Sanity wins: School tosses principal’s ban on Santa, Pledge of Allegiance

[Lady Marva]

Wonder at how many more schools this is happening............

http://nypost.com/2015/12/15/sanity-...nd-the-pledge/
Sanity — and Santa — have been restored at a Brooklyn public elementary school where St. Nick was banned, the Pledge of Allegiance was dropped and Thanksgiving was replaced with a “harvest festival.”

The good news arrived at PS 169 in Sunset Park on Monday morning, a day after The Post exposed the bizarre PC extremism of Principal Eujin Jaela Kim.

District 15 Superintendent Anita Skop stormed in the front door at 9:50 a.m., and minutes later, two fifth-grade boys were brought to the main office to lead a recital over the public address system of the Pledge of Allegiance, teachers told The Post.

As The Post reported on Sunday, the pledge hadn’t been said over the loudspeakers since the beginning of the school year. Kim, 33, became principal in May 2014.

Santa Claus is now reinstated at the school, and Department of Education officials said on Monday that the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited over the PA system every morning, in response to concerns from the community.

“It never would have happened if The Post didn’t do the story. That’s the only way we got our voices heard,” PTA president Mimi Ferrer said.
Principal Eujin Jaela Kim
“I’m ecstatic that Santa can come back. Hopefully, he can make a visit to the kids in our school for our winter celebration on Thursday.”

At a school leadership team meeting last week, Kim told staffers, “Do not celebrate Christmas, do not celebrate gift-gifting, do not celebrate Santa. We need to be respectful,” according to a school source.

“Christmas is a Christian celebration and something that is tied to religion,” Kim told them, according to the source.

DOE officials said on Monday that PS 169 administrators were mistaken in believing that Santa could not be used as a holiday symbol.

Only depictions of religious figures or texts are banned.

“We work to foster inclusive communities in our schools that welcome students and families, and celebrate the diverse values and traditions of all New Yorkers,” DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye said in a statement.

“This principal continues to work closely with her school community to ensure PS 169 is an inclusive school, meet students’ and families’ needs, and celebrate the values that make her community and New York City great,” Kaye said.

Officials said the school emailed staffers new guidelines on Monday allowing the use of Santa Claus “as a holiday symbol with secular dimensions.”

“I apologize for any confusion this may have caused,” Kim wrote in the email.

[Djharkavy]

There's a lot of problems with that principal.

According to the union Facebook page, parents and teachers are sending around petitions to get her removed.

Although I do agree that Christmas is a Christian celebration, not a secular one.

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[Michele]

Growing up we had a community harvest festival that one of the schools put on but it was around Halloween time so I never equated it to replacing Thanksgiving. Just one more fun thing to go with Halloween.

[Billy Jingo]

Growing up we had a community harvest festival that one of the schools put on but it was around Halloween time so I never equated it to replacing Thanksgiving. Just one more fun thing to go with Halloween.

It was probably similar to my daughter's grade school. They replaced Halloween with an Autumn Festival. I got the impression it was for the opposite reason than usual in that Evangelicals and charismatic megachurch types objected to Halloween.

[Michele]

It was probably similar to my daughter's grade school. They replaced Halloween with an Autumn Festival. I got the impression it was for the opposite reason than usual in that Evangelicals and charismatic megachurch types objected to Halloween.

This was just a fun festival of food and games in the gym. You paid to get in so maybe it was a money maker too. But the kids who went there also participated in Halloween activities so I'm not sure it was the same as your daughter's school.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

There's a lot of problems with that principal.

According to the union Facebook page, parents and teachers are sending around petitions to get her removed.

Although I do agree that Christmas is a Christian celebration, not a secular one.

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Christmas qua Christmas (holy day) is indeed a Christian holiday. Many of the traditions, however, are (as you surely know) pagan, Roman, Anglo/Saxon, Celtic, Nordic etc., etc. As long as other holidays that relate to non-Christian American cultures are also celebrated, I don't have a problem. That doesn't mean sticking up pictures of a dreidel and/or a menorah and calling it multi-cultural. Celebrating the important days or seasons of our many cultures is a great way to teach history, geography and and even a little age-appropriate anthropology and economics, without making students' eyes glaze over. The kids at HRH's elementary school had a great time building the sukkah and incorporating it into the other harvest time activities.

Growing up we had a community harvest festival that one of the schools put on but it was around Halloween time so I never equated it to replacing Thanksgiving. Just one more fun thing to go with Halloween.

