At Brandeis Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky a
teacher asked her students to make a Christmas tree out of paper; it
was put on her bulletin board. But when a Jewish teacher said she was
offended, she complained to the principal, Shervita West-Jordan, and
got her wish. According to a news report, “She, and the teacher who
complained, were bothered by the fact that the tree was made up of
hands which represented all the students in the class.”
Both the teacher and the principal were angry over the
words, “Santa’s Helpers,” that were placed over the tree. “Of course,
the children in her classroom that were Indian and Muslim probably did
not believe in Santa Claus,” Jordan said. They were not “Santa’s
Helpers” she insisted. She said the tree could stay but the words had
to go. She suggested “Holiday Helpers” or “Winter Helpers,” because
that would “make it a little more inclusive.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented as
follows:
“Instead of instructing the teacher who was offended on
her need to practice tolerance, the principal rewarded her for her
intolerance. That’s because she’s cut from the same cloth. We have
entered a new day when those on the public payroll are spending their
time worrying if some non-Christian kid’s hands helped to make a
secular symbol. Their selective interest in inclusion, which just
happens to bud every December—and just for Christmas—is nothing but a
ruse to disguise their bigotry.
“This smacks
of the kind of totalitarian mindset that defines multiculturalism, and
which has unfortunately penetrated education from K-graduate school.
Instead of telling some children they can’t put their hands on a
Christmas tree, educators would do well to adopt a hands-off policy
and let kids be kids.”
Kiera M. McCaffrey is the Director of Communications for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
