care of the Good Shepherd, and that's religious.
Again, I think the school principal made the wrong call, but it can be a difficult line to draw. We have similar rules in my state university workplace, where we want to celebrate but also want to make sure that our Hindu and Jain and Jewish and Muslim and Sikh students aren't made to feel uncomfortable or excluded, since it's their school every bit as much as it is mine.
1) If you read to the end of the article, there's a statement by the Elkhorn School District that the principal's ruling does not reflect school district policy; it is permissible to display secular holiday symbols in the school.
2) There's an important principle that a government-run school in the US may not favor one religion over another, since that would be a kind of establishment of religion. I'm sympathetic to what the school principal is trying to do here, even though she got it wrong in this instance. Sorting out where the line is between religious and secular can be difficult. A snowflake is secular. A stable with shepherds and angels is religious. A Christmas tree is probably secular, except that it's a custom that Christians follow more often than Jews or Hindus. Santa Claus is secular, except that he's a myth that developed out of St. Nicholas, a religious figure. Candy canes are secular, except that Christians sometimes talk about them symbolizing the blood of Jesus and the care of the Good Shepherd, and that's religious.
Again, I think the school principal made the wrong call, but it can be a difficult line to draw. We have similar rules in my state university workplace, where we want to celebrate but also want to make sure that our Hindu and Jain and Jewish and Muslim and Sikh students aren't made to feel uncomfortable or excluded, since it's their school every bit as much as it is mine.
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This sort of "candy cane" deal is more of the "politically correct" mess that is obnoxious. Any object can be construed as whatever. Common sense has taken a back seat in this country.
As for schools, leaders there should concentrate on educating students and stay away from dictating
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