Education
Education

Christmas classroom lessons stir debate

Sophia Academy students in grades K-11 took the stage in 2014 for a Christmas concert and play written and directed by Director of Religious Education Anne Boshinski. Many schools conduct Christmas plays. State school board members voted on June 10, 2016 to add Christmas to kindergarten social studies standards. PHOTO HANDOUT
Sophia Academy students in grades K-11 took the stage in 2014 for a Christmas concert and play written and directed by Director of Religious Education Anne Boshinski. Many schools conduct Christmas plays. State school board members voted on June 10, 2016 to add Christmas to kindergarten social studies standards. PHOTO HANDOUT
By
June 10, 2016

State school board members voted Thursday on new social studies standards for public school students, but one addition has raised a concern for some educators — how do you teach kindergarten students about Christmas?

The Georgia Council for the Social Studies, an advocacy group for educators who teach the subject, raised its concerns earlier this year and at a public hearing Thursday.

“How do you teach that so (kindergarten students) understand it?,” Eddie Bennett, a retired social studies teacher and the council’s executive director, said in a telephone interview.

State education officials want kindergarten students to learn about all 10 federal holidays. Christmas is the only religious holiday of the 10.

To read more about the issue, click here.

About the Author

Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.

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