Sunday, December 20, 2009

WIND THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES


This post was posted as a guest editorial in the Seattle Times on December 24, 2009. To view on the Seattle Times site, click here.


Christmas! 'Tis the season for kinding the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial fire of charity in the heart. -Washington Irving-


Sixty years ago a little girl stood with her classmates in a formation, five across and seven deep, the front row holding lighted candles, waiting for a signal from the teacher to begin. The long hall was darkened as were the classrooms on either side. The pitch pipe sounded, the group drew breath and the haunting melody began. “Wind through the olive trees softly did blow. Round little Bethlehem long, long ago. Sheep on the hillside lay, whiter than snow. Shepherds were watching them, long, long ago.” Filled with joy and pride, they sang as they processed down the hall knowing that every child in the entire school was listening and waiting with excitement for their own turn to sing a joyful song.

Fast forward sixty years to a 21st century public elementary school. Gone are the beautiful old songs that many of us remember, gone also anything approaching a lighted candle. In its place are many school hallways devoid of holiday art as individual school leadership teams try not to offend one group or another. In interpreting guidelines for holiday art and music, educators often take an extreme approach – just don’t do it.

Holiday assembly planners work hard to show some holiday spirit without actually saying “Merry Christmas.” “Frosty the Snowman”, “Jingle Bells” and other secular songs take the place of “Silent Night” or “Away in a Manger” - victims of political correctness as we try to fit everything into the same inclusive mold. In many schools teachers carefully avoid any reference to Christmas even though once outside the school house door, the greater community is alive with Christmas trees, menorahs, flickering lights, holiday music and Santas in every mall. A big frustration is the notion that Santa, Christmas trees, wreaths, etc are considered religious. But of course we have the folks who say that these secular symbols may have been rooted in religion, therefore they really should go.

It feels like we have lost something special as we strive to be all things to all people. Who started the movement to take Christmas out of the schools? Atheists and agnostics? People of other religious beliefs? People willing to sacrifice past traditions in the name of cultural awareness? Newcomers to the country who do not relate to our cultural norms? Overly zealous interpreters of the constitution?

I surfed the net looking for answers and happened upon Austin Cline and his atheism blog (November, 2003). I found what he said about Christmas in the schools very interesting and somewhat surprising. He said, among other things that “The solution is for the school to plan programs in December that include sacred music, but aren’t dominated by it . . . and . . . to make sure that a variety of traditions and cultures are represented – not just in December, but throughout the school year.” He goes on to say that an important principle is balance. “It makes little sense to completely ignore all religious connections to the holiday season, but it would also be wrong to assume that those religious connections are all that matter or that everyone shares the same religious beliefs about the season. Public schools are, after all, supposed to be there for everyone in the community.” I like what he says.

I surfed further and found good archived information from the time of President Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley where guidelines were explained and sources for more information cited. The gist was basically the same, although it took three times as many pages and words to say it. (http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/08-1995/religion.html)

In talking to a Seattle colleague I was pleased to hear that in one South Seattle Elementary school with a large ESL population, the month of December was devoted to stories about religious celebrations around the world. She spoke of one kindergartener from Somalia who sat rapt, as a tradition about his own country was shared. I’m touched by that.

So, let's give back to teachers the freedom to teach songs like "Wind Through the Olive Trees" for holiday assemblies. It should be their right to do so. People should be aware that singing such songs does not make a religious experience. Singing "Silent Night" does not make me a Christian. Singing "I Have a Little Dredyl does not make me Jewish. They are cultural songs that children enjoy singing. The same can be said for putting up pictures of Christmas trees or Menorahs. Neither singing nor making holiday arts and crafts is promoting religion. Let’s add the wonders of international celebrations to our schools so that our children gain an appreciation of all the world’s people. Let’s take some time away from “meeting the standards” to celebrate with each other during a traditional time of giving. Let’s do this so that in sixty years today’s children can also reflect on childhood school memories filled with warmth, love and candle glow.

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"Wind Through The Olive Trees " words and music: http://www.doofusmusic.com/PDF/Winds_AH.pdf

My book choice for the week is Christmas Cookies by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It is a wonderful vocabulary builder with a high interest theme. Who can resist holiday cookies? Each page has an important word and definition with amazing illustrations by Jane Dyer. A few words include anticipation, prosperity, charitable, reciprocate, perseverance, plus many, many more. Along with the definitions and drawings is a call to think about altruism and manners.

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