
Their is a difference between respecting others beliefs then having to accept those beliefs as your own. There has been a discussion in NYC public schools about adding Islamic holidays as days off for the school calendar. If we continue to cancel school for different religions children will eventually start their own religion that has holidays Mon-Friday from 7:30-4:30 PM (a bit of an exaggeration) but I think you know where I’m going. Yet how do we insure that we don’t trample on others faith without pushing that observance on others that don’t belief.
(1) Start each school day with information on a holiday or special occasion that might occur on that day.
(2) Allow students who celebrate such a holiday the day off without any penalty. If they had a test or homework assigned for that day give them extra days to make it up.
(3) Insure that all students not only respect each others faiths but also understand the basics of these faiths.