That's exactly the type of comment I would expect from you Irish. You've missed the point. I didn't say MY employer, I said employers I've had over the years......simply stated....not scheduling any school activities on ANY given 'religious' holiday/event/etc is ridiculous. Parents can decide whether or not a child attends something and which is more imporant.

Festuvus for the rest of us.

Okay, everybody ... time to play nice again.

chelleandlou: Just because YOUR employer doesn't give you certain days doesn't mean we all have that problem. You can stop ranting and flailing now.

Every place I have worked in the past 30 years did NOT excuse absences for Good Friday. The REASONABLE accommodation would be that if you so desire you may attend church services. Every business is different read your employee handbooks. I too think that if this is going to play into school calendars its time to increase the school year to 12 months so the kids can get all the 'breaks' and days off in that every one wants in there...while we're at it....lets not forget the 4-H kids...they need time off in July and August for County and State Fair.

Our entire Western society accomodates the Christian holiday calender. What days are observed as holidays in 99.9% of business calendars? Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King, Fourth of July, often Good Friday and a floater to be declared annually. School districts take it to a higher level by scheduling "Winter Break" at Christmas and "Spring Break" at Easter. We called them Christmas and Easter vacations in the olden heathen times of yore. So while the PC push in recent years has been to call these breaks by another name, indeed to avoid at all possible costs mentioning Christmas or Easter in any form whatsoever for fear of offending somebody, the vacation schedule in practice still allows the Christians to have two of their most holy times of the year off. I think Ms. Sellman is gently reminding schools that not everyone is Christian and, gee, by the way, wouldn't it be great if the activity schedule could avoid big events during other religion's High Holy Days as well.

We all have to make choices based on many criteria. If a big event consistently falls on a High Holy Day, each year a child of that faith will be forced to make a difficult choice. Children today have to make so many hard choices already, it seems a small kindness to remove this as one of them. This is not to say that every single event needs to avoid every Holy Day. As previously indicated in this discussion, that would be impossible. But the Big Events need to avoid the Big Holy Days, regardless of the origin of the Holy Day.

irishmafia: I believe you are 100% correct on this point.

joejack: You won't encounter a problem with the schools scheduling anything around Christain values because school isn't in session. They already give you that time off. With your line of thought, these other religions have only one choice, and that would be to skip the event! I don't think Sellman is pushing this to the extreme some people have taken this. Look at what Madison already does! Why would it be so hard to emulate what they have already done?

Off topic to meinelk: I actually debated the whole dinosaur thing with a person I used to work with. As far as his religion (some extreme Luthern) was concerned dinosaurs did not exist and the lie was fabricated by the evolutionists.

"Once you're out of school your employer will NOT excuse you from work for a religious holiday. "

Bull! Almost all the employers I've had -- save for the part-time retail jobs in highschool-- have allowed for religious holidays, try to work with you if you have special religious needs, or allow for the "usual religious holidays" off with pay (Good Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day).
Federal law requires an employer to “reasonably accommodate” an employee’s religious observances, practices and beliefs.

Here we go again...

At 1st thought I like the idea of a certain number of days off excused for personal choice.
However, I am curious what teachers think about it. I am guessing that on average anytime a student misses a day the teacher will put in an extra 5-10 minutes bringing that child up to speed again with explanations and homework that is out of sync.
150 to 200 students and 7-8 days per year and that adds up to quite a bit for the teacher.

How's this for REALITY.....
Once you're out of school your employer will NOT excuse you from work for a religious holiday. You can use your vacation time (if you have any) You'll get the same ones every one else does.....Schools should be NO different. I have NEVER in 30 years of being employed ever gotten Good Friday off. Christmas is the only religious holiday I have ever gotten off.

public schools are not religious schools. people that want their children to experience riligion at school should sent their children to a religious school.

If we continue to accommodate everyone's requests, what will be left? Mass chaos! I agree that Mrs. Sellman needs to teach her children to pick what is more important. There will be many conflicts in our lives and as we get older, people will be less accommodating. Mrs. Sellman is missing a chance to teach her children a valuable life lesson. When confronted with two paths to travel, which should you choose?

