Holidays in Public Schools

I am now in one of my favorite times of the year!  Within three months, we get to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!  Who doesn't enjoy celebrating one or all of those holidays?

Well, the fact is, there are many kids in public schools who do not celebrate any of those holidays, likely because of their religious beliefs.  So, is it "okay" for teachers to decorate and celebrate holidays in public schools?

Many years ago, I always had decorations up for holidays!  Like I said, I'm a big fan of this holiday season!  It wasn't until several years into my teaching career that I was challenged to think about how this may impact my students who do not celebrate holidays.

If I truly feel my role as a teacher is to make all members of my learning community, even those who do not celebrate holidays, feel welcomed, included, and valued, then is "forcing" them to sit in a classroom filled with Christmas lights, a tree, and other decorations truly reflective of that belief?  I had a hard time arguing that it was.  And boy did that frustrate me at first!  

When I heard about a teacher having a student work in the hallway on a non-Christmas activity because the rest of the class was doing a fun Christmas project in the classroom (as a Jehovah's Witness, he wasn't allowed to be part of that), I knew I had to start becoming more considerate of how every single one of my students felt.  What if that was my child sitting in the hall by himself?  My job isn't to make the majority of my students feel valued, it's to make ALL of them feel valued. 

By keeping my classroom neutral around the holidays, I can ensure that no student will feel excluded, different, or uncomfortable while at school.  I had to put my own "wants" on the back burner and put the needs of my students first and foremost.  I had to realize that by not putting decorations up or doing holiday activities, I wasn't denying any student anything; however, by putting up decorations and doing holiday activities, I was risking isolating a student.  

I am now in my 10th-ish year of not celebrating holidays in school, and I have long moved past my disappointment!!  If students ever ask about doing Halloween or Christmas activities, which is extremely rare, we have the conversation about why we do not include them as part of our instruction.  The students get a diversity lesson right there about respecting everyone's beliefs and ensuring everyone in our community feels welcomed and valued!   Never has a student felt it was unfair or tried to argue that we should change that practice!

Just food for thought!  

Happy Holidays!

Technology in the Classroom

When I think back to when I was in elementary school, I make very few connections to school and technology.  As a matter of fact, the most exciting technology experience I can remember having was getting to print a cover page on an old dot-matrix printer (Is that what they were called???)  for a report I wrote on Italy.  I remember it having some kind of border, which I think was a vine, and a wine bottle on the front.  I thought that was SO great!!!

Now, I watch my 9-, 10-, and 11-year old students operate laptops and iPads as though they have been using technology for years!  Actually, now that I think about it, they probably have!  My 3-year old nephews can take my phone, find my apps, and pick out Angry Birds without an ounce of help from me!

We can always count on increased engagement when we add the component of technology to an activity.  The best part, though, is that not only does using technology engage students, but it also helps prepare them for the real world!  Our world has some type of new technology coming out every time we turn around, so it's important that our students get the opportunity to interact with technology in schools. 

So, what do we do with those iPads and laptops?  The students use them to...

• Publish their Writer's Workshop stories
• Research topics, both that are assigned and that are student selected
• Complete Web Quests on different Social Studies topics (immigration, slavery, government)
• Interact with books, either by listening to a book being read on You Tube or through reading a book on a slideshow (Great way to help differentiate for students who need more support with reading)
• Create Power Points to demonstrate their learning of a topic
• Practice skills through interactive games

Of course, anytime your students do use technology, I always recommend you talk with them about appropriate and inappropriate uses of the technology before they use it.  We have the students help us decide what should happen when students abuse their technology privileges (as well as define what abusing their privileges actually is) and have the consequences set up ahead of time.  

Using technology in the classroom is a great way to engage students, as well as to prepare them for the future!