Crossfire: Are religious observance days beneficial to students?

FCPS observance days discriminate against beliefs

JAMES MURRAY REPORTER

Agovernment-financed institution which supports some beliefs more than others? It seems that no public school system in the U.S. would ever allow this, but FCPS is actively favoring some religions over others.

The new religious observance day policy is a poor replacement for the previous one. Currently, teachers are prohibited from introducing new material on county-wide observance days. Students who don’t observe these days are required to attend school, even with the knowledge that they will not be able to learn anything new. It is clear that such “observance days” breach the will of non-religious taxpayers, devalue religious freedom in the county and alienate religions which do not have their own observance days. The county must find a better way to respect religions without excluding others.

Northern Virginia is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities. Located just outside of Washington D.C., Fairfax County has residents from a variety of backgrounds. Since the public school system is financed through local and federal funds, it is FCPS’s duty to represent their taxpayers.

“Here we are with taxpayers’ dollars, saying that we’ll give a break based on religion, [even though] it’s public education,” World Religions and Government teacher Ian Howell said. “If massive amounts of money were being spent for students not to progress, I’d be annoyed.”

With the great variety of religions that are practiced in Fairfax County, only five have distinguished holidays on the FCPS calendar.

This new policy also ignores students at McLean who are not affiliated with any one religious group. FCPS is using taxpayers’ money for a way of thinking that those same taxpayers likely don’t support.

Another aspect of equality which is disregarded under the new observance days is the First Amendment of the Constitution, which essentially guarantees the separation of church and state.

Although multiple religions are included in this new observance day policy, it alienates many belief systems which do not receive the same governmental recognition as more mainstream religions.

Religion is simply a way of thought, and the school board continues to prioritize some people’s beliefs over others. “If you want to promote religious days, you have to promote them all,” Howell said. “The majority can’t rule in religion.”

Even though students and staff still have to come to school these 15 days of the year, there can be no advancement of curriculum. This essentially means that students will be sitting in a class for an hour and a half, remaining stagnant in their progress.

“We are stopping the 29 [students] for two,” Howell said. “Our system is based on individual rights, not collective rights.”

Although McLean is a very diverse school, diversity varies heavily throughout the region. If nearby counties were to adopt this system, it is highly likely that the whole school would miss out on a day of instruction for a religion that isn’t even followed by anyone in the area.

The former method of religious observance was much more fair and equal than the one that is currently in place. A student in observance of a holy day calls into the school citing religion as their excuse for absence, after which they receive any necessary make-up work. This is incredibly more efficient than holding the entire school back in favor of a few select students.

Are new religious observance days beneficial to students?

Observance days promote diversity in schools

FARAH ELJAZZAR REPORTER

Pronounced the “melting pot” of the world, the U.S. has always taken pride in its diverse population, whether in ethnicity, race, gender or religion. With Northern Virginia’s ever-growing population, it is only right that FCPS maintains the pride of diversity it claims to have.

The assertion that FCPS’s adoption of religious observance days creates setbacks in education and does not fully address all observed religious holidays does not account for the real consequences of not including these holidays: students have to choose between excelling in classes or taking time off for worship.

Prior to the implementation of this new system, FCPS had a policy in which students who wanted to observe their religious holiday would take an excused absence and make up any work or exams on a later date.

“Every holiday that is religious is excused, without exception. And it’s the teacher’s job to plan around that,” World Religions and Government teacher Ian Howell said.

Although it is inclusive to allow excused absence observance days, something still in practice if one’s religious holiday is not included in the new FCPS calendar, this system is not productive as it adds more work for students who take time off to observe said holidays. Instead of taking the day to observe with family, students spend time worrying about the missed homework and exams that are piling up.

“The previous [policy] put me at a disadvantage because I missed content that was necessary for tests and other assignments I had to complete later,” said junior Lily Hudson, who observes Jewish holidays.

The “excused absence” policy felt like a back-handed second thought, whereas the new observance days recognize that FCPS must continue to expand their calendar to promote inclusivity for the growing diverse population in the area.

“FCPS acknowledging the holidays can help spread awareness on the religious diversity at McLean,” Hudson said. “We can always aim to promote inclusivity.”

While some assert that the introduction of observance days hinders the progression of the education process, a total of 15 days is not going to impact a student to that extent.

“There are so many grades given through the course of the year that one assignment is negligible, and taking the time to recognize a different culture is so much more important than a grade,” said junior Nandita Boddu, who observes Hindu holidays.

Instead, to ensure that students who take time off to observe holidays do not miss any material and students attending school do not “waste” a school day, students could learn about the contributions and effects of these religions today.

“In English classes, we’ll read literature [on] the [basis] of Hinduism. And in science, we’ll discuss contributions of the Hindu world,” Howell said.

Although FCPS has work to do when it comes to improving inclusivity, this new policy advocates for religious minorities without undermining academics or putting stress upon students. The truth is, no matter how non-affiliated our county claims to be when it comes to religion, our holidays and breaks will always revolve around Christian holidays, with winter break spanning two weeks for Christmas and spring break aligning with Easter.

We must do better to push for change and inclusion for religious minorities within FCPS, no matter how flexible we have to be.