The gazette editor Mr. Angus, I bet is on the brink of a massive coronary because we have gotten off topic a little. Let me make the point I’m trying to make then answer a few things. Point, God has been eliminated from the public school system. My take from the article is that Mrs. Sellman is surprised/concerned when the school schedules events around religious holidays. Regardless of which religion at this moment. I don’t see how you can be offended by a godless/religion less scheduling conflict and not be concerned about Godless values, and Godless theories that are taught daily. This may come as a shock, but I am a Christian and if the schools were to schedule an event on Christmas or Easter, I would not get the school board involved, my child would not attended. It appears Mrs. Sellman can not explain to her children what they believe and why they can not attend events on certain days. It’s that simple. “Little Sue, Little Jim, I’m sorry but you can not go to the dance this weekend because we are celebrating such and such.” YOU CAN GO NEXT TIME!! I personally believe that Mrs. Sellman is wrong in the topic she is upset about. I know some of you don’t like this at all, but our country was founded on Christian principles. That is why Christianity is dominate on calendar events. I personally don’t believe that we have to accommodate everyone. I do believe that there are false religions in the world, and they don’t deserve the same attention. But we are definitely no longer a Christian dominated country and it is of no surprise to me what is happing.
I’m getting a little long winded so I need to wrap things up. I’m not afraid to talk about creation vs. evolution or a God who some think is responsible for everything that is wrong. So feel free to contact me by clicking on my name and sending me your questions. You pick the topic I’ll try to answer.

mein...., next time you meet someone who doubts the existence of dinosaurs, show them a picture of Tony Orlando.

I just have a question for people who believe solely in creationism and who don't believe that the Earth is billions of years old. Not an attack or accusation, but a question. Do you believe that dinosaurs existed? I ask because I met someone who does not believe dinosaurs ever roamed the Earth.

There was a time when creationists rejected the Theory of Evolution outright. Now the environment is making such demands that in order for creationists to survive (at least in a quasi-rational sense) they must rely on an hardwired ability to adapt -adapt by way of some semblance of reasoning:

So now, creationists concede that Evolution exists but at the same time claim that it is not continuous and that the occasional imposition of God is required to make it complete. This thinking is itself evidence of an intermediary state of adaption -similar to the evolution of one species into another species-: similar to the evolution of an adaptive feature like the eye which begins with the proto-eye that could detect light but could not yet see the finer details of that light's source.

I like the idea of not scheduling any holy days off and letting the people have a certain amount of days to use. Seven days may not be enough to use though since Chanukah lasts 8 nights, Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, lasts an entire month plus the celebration of Eid marking the end of the fast.. and Ramadan is a migrating holy time so its never on a set date.

I really don't think Janesville is tolerant enough to see past accomodating Christianity. There are people who believe that Muslims are dangerous people thanks to what is forcefed to us on the news, Pagans and Wiccans aren't taken seriously and I don't know how many times I've seen people claim Judaism or Kwanzaa to get off of work and *still* take the Christmas holiday as well.

How does the District plan to regulate this? How does the District plan to make up those days missed? How much is this going to cost the taxpayers?

joejack: What is wrong with diversity? Why can't people ask to be accommodated? I will agree that there has to be an end to it all but there needs to be some degree of flexibility.

joejack says: "Yet the same school system injects our children with the Godless made up theory of evolution." Please give me proof of creationism! Just as I and yourself could be proof of creationism we could also be proof of evolution! If there is a perfect God then why were such imperfect beings created?

We could carry on with this forever and no one would be right. As I said before you nor I can prove it either way.

