Principal bans Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Pledge of Allegiance
A Brooklyn school has received a "politically correct" makeover, the New York Post reports. Eujin Jaela Kim, the newest principal of PS 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, has banned The Pledge of Allegiance, replaced Thanksgiving with "Harvest festival," and changed Christmas parties to "winter celebrations."
"We definitely can't say Christmas, nothing with Christmas on it, nothing with Santa," PTA president Mimi Ferrer told the New York Post. "No angels. We can't even have a star because it can represent a religious system, like the Star of David."
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In a memo addressed to staff at the school, PS 169 business manager Johanna Bjorken clarified that Santa Claus is indeed banned: "In case you are wondering about grey areas: Santa Claus is considered an 'other religious figure.'" %shareLinks-quote="Be sensitive of the diversity of our families. Not all children celebrate the same holidays." type="quote" author="Jose Chaparro" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false"% Last month assistant principal Jose Chaparro suggested "harvest festival instead of Thanksgiving or a winter celebration instead of a Christmas party." and reminded staff to "be sensitive of the diversity of our families. Not all children celebrate the same holidays."
Ninety-five percent of the students at PS 169 are Asian or Hispanic.
Recently, the city Department of Education announced that holiday symbols including Christmas trees, kinaras, dreidels, menorahs and the Islamic star-and-crescent are permitted, but displays that "depict images of deities, religious figures or religious texts" are prohibited.
Kim did not respond to calls or e-mails from New York Post.
Last year, Tennessee passed a law allowing teachers to say "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukkah" without fear of consequence. Watch below:
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