Huckleberries Online

Girl Can’t Sing ‘Christmas’, Dad Mad

Posted by DFO

Dec. 17, 2009 3:36 p.m. • 11 comments

A Treasure Valley man is upset because he says his daughter’s charter school has banned her from using the word “Christmas” in the school talent show. Michael Worth says his daughter attends the Garden City Community School, which is a public charter school. Worth says his daughter wanted to sing Alvin and the Chipmunks’ “Christmas Don’t Be Late” in Wednesday’s talent show. But he says the school asked her to substitute “Christmas” with “Holiday”. “I think it’s a First Amendment right to sing that song, it’s not offensive, it’s not inappropriate, it’s a Christmas song,” Worth said. Cindy Hoovel, the school’s director, says charter schools are having to be cautious about the separation of church and state laws following issues with the Nampa Classical Academy/KBCI. More here.

Question: Does the father in this situation have a legitimate beef?

11 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

moscow_minidoka on December 17 at 3:46 p.m.
As usual with these ridiculous “War on Christmas” baloney stories, I suspect there is more to the story than what the Boise TV station is reporting.
JamesBond on December 17 at 3:53 p.m.
Geez, at our Christmas program at a regular Boise public school, they had all kinds of songs about Christmas, Jesus, and whatnot.

These charter schools are nothing but controversy. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
Charles_Dixon on December 17 at 4:03 p.m.
At one point my son attended a public elementary school in Boise’s North End. The holiday music program one year was billed as having a “holidays around the world” theme. There were Hanukkah songs, Kwanzaa songs, songs about some Scandinavian ice holiday, and other holidays I’d never heard of. In fact, the only winter holiday for which there were no songs on the program was Christmas. Not even secular songs like Jingle Bells or Frosty the Snowman. Nothing.
It didn’t cause me to file a complaint with the school district or write a letter to the editor. I just thought it was interesting that some people (i.e. that school’s music director) can go through the holiday season and not even think Christmas has a part in it. It’s not as if this was a separation of church and state issue, either. If that was the case then there wouldn’t have been any Hanukkah songs or other religious music. It was only Christmas that was left out.

The fact is that the majority of Americans will celebrate the Christian holiday of Christmas on December 25th this year. Whether those Americans or any others think Christmas has a place in publicly recognized celebrations is up to them, I guess. If the charter school in this story won’t recognize it and the parents don’t like it they can put their kids back in the normal public schools. This year I watched a public elementary school in Boise put on a program with lots of Christmas songs. It was great.
JamesBond on December 17 at 4:10 p.m.
I don’t have problem with diversity, but I just don’t think we should be singing about false religions and gods.
simpleton on December 17 at 4:20 p.m.
@ JamesBond

I presume when you mention false gods your are referring to Santa?
Sisyphus on December 17 at 4:21 p.m.
“I just don’t think we should be singing about false religions and gods.”—WTF? I can’t tell if that’s another example of your dry wit.
ejs on December 17 at 4:40 p.m.
I agree these charter schools get too big for their britches sometimes
LukeB on December 17 at 4:45 p.m.
That’s pretty ridiculous.
MamaJD on December 17 at 5:07 p.m.
That girl should claim the lyrics as “literature.” That would create the loophole wouldn’t it? ;)
spokelooneh on December 17 at 5:13 p.m.
I LOATHE the chipmunks, so there’s that, but having suffered through watching the damn annoying thing, and reading the lyrics, seems like it’s totally secular to me, and materialistic.

Agree with MM, however, could be something more going on here…

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.