The school system is going down the right path with this one. Maybe if everyone could give in to their idea's a little more, society would be more positive and less discriminating.

evansvillehousewife: I like your point ot view as well. Would you leave taking days off for religion up to the families, like mytake4u has suggested?

mytake4u. Good explanation. I guess my point went astray yesterday. I was only trying to say, give the days that are required by whatever religious affilition you are in. Although schools teach evolution they certainly do not trash talk creationism or God. Religion is not supposed to be talked about in schools because everyone may not have the same beliefs. I think trying to be accommodating to everyone is a good start. I like mytake4u's idea and not setting any particular day's off.

fldpan: Well you do seem to have a bit of knowledge but you also have a very narrowminded view. You nor I can explain with facts and certainty how we came about. I was only trying to debate because there were already a few strong comments posted about how there could be no other way than God. That cannot be proven! There is not one single person on this earth that can prove that! I will also say that evolution cannot be completely proven either. I obviously side towards evolution, but that does not mean that I don't believe in a "God". I think you should consider mytake4u's idea of how things went. It makes sense and accommodates both view points. I'm sorry that you can only see life in a biblical way.

evansvillehouse, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese who were brutally tortured and murdered outside the theater of war by fellow Vietnamese of the Communist Ho Chi Minh regime.

Time to go to a 12 month school calender. Then after everyone is accommodated with all the days off they may actually come close to the 180 days required.

fldpan states "Where is there any fact in creationism?, and then fails to show any facts.
There is no proof of god just as there is no proof of evolution.

Who wants to bet that if they did take up my suggestion, there would be alot of students claiming religion all of a sudden lolol

seabee and rocky have a fair solution. schedule no religous holidays off and let those needing off, take off for their observance. i think we and other animals and such were created by god. some were in a more primitive state and then evolved to enable survival. have they found skeletons of man in a more primitive state. and some animals too? does that sound like a possibility?

fldpan- I am curious as to the many different fossils of prehistoric man (Lucy as an example) that exist. Are they not transitory species?

WAIT!! There's a RELIGION test below!
NOW I can find a religion that will explain why a creator that is so perfect and infallilable can create millions of people whose entire lives conisist of suffering, starvation, and early death. Especially little Heathen Vietnamese children whose heavenly mission was to be napalmed to death as infants by Christians.
Are those babies in Heaven with Falwell? Is he happy about it?

So, no, public Government schools should plan around NO religion. Christianity and Pagan included. I find it oddly bizarre schools have Halloween, Valentines, and Christmas classroom observations.
Aren't Halloween and Xmas kind of contradictory?

It sounds like Sellman is asking for consideration of the holy days of other religions, not for a guarantee that there will never be a conflict between school activities and the holy days. Considering that Christian children are guaranteed certain holy days completely off and strong consideration for religious activities, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for that consideration for "minority" religions. It's certainly not going to hurt anyone and it might just allow more children to participate in school activities.

Now could you please provide me with a few examples of "proof of evolution" or any other THEORIES?
Where are the fossils to prove it? There are no fossils proving evolution.

Joejack, I agree with you 100%. Moco, how wrong you are. Schools teach Evolution, Darwinism, the Big Bang Theory, and tell us the Earth is millions of years old. All of which is untrue. "There are a lot of facts supporting evolution and very little supporting creationism." That also is untrue.
"Where is there any fact in creationism?"
One: The Big Bang is not testable, repeated laboratory science. It doesn't make specific predictions that are confirmed by observation and experimentation.
Two: Look up the "Baryon number problem".
Three: the Big Bang model itself can account for the existence of only the three lightest elements (hydrogen, helium, and trace amounts of lithium). This leave nearly 90 of the other naturally occurring elements to be explained. Since the conditions in the supposed big bang are not right to form these heavier elements (as big bang supporters readily concede), secular astronomers believe that stars have produced the remaining elements by nuclear fusion in their cores. This is thought to occur in the final stages of massive stars, as the stars explode (supernovae). These explosions then distribute the heavier elements into space. Second and third generation stars are thus "contaminated" with small amounts of these heavier elements.
If this story were true, then the first stars would be comprised of only the three lightest elements (since these would have been the only elements in existence initially). Some such stars should still be around today since their lifespans are computed to exceed the time that elapsed since the big bang. Such stars would be called "population III stars". Amazingly (to those who believe in the big bang), population III stars have never been found anywhere. All known stars have at least trace amounts of heavy elements in them. Out of over 100 billion, none have ever been discovered that is comprised of only the three lightest elements.
This is only three examples. I have hundreds more.
The creator himself has given written record. Sadly people are inclined to ignore what God has said, and rely on secular philosophy to explain what happened in the past. It contradicts recorded history and eyewitness testimony.

