I have such a diverse population in my classroom that I find it very difficult to want to get into detail about EACH religious holiday during this time of year. Is it wrong for me to just stick to teaching reading, writing, and 'rithmetic??
2006-12-09 19:20:46 · 9 answers · asked by la_cateta 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
Nope there's nothing wrong with that. Ethically you have two choices, either teach equally about each different religous holliday, or don't teach about any of them.
2006-12-09 19:24:58 · answer #1 · answered by jacque_sue89 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You only have to teach the standards for a particular grade level. However, if you are teaching seventh grade world history and you do not cover Christianity and Islam then it might be a problem. On the other hand, if you are teaching second grade the standards really only want your to cover reading, writing, and math. Thus, you could get away we only teaching the basics and then maybe just having one fun activity at the end of the day. Maybe on the last day before winter break you could have an international food festival where each student has to research and bring in a dish that is popular for a certain religious holiday.
2006-12-10 03:30:50 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Last year I made charts, each chart featuring a country and the way it celebrated the holidays. I also had parents bring in the way they celebrate the holidays. One of my kids is from India and his mother brought in information, materials and clothing having to do with Diwalli, their celebration. I made sure to feature the countries and the celebrations of each child in the room. I hung the posters everywhere and never concentrated on each one. I had schoolagers (age 5-12) at that time and I made a trivia game where they had to search for the correct answers. This was my way of getting them into the other countries.
I refused to stick with what I believe in, which is the "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" thing b/c I along with everyone else in my room was a minority, we all did not believe the same thing.
2006-12-10 10:40:52 · answer #3 · answered by manda1126 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, I don't think so. You sound very aware that not every child has a Christmas tree at home, so why even try and cover everything? They get enough of that everywhere else, maybe school can be an oasis of that non-holiday spirit. I think you have the right idea.
2006-12-10 11:50:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it's not. That's a touchy area these days. Go with your instincts. Kids these days need all the practical education they can get.
Leave the holidays to the church and family.
There's no way you could be accurate in each religion.
2006-12-10 03:46:16 · answer #5 · answered by Smurfetta 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends upon what grade and subject you teach. Personally, I see nothing wrong with taking a bit of time each day to cover a different holiday: Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwaanza, etc.
2006-12-10 03:23:22 · answer #6 · answered by Asher S 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just show them a video of the different holidays and stuff. TV is a great teacher.
2006-12-10 03:23:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
nope nothing wrong with that besidestheir parents should do that for you unless their parents are good for nothing losers.
2006-12-10 03:28:16 · answer #8 · answered by aznxpranksta69 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You really don't need to, media will do it for you.
S.
2006-12-10 03:22:20 · answer #9 · answered by S. 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