Integrating An Inclusive Culture

Modern culture has brought progress to looming social issues that have lingered amongst the United States ofAmerica for decades, some centuries. Perhaps, the step towards common ground could take stride by sharing a time everyone holds fondly: the holiday season.

Christmas is emphasized inAmerican education as the primary celebrated holiday. However, an environment that treats every religious holiday with equal respect could help students become more cognizant of each other’s individual realities.

Bruce Vento Elementary School in St. Paul, Minnesota, proposed a solution to this issue, but rather to expose each pupil to their peer’s culture. The provided solution set to eradicate all holidays that were celebrated in school, including: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and even Valentine’s Day

This solution may treat all holidays equally, but Bruce Vento Elementary School subjecting the student body to ignorance obstructs an inclusive holiday environment. Furthermore, it erases the holiday culture altogether.

While most school environments are not as restrictive as Bruce Vento Elementary School, a lack of encouragement of a more inclusive holiday season can be equated to the ignorance placed upon the students at Bruce Vento Elementary School.

For true inclusive holiday conditions to occur, holidays that are rarely represented in schools need to be just tolerated, but celebrated. To open people’s minds to foreign experiences that will help us better recognize each other.

This step can be seemingly big or small, but all that is required is an effort for people to better understand one another.