Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By CHRISTINE LIBERASKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 1993 Page: 1 & 16A QUICK WORDS: HAPPY HOLIDAYS
WILKES-BARRE — No Christmas vacation. No Christmas program. And no
Christmas party.
That’s what some local school administrators are telling their students.
Instead, they said, students will get a “holiday” vacation and will hold
“holiday” programs and “holiday” parties.
“We have a holiday play, we decorate with holiday decorations and we talk
about the significance of all the holidays,” said Ted Geffert, principal at
Rice Elementary in the Crestwood School District.
Never mind that most of the songs are about Christmas. And the decorations
include Christmas trees.
Schools in Luzerne County are trying to be culturally diverse. Sort of.
Rice Elementary is one of those schools where December festivities are no
longer Christmas-specific. Students learn about the cultural aspect of the
holidays in their social studies classes throughout the year and recognize the
holidays along with Christmas, Geffert said. And at the sixth-grade holiday
concert, the chorus sings a variety of tunes, not just Christmas carols.
Other school officials, however, described a traditional, Christian-type
observance of the winter holidays.
“Most of our teachers are familiar with the Christmas routine — Santa
Claus and reindeer,” said Harry Vogt, principal of Kistler Elementary in the
Wilkes-Barre Area School District. “We have a Christmas program and we also
received Hanukkah information from the JCC (Jewish Community Center) that the
teachers got.”
Vogt said each teacher decided what to do with the information. Teachers
decorated their own classrooms, he said, and many chose to use menorahs and
other Jewish representations along with Christmas decorations. Vogt said he
received no complaints about the school’s presentation of holidays from
parents.
In Mary Ann McGrane’s third-grade class, everyone knew what Christmas was.
They knew about trees and presents and cookies for Santa and also the birth of
Christ.
“It’s the day Christ was born,” yelled “Ace” Schrader, 9.
“And Christmas is the time to get together and share,” added Nathan
Richardson, 8.
Only a few children knew about Hanukkah, however. And only one child knew
why the menorah was lit during the holiday.
“Hanukkah is for people that don’t celebrate Christmas,” said John
Williams, 8.
And at the sound of Kwanzaa the children gasped, not knowing a thing about
the African-American holiday celebrating the first harvest. McGrane said she
saw some information on the holiday recently and would bring it to the class
to read to the students.
In the schools where there is recognition of other cultures and religions
and holidays, how in-depth do the teachings go?
In the Wyoming Valley West School District, Superintendent Norman Namey
said schools decorate for Christmas and Hanukkah and the choirs sing songs
traditional for both holidays. But, he said, there is no structured
instruction time set aside for the students to learn about the differences and
similarities among the two cultures and others.
“Our art students have started putting things together in the spirit of
Christmas and Hanukkah,” Namey said. “Basically, they’re the two holidays we
have. We have a very, very small black population and our Asian population is
very minimal.”
Namey said he never received any complaints from parents, students or the
community about how the school presents the holidays.
Tim McGinley, principal of Wyoming Valley West High School, said Christmas
and Hanukkah are the only two holidays observed at his school. He said in the
lobby both a Christmas tree and a menorah are displayed, but nothing is done
to teach or observe Kwanzaa, which is held Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.
“To be honest with you,” McGinley said. “I wasn’t aware of the holiday or
of the day of it, so it would be hard for me to have it in the school.”
Constance Wynn, president of the local chapter of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People, said McGinley’s statement didn’t
surprise her.
“It is not ignorance in his (McGinley’s) knowledge that he didn’t know of
it,” Wynn said. “It has not really been publicized in this particular region.”
Wynn said she hopes to see Kwanzaa celebrated in the schools some day along
with Christmas and Hanukkah.
Officials at Wyoming Seminary, a private school in Kingston, contend their
students recognize several religions and cultures around the holidays. They
said a large part of this is because of the student body’s cultural diversity,
especially in its upper school.
“We have about 20 different countries represented at the schools (upper and
lower), so you have to be sensitive to the ways they all celebrate the
holidays,” said Allan Woodard, dean of the lower school.
Woodard said the lower school celebrated different cultures, including
African-American, Indo-American and Swedish, this holiday season through arts
and crafts, literature and story readings.
The schools’ chaplain, Bill Summerhill, said he also attempts to bridge the
gap between different cultures in his services, especially around the winter
holidays. He said he tries to get the students to think about the commonality
between different cultures.
This year’s services will feature Christian and Jewish readings. He said,
except for this year, Islamic readings are usually included, too. And during
weekly services, he likes to mix lessons from the three primary non-western
religions which are represented at the school: Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Summerhill added the lessons Seminary students learn by going to school
with peers from different cultures, benefited the teenagers more than any
holiday event or lesson he or the school’s administrator’s could devise.
“The most cultural learning here takes place in an informal setting and in
friendships that take place in the dining hall and dormitory,” Summerhill
said. “The students value this learning as much, if not more, than what comes
from grown-ups.”