Religious Insensitivity?
Submitted by mypublic1 on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 18:09.
Why would DISD designate Sept 28 as a mandatory staff development day? This is Yom Kippur, the most sacred of Jewish holidays. You would think they would have caught this during the calendar developemtn process. But even if you could attribute it to careless oversight, you would think they would have addressed the insensitivity after many Jewish employees brought it to their attention. They have not. So not only do Jewish employees have to use a personal/sick day in order to observe this holy day, they have to miss out on a professional development opportunity as well. Way to demonstrate your commitment to diversity DISD.
The Religious days are listed for last school year not this one
http://www.dallasisd.org/about/calendars/religious_cal.pdf
So the religious calender on the DISD website is from last school year. There is not one for this year. Maybe it cost too much to ask for a current one to be posted? The week that includes the staff development day on Yom Kipper inclues the Fair Day as well, so the parents need to have 2 days off work, and many people do not have the luxury of free childcare. It is good for the Jewish kids to not have to miss class, since school is out anyway, but there are not too many Jewish kids left in DISD.
Interesting factoid. Why is the developmant fair in Addison, and why is it sold for 2 days if the school is only letting one day off? Sounds like a scam... Are administrators going on the second day, so do they work the first, or do the central administration getting 2 days off, when the teachers get only one?
Religious Insensitivity?
Actually sometime difference generates between two school of thoughts or the way of understanding samething by two different minds. I was also condemned in start when i started preaching Islam during my mcts training but with the passage of time different sects started to accept me. So, we should be very careful in depiction of some religious aspects from every angle.
I am a white male...
Let's just be honest here for a minute. I am a white male and often feel the "push" out of the district. People are often promoted in this district because of their affiliation with a certain ethnic group. I won't even try to argue that.
I will apologize for my previous comment, after re-reading your post, I see that your point was that the district only cares about two ethnic groups while leaving out others. I would agree with you.
I also would like to point out that certain Christian groups are left out of the diversity circle as well. Many Roman Catholics would argue that being forced to work on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday, is a blatant disregard for those Holy Days.
I would love to see the district pay attention to every ethnic and religious group and honor their holidays, but with so many cultures diverging on one location and in on calendar, it would be nearly impossible to cancel school or give exceptions to every group when they needed them and still have a (semi) fully-functioning district and complete a school year while doing it.
It is a shame that we have to ignore some holidays, but I will stick with the Christian ones for now because they are so well spaced out. Now I will begin to take offense when we get out for Kwanzaa break and Cinco de Mayo and the 16th of September become school holidays. I will take offense, but I will not be surprised.
(btw, before you get upset at me for defending Christian holidays and using the Catholic church as an example, I am not Catholic, and the denomination I am a member of meets on Sundays, no special days here.)
Apology accepted. You are a
Apology accepted. You are a great teacher, I can tell. Thanks for caring for your kids. It really makes a difference!
Thanks to you...
I appreciate that. But even more, I appreciate your willingness to be involved in the complicated dealings of DISD. I love to see a parent that really chooses to care about what happens not only to their children, but to other students as well. Parents like you are what will eventually help turn this place around.
I was wondering that myself.
I was offered the opportunity as a "woman owned business" to pay DISD to participate in the "health Fair" on that date. They are expressing the ongoing racist and prejudice against white males in every way posssible.
So not only are they hateful to my family because my child has a learning difference, so he is excluded from after school programs, my other child has high functioning autism, that the director of Speech and Occupational Therapy "has never seen or heard of a child like him", so he is not authorized to be that way, I understand we are not a protected group like the 95% of the school population call the "minority" and that fact of being a small group of people who have religious observances that are understood by all other persons outside of DISD, we are subjected to hate crimes similar to Nazi Protocol. I cannot sleep because I am so upset by the continued malice the DISD expressed this week in the 10 hours of ARD at our DISD school, that I requested 5 months ago, I had still trying to have my 5 year old serviced as required by law, to no avail. I know this rant is a bit incoherent and mispelled, and I am sure one of the official racist bigots will judge me on that, but honestly, I have decided to move to Flower Mound, where the law in enforced and the kids are educated and people HAVE CIVIL RIGHT AND LIBERTIES and people are normal and not paid to perpetrate acts of malice and evil just to cheat a kid with disability out of FAPE and ruin our society just because they can.
Diversity means you are suppose to learn Spanish and Ebonics, not enjoy latkes on Hanukkha. White Male need not apply.... and if you do, the Superintendent's kids have the only alloted help for people who do not qualify for free lunch. After all how else will there be diversity?
IT is not "white flight" it is WHITE PUSH and don't stop being a jerk until they really go. So Leigh Ann you have a real reason to be grateful. You will at least have a chance to be voted out fair and square, unlike the Due Process system, where the liars and cheaters are defended by 2 lawyers at the Taxpayer Expense.
Good Bye Dallas.....Good Bye CANA.....Hello Flower Mound, where the kids are safe from bullies on the school bus and the police answer home alarms when ADT calls! I will miss everyone at Dallas Academy too. But the only way to not be the victim of Vanessa Johnson and the evil central administration racists is to just move. PS I am serious! The End
Diversity?
Only one problem here...
Diversity does not mean that I must bad guyize the English language by speaking ebonics. Nor does it mean that I should learn a second language just because other people do. Diversity means that those differences exist. I accept diversity. I appreciate the cultural differences among my students. But I am not going to speak improper English just because my students don't hear it at home.
And your rant was quite long and incoherent. I am just not too sure what you meant by all of it.
I expected a teacher to judge that
Diversity means acceptance and tolerance. You are a young teach aand I have followed your debate. Let me tell you what I mean... well are you able to comprehend it? Most DISD employees do not. They think that it is about learning about the Latino and African American. They are not required to understand about any other culture. I mean there is a group of people who feel left out and abused specifically by DISD because the DISD is empowered to be racists and bigots and they are not following the Law but spend tax dollars to get away with breaking it and abusing people by not accepting cultural diversity.
We need to understand that some people follow religious observances that are as important as Christmas to Christians. How would you feel if you were required to attend work on Christmas? How would you feel if you were solicited to pay the DISD for the "opportunity" to service the staff on the most sacred holiday of the year in your culture, and the main reason you were solicited was due to your not being white and male? Yes the fair on September 28-29 is in conjunction with the Minorities and woman owned business/ whatever department. Sorry to be so vague, because I shredded the crap so I forget the exact verbage the legal department is allowed to use in order to practice the racism they may conduct on the "unprotected" white male. It seems the only white male to get a business contract with DISD is Jack Lowe.
Is that clear or do I need to break it down more? It is like your being judged as an alternative certified teacher, when you were not educated from your first day in college to be a "professional" teacher. You had to prove yourself. Why should white males need to be more judged or not accepted? How can the DISD be so insensitive about Jews and their culture?