When it comes to my earliest memories in school, I clearly remember that we celebrated all essential holidays. All major holidays, such as Christmas, New Year, Good Friday, Easter, and Independence Day, were properly celebrated. In the case of my family’s cultural beliefs, I have never had a conflict with my family. The main reason is the fact that they were Catholic, whereas my school was a nun school.
During my early days at school, I remember that every holiday was treated as a separate occasion unattached to its cultural or religious roots. Although some were used to contemplating their significance in these contexts, they were mostly treated as mere holidays. In other words, each holiday was mainly a reason to celebrate positivity and unity. Both my family and school had no interest in divisiveness or negative aspects of such events.
Designing a holiday policy needs to be done with a well-defined goal with an emphasis on inclusivity. For example, it is important to create a clear guideline and know what involved parties want the most (Kindred Team, 2021). Holidays need to be inclusive in schools, which is why families, students, cultural backgrounds, and resources need to be accounted for to ensure the creation of a welcoming environment (Kusters et al., 2021). If a holiday has a religious significance, the relevant accommodations should be made for such groups (Ferguson, 2019). Therefore, it is evident that writing a holiday policy for a school is a complex and intricate task that needs to be approached carefully in an organized manner. Holidays are not mere causes of celebration since they also have underlying importance, which needs to be respected and be a part of the core inclusive environment.
References
Ferguson, G. (2019). How to build a successful holiday pay policy. Web.
Kindred Team. (2021). Creating inclusive holiday policies to provide workplace balance. Kindred. Web.
Kusters, A., De Meulder, M., & Napier, J. (2021). Family language policy on holiday: Four multilingual signing and speaking families travelling together. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 42(8), 1-18. Web.