To the Media:I am enclosing correspondence that I sent to District 150 asking for a clarification regarding the 2010-2011 calendar and the deletion of Christmas from it. Board member Jim Stowell says that the issue was addressed at the last board meeting and an apology made for the "oversight" of deleting Christmas. Yet I still receive calls and would like to know more myself.
Do any of you have any information which affirms that this issue was addressed and a public apology made or issued? I have received many calls regarding the issue and have nothing to point anyone to. I would prefer the District to make a public statement directly dealing with the issue. Please help if possible. Thanks.
The Letter
Hello,
Hope all is well with everyone.
I have received a number of calls regarding the 2010-2011 School calendar. The majority of the inquiry centers on the removal of any reference to Christmas on the calendar while simultaneously and plainly outlining Ramadan, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah which are all non-Christian holidays.
In fact after doing a review of the calendar there are 11 references to Jewish holidays, festivals and celebrations, 1 African that lasts a week, 1 Islamic that lasts almost a month, 1 Latin, and 2, Christian - protestant (Easter & Palm Sunday) and 4 Catholic (Ash Wed., All Saint's Day, Valentines Day, & St. Patrick's Day) and recognition of Thanksgiving and Halloween.
Does anyone have any idea and or reason why Christmas was deleted from your calendar and replaced by simply saying "Holiday" and "Winter Vacation"? I believe this should be addressed as the "Christ" in Christmas is not a criminal and as it represents Christianity, is as valid of a holiday to be recognized as any of the ones that the designers of the calendar thought to insert.
A public response regarding this issue is in order and will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Pastor Harvey Burnett
(309)688-6599ofc
15 comments:
Will Pastor Burnett be apologizing for being getting his Catholic holidays wrong?
Pastor Burnett, I was at the meeting and attended the Committee of the Whole meeting this Monday--the "Christmas" issue was discussed. Monday night Dr. Lathan said something to the effect that Christmas will be celebrated on the 25th. All I have heard is an admission that a mistake was made--I'm not even sure it was called an error. It was more just an acknowledgement that she knew about it. I have not heard an apology or an explanation. We had lengthy discussions about this "error" when C.J. wrote a post about it. I ended up believing that it was probably an honest mistake, etc. However, I do not understand why no explanation has not been offered. I think we should be told how National Children's Day came to replace Christmas on the calendar. There does not seem to be a logical explanation.
The same is true of the June 4 entry that states that graduation will be at the Civic Center. The printing company did not make the error.
My own opinion is that the district needs to be willing to offer explanations for both of these errors--they have to do more than just laugh about the error (which is what I heard) and to recognize that people have a right to be sensitive about the Christmas issue.
Thanks Pastor Burnett!
I love how Easter and Palm Sunday are "Christian" but somehow separated by the good Pastor from those "Catholic" holidays. I would also note that many, if not most, Protestant denominations celebrate Ash Wednesday, and I imagine some recognize All Saints in some fashion. (My Lutheran church does.) And St. Patrick's and (St.) Valentine's Day are hardly Catholic holidays. They are so only insofar as they fall on ancient Catholic saint feast days. It isn't like Ascension or Assumption is listed on the calendar.
Sharon -- what is the difference between a mistake and an error. Some ****ed up. I doubt it was intentional or else they'd have left Easter off, too.
Making mountains out of where not even a mole hill exists....
Sud O--that doesn't explain the June 4 error--that one bothers me more. I just think that District 150 personnel have skirted both issues. It simply wouldn't hurt them to give an explanation for why Christmas was left off the calender. I spent many words on C.J's blog to explain why we shouldn't make mountains out of mole hills. That said, the district should bend over backwards to give a plausible explanation. I agree Christmas was a mistake; I don't think the June 4 entry was a mistake--until after they began to hear the outcries about the lack of a vote, etc.
I assume most people reading this are familiar with computers. They make a lot of hard things easy, but they also make a lot of easy things hard, like putting together a calendar like this free of errors.
What explanation can be offered other than "someone made a mistake"? They didn't notice it in time to stop the printing, so it's unlikely they would remember who made a mistake and how when they didn't know they made in the first place.