To MOCO428 and all who share his/her sentiments. The point I was trying to make is Mrs. Sellman has a problem with schools scheduling events around religious holidays. Yet the same school system injects our children with the Godless made up theory of evolution. But, because she can’t say no to her children, or at least explain why they have to miss one event, Mrs. Sellman, wants the school district to be more tolerant and better at diversity. Maybe the school wasn’t looking for a religious scheduling conflict because after all why should they? When you take God out of school, (Prayer, Ten Commandments, Creation) why would you expect the school to respect your holiday? I personally think she is fighting the wrong issue. And it should be of no surprise to her or anyone else of the conflict that exist
Off topic - MOCO428 if you have evidence for evolution you should really tell someone. Creation itself is proof of creation. Look outside you’ll see. You MOCO428 are living proof of creation.

How does the school decide which holidays count? Almost every day on the calendar is a "holy day" for some Christain Saint or another. St. Patrick's day could be considered a "religious' holiday under this policy. St. Valentine's Day. Catholics get The Assumption, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, The Ascention, The Immaculate Conception, Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday (get the idea...I could go on and on...)

There comes a point where the school just has to say "this is our schedue - if it conflicts with a major religous holiday, then you may be excused without penalty, but the event will go on as scheduled." They should also define what qualifies as a 'major' holiday. (Mr. Jones - I can't take the test today - it is the Feast of Steven!)

Also - Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday. It is an ethnic holiday. Better put Casmir Pulaski Day on the list if we are going to include those as well.

happycamper,

Kwanzaa isn't celebrated in Africa. It's a festival that was created by an American. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa

MOC0428,
The phrase "separation of church and state" doesn't appear anywhere in any founding document. The only place you're going to find it is in a PRIVATE letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists. The intent of the letter is a one-dimensional wall designed to keep government out of religion, not religion out of government.

joejack: I think you are going to the extremes on this one. I'm pretty sure the schools don't say "there is not God". There is this thing called seperation of church and state, so they can't teach it. That is the reason for private schools! Just because you believe that we were created does not mean everyone does. There are a lot of facts supporting evolution and very little supporting creationism. Where is there any fact in creationism? Talk about fairy tales! Sorry to get off topic but your views on religion are not everyones. I believe the schools stance is neutral on the matter. It is great that the schools are trying to accommodate our diverse society.

joejack, you put it all in a nutshell, how right you are

I say we include all religions and their holy days. That would fix our snow day make up problem. It should lighten the tax burden on the community and any further referendums for fixing up schools. Since they will only be in the class room for 5 days out of the year. Hey since its public school, were not allowed to talk about creation or intelligent design. Won’t this actually leave students asking questions that some believe teachers are not legally able to answer? For 180 days out of the year your children are being taught that nothing exploded 20 billions years ago, and we are all descendents of apes. Evolution however, is a fairy tail for grown ups, surviving only on tax dollars. I guess telling our children they are nothing but a bunch of animals is ok; just don’t schedule a dance on a Jewish holiday because heads will roll. My point being you will put your foot in the door when there’s a scheduling conflict with your “Day of Atonement”; but no out rage or disappointment in the school district when they tell your child there is no God. So why did you expect them to schedule around your “Day of Atonement”? I also think that all children should have to fast every Monday and Thursday of each week. All cafeteria’s will offer no food because Monday’s and Thursday’s are the Muslims voluntary day’s of fasting and we don’t want Muslim children to feel singled out if they want to observe the days.

Here is a solution.Schedule school with no off days for the holidays,and allow people to take like oh....7 days off a year,no questions asked for religious purposes.

Who determines what religions we include and what is religious? Our family loves to visit the museum of science and industry for the trees from around the world. A couple of years ago a sign at the "trees" entrance read: Kwanza is not a religious holiday, it is a harvest festival in Africa. Sorry for any misunderstanding. I was lead to believe Kwanza was a religion but, I would not question a museum.
Remember David Koresh and Jim Jones had religious groups. Some would question the religious views of Muslims. We need to proceed with caution.

Oops. Thanks for the help.

Scott Angus
Editor

Accommodating is misspelled in your title.