Let’s be honest about why we take them, but if the day is not listed a a district-wide day off, then mark it as it is — an absence.

queuno–at least around here, there are pretty much no absentee policies anymore. When I was in school, people might have failed the year or had to take summer school if they missed a certain number of days. Now, it is totally in the parent’s hands–school districts don’t want to waste time and money in court fighting parents about whether or not Carla can pass on to Ninth Grade. Kids really aren’t held back anymore, even for academic reasons, unless the parents want that. In high school, you do have to at least pass specific classes to progress and graduate, but grades cannot be tied to attendance.

Attendance is now taken for money reasons only–the school gets x amount of state and federal money depending on attendance. Kids who are absent for school trips or religious observance are not counted against us (the school). Kids who are absent for illness, vacation, or parent’s whatever, are.

We are also encouraged not to give big tests on days that kids will be absent for religious reasons. Make-up tests are headache for teachers anyway, so they would rather avoid that nuisance.

Around here the kids get two days off for “teacher preparation” when everyone knows it’s really so they can go hunting. Crazy.

When I was growing up in the DC area, the Jewish holidays were excused absences for the Jewish kids in the school — a fact that made every child want to be Jewish, seriously. In the school district I’m in now, they’re actual holidays. I like the arrangement where they’re excused absences much better, because there are so many holidays now that the school year doesn’t end until mid-to-late June.

I agree with you that we should be honest about why we take days off for school. Our school calendar says that today is Yom Kupper, but calls the late-December break “Winter Break.” I understand that a predominantly Christian society should strive to compensate for the subjugating impact that a Christian-saturated culture can have upon the non-Christians living among them. Even so, Jews know why they typically eat Chinese takeout on Dec 25th (even when they don’t, that seems to be a common joke). Does it really help them to refer to this as a “holiday predicament” rather than a “Christmas predicament”?

Ah, but there are national holidays, Peter–days that the federal courts and other offices are closed, mail is not delivered, and most federal employees have the day off. But the fact that those are federal holidays doesn’t mean that anybody else (including any state government) is required to shut down.

And that list of national holidays includes Christmas Day.

I’m glad that my employer gives us an entire week off for the BtASFtCaRtBoTLaSCJ.

Yeah, Utah has hunting vacation and also UEA vacation in October. It’s Disneyland time!