However, I also recall that for years, my mom would, for lack of a better word, snicker at Mrs. Hoch/our district. Why? The songs we sang in elementary school at the "Winter concert" were Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman...and the Dreidle (sp) song. I seem to also remember singing "Hanukah, Hanukah, let the fun begin!" And then whatever generic original stuff she wrote for us.
Yes, this was about 10 years before that town meeting, but my point is this: if you're going to be inclusive of a rather minor Jewish holiday, for years and years, what is the harm of a few explicitly Christian songs to balance it? Why is it wrong for the Jewish, Hindu, Muslim kids to sing Christmas carols, but it's OK for everyone to sing "I have a little dreidle, I made it out of clay"?
Honestly, ideally, perhaps idealistically, I'd like to see a balance -- not an all-or-none, toss out the baby with the bathwater (no pun intended) mentality. Do a few generic songs, fine, but if you're going to let/make them sing about dreidles, why not "Silent Night," too? (And why not "Deck the Halls" for a little pagan subversion, too? *eg*)
(IIRC, too, it was either JUST North, or JUST the high schools that decided this. Which is also dumb -- making a big fuss out of it with the students who might actually be able to comprehend the idea of cultural diversity, while letting the younger kids do whatever the teacher's whimsy allows. Right.)
This is academic, not personal s:)
However, I also recall that for years, my mom would, for lack of a better word, snicker at Mrs. Hoch/our district. Why? The songs we sang in elementary school at the "Winter concert" were Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman...and the Dreidle (sp) song. I seem to also remember singing "Hanukah, Hanukah, let the fun begin!" And then whatever generic original stuff she wrote for us.
Yes, this was about 10 years before that town meeting, but my point is this: if you're going to be inclusive of a rather minor Jewish holiday, for years and years, what is the harm of a few explicitly Christian songs to balance it? Why is it wrong for the Jewish, Hindu, Muslim kids to sing Christmas carols, but it's OK for everyone to sing "I have a little dreidle, I made it out of clay"?
Honestly, ideally, perhaps idealistically, I'd like to see a balance -- not an all-or-none, toss out the baby with the bathwater (no pun intended) mentality. Do a few generic songs, fine, but if you're going to let/make them sing about dreidles, why not "Silent Night," too? (And why not "Deck the Halls" for a little pagan subversion, too? *eg*)
(IIRC, too, it was either JUST North, or JUST the high schools that decided this. Which is also dumb -- making a big fuss out of it with the students who might actually be able to comprehend the idea of cultural diversity, while letting the younger kids do whatever the teacher's whimsy allows. Right.)