A Christmas controversy has erupted in a high school in Maine after the principal ordered a long-serving maths teacher to remove her pink Hello Kitty Christmas tree.
Catherine Gordon aired her anger on Facebook, complaining about the order from on high despite the fact she has been decorating her classroom for 30 years.
“The tree had no religious symbols on it whatsoever. No crosses or angels — just pink Hello Kitties and my students really enjoyed it and it cheered me up during the day,” she wrote.
“I feel that this is definitely a turning point in our society — when everything offends everyone all the time — it just sucks the joy out of everything.”
Facebook/Catherine GordonA teary Ms Gordon told a local news station that the principal had thought the tree “favoured one religion over another and that it was not appropriate”.
The teacher said once upon a time she celebrated with her class with a big, green Christmas tree and a holiday party.
“I understand that the administration is in a very difficult position. No matter what they do, someone is going to complain and I think that they do the best they can, but it just seems that in our quest to be tolerant of everything, we’ve become intolerant of everything,” Ms Gordon said.
Bangor Daily News reports that the school issued a statement saying it educated students about cultural traditions and holidays through “curriculum ties” and was focussed on academic excellence.
“Our focus is educating students to become global citizens with the necessary 21st century skills for college and career readiness for their future success,” the statement read.
And clearly that doesn’t involve Hello Kitty.
Watch Ms Gordon’s interview here:
Top Comments
It's a pity the school couldn't work out a way to let the kids to have some seasonal fun.
It makes me think of Bastille Day: In High School, French language students would learn the history and traditions of Bastille Day, and they'd do French stuff, including holding a crepe stall that raised money for charity. It wasn't revolutionary propaganda, it was learning about a culture, and it was tasty. It's a shame that religion is such a touchy issue because, so long as a school doesn't proselytise or favour any belief, I think it'd be great if kids learned about all kinds of different cultures in the manner of the Bastille Day example.
I agree with this teacher's sentiments. Because of a few, the many can't celebrate. These days, in Australia at least, most of the decorations are secular and the majority of modern Christmas songs are too (All I Want for Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, etc.). It's possible to have a Christmas that isn't tied to religion at all.