Anyone who seriously thinks this is a slight at Christmas or Christians or Christ is just looking for offense where none is conceivable, and they need to start following Christ's example and give others the benefit of the doubt.
Sud O. Nym and Anonymous #3 hit the nails on their heads.
The pastor shows his own anti-Catholic bias by declaring Catholics as non-Christian. What a bigot!!
And the bottom line is well summed up in Anonymous #3's last paragraph.
Sharon, I've explained this so many times in so many places I just assumed everyone had seen the explanation by now, but here it is anyway; I apologize for not having it out there more publicly, it was a sort-of hectic few days when it first caught people's notice and I sent SO MANY E-MAILS I lost track:
The calendar was put together in Excel. Excel has an overenthusiastic autocomplete feature. National Children's Day is in October. The next holiday with a "Ch" is Christmas. Whoever was typing the calendar typed "Ch" and let it autocomplete; the calendar pulled the most recent entry featuring a "Ch" which was "National Children's Day." The typist didn't notice and nobody caught it later.
Sometimes Excel autocompletes even when you don't want it to, and for people who don't use the program often it can be confusing how to get it to stop autocompleting or how to navigate away from a box without "accepting" in the input or whatever.
It was a stupid error, but an unintentional and fairly harmless one.
Laura, I had heard that explanation but I didn't know how the computer made the leap from "Christman" to "National." However, I have assumed that the error came about in some way due to technology.
However, you have explained how June 4 at the Civic Center came to be on the calendar. At least, I have believed others who say that's what's on the calendar. If so, that "error" is probably not due to technology. Also, you are gracious enought to provide explanations, but that is not your obligation. To my knowledge, no one has explained either error officially at a board meeting--just acknowledged the error (which is not the same as explaining).
Sharon: Really. Laura offers info and you say thanks but no thanks?
Personally, I appreciate the explanation. The error does not make or break my day one way or the other, but I was curious about how it happened. Thanks Laura.
Sometimes it seems that the people who consistently question the BOE are more interested in publicly humiliating them, than they are in resolving issues or getting answers to questions. It is pretty close to bullying.
FLASH! Christmas is on the 25th of December this year. Celebrate it or not. Otherwise get over it.
Emerge, I did not say "thanks but no thanks"--not even implied. I said it is gracious of Laura to offer the explanation. I simply stated that, justified or not, there were a sufficient number of people upset by the error that the administration should have offered a formal explanation and/or apology. After all, you are the one who posted the pastor's complaint. The district just needs to be a bit more sensitive to issues that upset people. I don't happen to be one of the people upset by that error. However, I still haven't heard a satisfactory explanation as to how the June 4 "error" occurred.
Please, Emerge, "public humiliation" to question the "Christmas" error--again, you printed the pastor's complaint; therefore, aren't you contributing the the public humiliation? That's a bit dramatic, isn't it? Didn't you question why District 150 listens only to Richwoods' parents? Are you interested in humilating the district by calling attention to the district's ignoring the other schools?
Frankly, why would district 150 list any religious holidays? The only thing that should be listed on this calender is the turning of the seasons, Thanksgiving, Labor Day and Memorial Day. All others are religious holidays and should be seperated. Does the constitution mean nothing?
Hello,
They (some of the board members) explained what happened quite well and the news was very responsive to my inquiry. All have affirmed that the oversight was just that.
SO far as my Catholic "bias"...yea right...when the Pope calls non-Cathiolic's authentic Christians and non-Catholic churches such as mine, actual churches with an authentic right of communion... then come back and see me about that biases...Need I point out the recent Missive in which the pontiff demotes all non-Catholics to inauthenticity and heresy???
Please, spare me.
I've got many good Catolic friends who are on their way to heaven along with me. I never celebrate Ash Wed. and or All Saints Day and noone in my circle of over 30 years does or has, at least those that are non Catholic...so what can I say? I guess we are a diverse bunch???
Sorry for all the misspelled words. I guess I have a spelling bias too...
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