It’s February already!
National Black History month has begun. Punxsutawney Phil just predicted six more weeks of winter. And, it’s time to prepare for one of the first holidays most classrooms celebrate each year, Valentine’s Day.
Although Valentine’s Day kicks off the holiday celebration in most classrooms, it isn’t the last of them. Most classrooms celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the leprechaun doing at least a little mischief in the room. Then there is Mother’s Day, hopefully Father’s Day as well (please don’t forget the dad’s even if this holiday falls after the end of the school year), the last day of school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and of course, what I would call end of year celebration so as not to exclude anyone just before Winter Break. There are, of course, other celebrations that may occur, such as for a student’s birthday.
These are all fun. Families might send in treats. Volunteers help with all the arrangements. Families and extended family come to class for what might be the first time. It is just a time to celebrate not only the holiday but just being together.
However, in most of our experience, not all students celebrate, usually for personal religious reasons. What do you do then?
First and foremost, ensure all families know which holiday’s will be celebrated and how at the beginning of each school year. Explicitly ask on your beginning of year family questionnaire if there are any holidays they don’t celebrate (or decline to say the Pledge of Allegiance). Doing so can proactively prevent any upset later in the year for both you and the family and possibly having to plan alternatives at the last moment.
Next, if a family does not participate, ask for their input on how to solve what should happen during the times the class has a celebration—a celebration should not be canceled for all students. A mutual agreement can be found with the non-participating family for those times. A couple of examples of solutions over my years in the classroom included the student staying home for an excused absence on religious grounds, the student being picked up early (almost all of my classroom celebrations occurred at the end of the school day), having the student go to another classroom or an extra special, or being a helper in the office until the end of the celebration.
Although the student may not fully understand why, and may become upset, we must honor the wishes of the family and do so without judgement towards the family. To judge will almost always cause hard feelings and get in the way of the relationship with the family, but more importantly, with the student.
Creating a caring classroom can be challenging at times. As with any relationship, there will be ups and downs. In being proactive, taking the diverse needs of our students into account, we can show our students we care by accepting them as they are, setting a good example and building strong relationships. Which, in the end, is all that we want.