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Muslim advocates: Close schools on holidays
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Advocates are calling on Baltimore County to close schools during Muslim religious holidays.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Baltimore County Muslim advocates continued their call for schools to close on at least one Islamic holiday during the 2008-09 school year as Superintendent Joe Hairston presented his proposed calendar Tuesday.
Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, has argued that the Islamic holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha should be treated the same as the two Jewish holidays the schools are closed for, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.
School board members say the decision made in the 1990s to close school for the Jewish holidays was necessary because too many students and teachers were absent, and state law allows them to close schools only for operational reasons.
“It’s not that we don’t respect their religion,” Baltimore County School Board president Don Arnold said.
The Baltimore County School Board will host a second reading of the proposed calendar on May 22.
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Examiner Reader said:
It's sad to take the children's school away and replace them with facilities that process them for jail. Maybe the new administration feels the need for more police facilities than places of learning. What a sad future for the children of our city.
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This is a smart idea but we should listen to them i personally think it is smart to put major religons holidays on the calendar
56 agree | 47 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
americans - be warned! here in europe, you see the islamisation of our countrys day by day. the moslims are the fastest growing migrant group. in ~40 years europe will be a muslim country, if no one stops the migrants or kick them out of our countrys. you have to be aware whats going on. everywhere, in every western country were moslem migrants are growing, they WILL be occupants, they come to occupy our countrys via the wombs of their women, this ist the message they hear from the koran: to occupy every country and to bring the whole world under the dominance of islam. the meaning of islams "peace" is the fact that it is only peace, when islam is dominance the world and all other religions are whiped out or under the control and pressure of islam. islam, in fact, is an much, very much bigger threat as hitlers nazigermany ever was.
144 agree | 136 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Any person that come over to this country should know that they need to adjust to our customs and ways. This country was founded on Christianity which I am sure is not a secret to foreign countires. Either adjust to our way of living or leave.
161 agree | 113 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Who cares about religion? I do not concider Christmas a religious holiday. I would say that 98% of people celebrate the christmas and new year holiday in one form or another. If the muslims want out of school for their holidays then don't send your children to school that day. We can't have every religious group demanding special holidays. Let the children learn in peace!
143 agree | 153 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The argument that a particular county has a "HUGE" jewish population does not fly. Prince George's County, which at one time may have had a substantial Jewish population, now has a substantial Muslim population. As a former PGCPS teacher, I would argue that many of my muslim students would be absent on their major holidays. Is it not convenient that winter break covers Christmas and spring break covers Easter? Where is the equity.
139 agree | 116 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This could be the start of more religions wanting holidays. Learning should be the first priority, have school and teach about this religion. Maybe we should start closing businesses for all these holidays. All children need to go to school and learn. This would just be another two days for 90% of the kids to sit home and watch television.
160 agree | 141 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
My understanding is that the reason schools were closed on Jewish holidays was not for students -- it was because enough teachers (who were Jewish) would take off for those days that the school system would have trouble finding enough substitutes to teach classes.
145 agree | 92 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Why can't kids go to school from the day after Labor day until the day Friday before Memorial Day and cut all these "religious" holidays. A break in the winter is fine, but cut out all the other "official" holidays. Kids need to be in school to learn, not take vacations.
135 agree | 110 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
What Muslim's don't get is that Baltimore County has a HUGE Jewish community, and the only reason the schools are closed is because there would be no one in school on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur if schools were to be opened. Conversely, only a handful of people are absent on Muslim holidays.
138 agree | 120 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
These breaks are as much for teacher sanity as it is a break for the students. The breaks are just right, but the students should get out a week earlier in June.
152 agree | 143 disagree
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Father of two Balt. Co. students said:
Another holiday to the current schedule will extend the school year even further into the summer. Already Baltimore County is one of the first school systems back in August and the last to let out in June. Revise the entire schedule; shorten Christmas holiday and spring break to only a couple days, recognize other religious holidays and on those days, have the teacher conferences. Lets let these kids out of school to enjoy a real summer break since as it is there is only one full month for the parents to schedule vacations. Understanding however, there are usually two wotrking parents and there are hardships when school is out, but they knew their kids had to attend school before having kids and therefore should have planned this before even having a family.
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