Sorry, unpopular opinion about to be shared. We want to create a sense of belonging in our schools. We want all students to feel included, to feel like they belong. We have even set a goal to learn more about inclusive practices and to embed those practices in our classrooms and throughout the school. Yet, December comes and what do we often do? We focus on Christmas. Which means we exclude some members of our school community. I warned you that this was going to be an unpopular opinion. I discovered this graphic on Twitter recently. A kindergarten teacher from Missouri created it and shared it with her school community. I thanked her for sharing this and then saved it so I could share it with our school community. Take a look at what it says. I am still trying to find the first article that she quoted, but I will link in the second article here. I know this might be hard to digest. I was a teacher who did things like showed Polar Express or did a Christmas related writing activity. I was also guilty of taking the "tourist" approach to teaching about the different holidays that also happen during the month of December. And I am sure many of you might have activities that you have often done during the month of December that are related to Christmas. I especially like that this teacher included the statement above about "what if I know all the kids in my class celebrate Christmas?" But we have to ask ourselves...what message are we teaching our kids about the rest of the world if we only show them one view and continue to perpetuate that one view?
Every other month we are all about inclusion. We must remember that belonging and the work to create a sense of belonging doesn't take a break. And ask yourself the question posed by the teacher above... Are we okay with not including all?
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