Despite certain religious overtones and underpinnings inherent in the history, Thanksgiving is a national holiday, not primarily a Christian one. I know you know that, but some people seem not to. Again, a great opportunity to teach history without boring kids to tears. There were, after all, 2 very distinct cultures present at that early example of interfaith/intercultural cooperation (before it all went to hell on that front). Tying it in to a season of recognizing the importance of the harvest festival in virtually every culture is an opportunity too often missed by educators.

[Michele]

Christmas qua Christmas (holy day) is indeed a Christian holiday. Many of the traditions, however, are (as you surely know) pagan, Roman, Anglo/Saxon, Celtic, Nordic etc., etc. As long as other holidays that relate to non-Christian American cultures are also celebrated, I don't have a problem. That doesn't mean sticking up pictures of a dreidel and/or a menorah and calling it multi-cultural. Celebrating the important days or seasons of our many cultures is a great way to teach history, geography and and even a little age-appropriate anthropology and economics, without making students' eyes glaze over. The kids at HRH's elementary school had a great time building the sukkah and incorporating it into the other harvest time activities.



Despite certain religious overtones and underpinnings inherent in the history, Thanksgiving is a national holiday, not primarily a Christian one. I know you know that, but some people seem not to. Again, a great opportunity to teach history without boring kids to tears. There were, after all, 2 very distinct cultures present at that early example of interfaith/intercultural cooperation (before it all went to hell on that front). Tying it in to a season of recognizing the importance of the harvest festival in virtually every culture is an opportunity too often missed by educators.

I love Fall. I could harvest festival from September through November.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

I love Fall. I could harvest festival from September through November.

You and me both! If I could find someone to teach me how to celebrate Samhain, I'd be all over that. Since Sukkot moves around, and it's 7 days, it's one of my favorite harvest festivals. Thanksgiving comes kind of at the end of the harvest season. Samhain and (Chinese) Moon Cake Day move around according to the lunar calendar, I believe, while Halloween, Samhain's modern descendant, falls kind of in the middle of harvest season. I love them all.

[Michele]

You and me both! If I could find someone to teach me how to celebrate Samhain, I'd be all over that. Since Sukkot moves around, and it's 7 days, it's one of my favorite harvest festivals. Thanksgiving comes kind of at the end of the harvest season. Samhain and (Chinese) Moon Cake Day move around according to the lunar calendar, I believe, while Halloween, Samhain's modern descendant, falls kind of in the middle of harvest season. I love them all.

You would get along well with my sister, Colleen. I'll come along for the food.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

You would get along well with my sister, Colleen. I'll come along for the food.

Well, duh. The food and the costumes, what else would we do it for? I can be thankful all year 'round. Only on Halloween do I get to dress up in clothes **I*** like. And all have special foods (if you count raiding the kids' trick-or-treat bags as food).

[scott]

District 15 Superintendent Anita Skop stormed in the front door at 9:50 a.m., and minutes later, two fifth-grade boys were brought to the main office to lead a recital over the public address system of the Pledge of Allegiance

Good on her.

That's actual leadership right there.

[Lanie]

There's a lot of problems with that principal.

According to the union Facebook page, parents and teachers are sending around petitions to get her removed.

Although I do agree that Christmas is a Christian celebration, not a secular one.

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Many non-religious people celebrate Christmas. They see it as a time to spend with family. Santa is often associated with their childhood.

[Djharkavy]

Even the name tells toy that it a Christian holiday. Christ Mass.

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[Lanie]

Even the name tells toy that it a Christian holiday. Christ Mass.

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True. My mom once got mad that me or my sister was going to church on Christmas. She was like "How could they ruin Christmas like that?" I then pointed out the breaking up of the word. lol.

I wouldn't mind if schools had Hanukkah celebrations, but I'll admit I'd be weary if they started having celebrations for other religions. Next question that needs to be asked is what holidays should be taken off from school.

[Frostbit]

True. My mom once got mad that me or my sister was going to church on Christmas. She was like "How could they ruin Christmas like that?" I then pointed out the breaking up of the word. lol.

I wouldn't mind if schools had Hanukkah celebrations, but I'll admit I'd be weary if they started having celebrations for other religions. Next question that needs to be asked is what holidays should be taken off from school.

Kwanza is big in Philly. not sure if it made it's way into the school system or not. P-Girl?