December 21, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Walking the holiday tightrope

by Alexandria Rocha

Last week, teachers Tina Franceschi and Christine Morimoto were fascinated by one kindergartner's gingerbread house in particular. While other students piled candy canes, pretzels, red licorice rope and M&M's onto their graham crackers, Yota Hosen didn't use any colorful treats, save for one green gum drop on top.

The mystery was solved when his mom, Sumiko Hosen, came to pick him up. She explained that her family is from Japan, and Yota does not have a sweet tooth for American candy. Franceschi and Sumiko laughed and acknowledged that you wouldn't find children building gingerbread houses in Japan.

The peek into Franceschi's and Morimoto's classroom at Barron Park Elementary School reflected the delicate balance teachers here walk when celebrating the holidays. With students representing such a wide variety of cultures, the key is to include everyone and not offend anyone.

As Barron Park's Principal Cathy Howard put it: "We enjoy everything and don't observe anything."

But, like most things, it's not that simple. Franceschi and Morimoto are comfortable doing arts and crafts activities involving reindeer, Christmas trees, dreidels, and Menorahs. They're OK with studying Los Posadas, a traditional Mexican festival, and a variety of other cultural events. But, Santa Claus? No, they're not OK with Santa Claus.

"I don't think the district would want Santa Claus," Morimoto said.

The same goes for fully decorated Christmas trees. Steve Sabbag, president of the teachers' union, said he has seen classrooms with decked out trees in other districts and was a little surprised by them. In his eight years with the Palo Alto district, he has not seen anything so blatantly representing the Christian holiday.

There are not, in fact, any hard and fast rules set forth by the district about what would cross the line and be perceived as inappropriately non-secular. It is accepted as a fine line, however, and it's up to the teachers to treat each situation delicately.

Overall, the district's faculty and staff try to celebrate the holiday season in a way that focuses on being with family and recognizes the days getting shorter.

"I suppose that points of disagreement can be found in the simplest things, but thus far we continue to work to respect everyone's perspective," said Marilyn Cook, the district's associate superintendent of educational services.

n other places of the country, teachers are not given so much wiggle room. The Glendale-River Hills School District in Wisconsin has a policy that bans secular Christmas carols, although Hanukkah songs are allowed.

In recent years, it has become common for schools to ban such carols, but the colors red and green? Oh yes. The Plano Independent School District in Texas did just that last year. Parents are only allowed to bring white paper plates and napkins to their children's winter-break parties.

"We're not that bad in Palo Alto," said Melissa Baton-Caswell, president of the Palo Alto Council of PTAs.

School board president and district parent Mandy Lowell, however, said she was asked by a teacher one year not to bring red and green materials. After all, the rules are discretionary.

In general, holidays are sticky situations. Halloween, for example, came under fire in the mid-1990s at the Los Altos Elementary School District. A group of parents wanted to ban all school-time parties and parades because they said the holiday glorifies Satan and the occult. The school board heard their cries, but left the traditions alone.

Then there are the holidays that educators willingly bring out the confetti and decorations for without any second thoughts. Lowell said schools here celebrate Valentine's Day, although it has a religious origin as many of the winter-season ones do. It's acceptable to observe, she said, because it's so far removed from its historical context.

"Schools would seem very disconnected if they didn't celebrate Halloween or Valentine's Day," Lowell said. "That would seem disconnected from reality to students."

Chinese New Year is also traditionally celebrated here, too. Some schools host parades and spend months on educational units that include arts and crafts and field trips to Chinese restaurants. The educational component is viewed as too rich to skip. Palo Alto's school district also has a large population of Chinese students.

To keep the winter-time holidays secular, often times the celebrations turn into ones focused on just that -- the season of winter. Baton Caswell said it's common for students to make paper snowmen and snowflakes.

The high schools are able to offer a bit more variety. Through the various student clubs, teens are able to celebrate their specific holidays. Palo Alto High School's Jewish Club, for example, held a Hanukkah party last week where students ate festive treats and played the dreidel game.

But, some Jewish students said their holidays always seem on the back burner.

"There is more of an emphasis on Christian holidays. Like arts and crafts stuff. It's like let's throw on "Jingle Bells," said Talya Mizrahi, 17, a Paly senior and Jewish Club president. "I have just come to accept that America is predominantly a Christian country and that's what is going to be celebrated. I think it's fun to see all the Christmas lights out and all the sparkly things."

Paly senior Melissa Setlin, 17, just moved from Connecticut to Palo Alto this year. She attended last week's Hanukkah party and was glad that Paly has a Jewish club. Her old school didn't have one.

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