For Some Students in the South, a King Day Lacking That ‘Holiday’ Feature

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

ATLANTA — Put yourself in the shoes of Michael Murray, the associate superintendent of a small school district in the North Carolina foothills.

He has to provide 180 days of education for his 6,000 students by June 10. This past week of unusually brutal ice and snow in the South put the district behind schedule, and he suspects that more snow days are coming.

By state law, the only holiday he cannot cancel is Veterans Day. His solution? Make children go to school on Monday, the day when most of the nation’s schools are closed to observe Martin Luther King’s Birthday.

In the South, where establishing an official holiday for Dr. King was long in coming, that kind of move can be particularly controversial. But administrators in a handful of districts in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina say they have no choice.

That is not going over well with some parents and politicians.

“It always seems like Martin Luther King day is the first one they are willing to give up,” said Dot Scott, president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton have also weighed in. “We’re urging people to keep their kids home,” Mr. Sharpton said. “It’s un-American not to observe the holiday.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/us/15mlk.html

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Maybe it doesn't occur to them that the teachers could at least discuss MLK and the Civil Rights movement if in session that day.

[pacalo]

1. The school year should be extended to make up the lost days.

That's how we do it in my area of the South whenever extreme weather closes schools during the year.

[Exultant Democracy]

20. The school year should just be extended, snow days or not.

[Akoto]

21. Kids need time to be kids, and ...

Speaking from experience, school can be utter Hell for some of them, such that those summer months are an entirely too short respite.

[alp227]

26. then the June 10 deadline mentioned should be extended n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. This goes a long way toward that climate of civility we are hearing about

:sarcasm:

[Hugabear]

3. Bigoted fucks

They fought tooth and nail against Martin Luther King Day, so is it a coincidence that the first chance they get, they do something like this?

[Tunkamerica]

5. yeah, that's the only possible explanation

[beyurslf]

4. We always have a few days built in for closings. If we go over, they add days

at the end.

[tavalon]

14. Same here

No thought to taking away Dr. King's Day.

[Denninmi]

6. In Michigan, snow days are made up at the end of the school year.

I've known some schools to be in session into late June after particularly bad winters.

Why can't the same be done by these districts.

180 days by June 10th -- well, that's a purely artificial and arbitrary deadline -- what happens on June 11th, do the kids turn into birds and migrate for the summer or something?

[Kolesar]

7. the school bus turns into a pumpkin

and I still can't find a girl to fit this shoe.

[47of74]

25. When I was in school

The district I went to school in had a few snow days built in around Easter along with a couple here and there in the 2nd half of the year. And if we used those up then we went at the end of the year. We never had it go too far out into June while I was in school. My senior year was one year where we had to go extra days at the end of the year and it caused some problems with the graduation schedule - fortunately they were able to get the changes communicated to the printer in time so the announcements had the correct date.

[Mnemosyne]

8. NW PA here, school open Mon. for snow make-up. disgusting. n/t

[The Straight Story]

9. It is probably the first to go because it is the first one of the year

and coming on the heels of a recent 2 week winter vacation.

[No Elephants]

16. Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket!

[FLPanhandle]

17. Stop being logical in the face of a good ol' emontional outrage

BTW, where's the outrage at Columbus Day and Presidents Day being canceled?

[McCamy Taylor]

10. I agree with Jackson and Sharpton. The civil rights struggle is not even over yet.

Too many places still have ways to suppress minority voting. And now, they want to marginalize MLK.

Give every American an equal right to have their vote cast---and recorded---and then maybe they can consign MLK to the history books. Right now, he is still alive in America's heart.

[timo]

11. south Texas

we NEVER get mlk day off, but our schools do a bang up job of celebrating 16th of september and cinco de mayo.

[martymar64]

19. I can see that for Cinco De Mayo. Ignacio Zaragoza was born in Goliad.

For those that don't know, Zaragoza was the General commanding the Mexican Army with they defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla. He was a native Texan and many people, including some elected officials here in Tejas are proud to claim him as such.

In the scheme of Texas holidays, it is very important, along with Juneteenth. MLK Day is also of great importance to me and extremely relevant.

Columbus Day? That is more proper as a day of mourning for the destruction of Native American society. The main people in this country that still really celebrate it today are Italian Americans.

[Jennicut]

12. Is the south not used to adding on snow days at the end of the year? In Connecticut, we have been

doing it since at least my parents were kids and they are 63 now! We always go past the last day of school because we always get snow (and we were bombarded here with a state record snowfall last week).

[FLPanhandle]

15. In Florida we add on hurricane days to the end of the year.

Some years it adds up.

[PassingFair]

13. I dropped of some drycleaning yesterday, and the clerk asked if Monday...

was OK for pick-up.

I said "Fine, if you're open."

He looked at me conspiratorially and
said in a whisper "We don't close...we've only got one
black working here...."

I said "Well, I'm sure we ALL appreciate
civil rights."

This guy thinks MLK Day is a holiday for blacks.

By the way, I live in Michigan, and my
daughter's high school is NOT closed on Monday either.

[groundloop]

18. At least our red county in Georgia is still observing MLK day

Our county in Georgia used up all the alloted "weather days" at the start of the school year as furlough days. (In other words they usually schedule 5 more days of school than the minimum, but not this year). Our school superintendent just sent out an email indicating that the scheduled week off in February is being canceled as well as a teacher work day in March. Thankfully it seems they never even considered having school on MLK day. Now it would be nice if my employer would recognize the holiday.

As for getting the school days in now and not at the end of the year our superintendent's letter said they wanted to have the school days before some testing which has to happen in May.

[pettypace]

22. It's un-american not to observe MLK day???

Jesus fucking christ.

[NashVegas]

23. This African-American Atlanta Woman Disagrees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N1Im1xbjWQ

Frigging hysterical forecast!

"Officials have the audacity to be upset the schools may be open Monday, MLK day. ... You had a whole Martin Luther King WEEK! ... You ain't gonna do nothing Monday but have a cookout anyhow!"

[JI7]

27. hahha, so true about some of these holidays, especially Memorial Day which is about BBQ

beach, parks etc rather than honoring those who died serving the country.

[fishwax]

24. one year when I was in elementary school we had to go to school on a Saturday for a snow day

:kick:

[Dappleganger]

28. My husband is delighted that they honor MLK day at his new job.

This is the first one who ever closed down and gave a paid day of vacation from what we can remember. There are quite a few African-Americans in his manufacturing plant so I am happy they choose to honor Dr. King this way.