🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023

Dear Principal Berkowitz,

I am writing to strenuously object to the decision that was just released, to prohibit Tu B’Shvat parties in our #school this year.

As a #teacher, I care for all of my students. I’m sure that you, like me, have many happy memories of #class Tu B'Shvat #parties from childhood.
1/10

Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023
As a kid I always anticipated eating fruits & nuts of the season, eagerly raising my hand when the teacher asked about the 4 types of symbolic fruits, exchanging fruit-flavored candy with friends, drinking red & white grape juice, planting a seed in a pot to bring home.
2/10
Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAll

I understand, of course that times change. We work harder to make the #classroom a #welcoming and #accommodating place for all students. We no longer have nuts in classroom celebrations. Vegan and gluten-free treats are available for children who need them.

And as a #TrueAlly to the Christian population of our school, of course I’m aware that not everyone celebrates Tu B'Shvat. Some people follow strict religions that require them to skip these kinds of #holidays.
3/10

Feb 6, 2023 at 5:01pmWeb
Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023

I always plan my Tu B'Shvat parties at the end of the school day, so that students who need to skip the party may go to the library or simply go home early.

I just can’t believe that you’d cancel the whole party based on a few #complaints from some #spoilsport #parents.
4/10

Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023
I’m sure that you remember as well as I do that, when we were schoolchildren, our Christian classmates celebrated Tu B'Shvat with everyone else. No one #complained about it back then, but suddenly now it’s a problem? There’s literally nothing #religious about it, it’s the new year of the trees! And since when are new years religious?!?
5/10
Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023
But somehow the woke mob has decided to punish the children of the school by prohibiting everyone from having a #fun #secular #celebration, just because a few Christians are somehow too frum to let their kids talk about the environment and eat some fruit for the afternoon.
6/10
Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023

What am I supposed to tell my students, who have been looking forward to this party for weeks?

What am I supposed to tell their parents, some of whom have surely already purchased Tu B'Shvat treats to contribute to the party?
7/10

Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023
I assume you will not object to the flowering almond tree craft project I have planned (I’ve already purchased the supplies!) or the class singing “I’m a Tree”, though I guess the #woke #mob won’t let us sing “Ha’shkedia porachat” because it mentions Tu B’Shvat in the lyrics, even though Tu B’Shvat is #literally #just #a #date #on #the #calendar.
8/10
Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023
I am sure you will hear similar feedback from other teachers and parents, and I ask you respectfully not to punish all of the children just because of a few #complainers.
9/10
Show thread🇺🇸 JewWhoHasItAllFeb 6, 2023

It’s not fair to punish all of the children just because a few parents want to take all the fun out of the classroom in the name of their fundamentalist religious beliefs. If they didn’t want fun secular holidays like Tu B’Shvat celebrated in the classroom they would not send their kids to #PublicSchool.

Sincerely,
Keren Ben-Ami

#MedinatAmerica
10/10