Religious holidays are events students and teachers want to celebrate, but it is hard when other things get in their way, such as school or work.
Two religions, Islam and Judaism, have a large number of students and teachers who have to choose between celebrating religious holidays and school.
Alyce Zottoli, Jewish AP World History teacher, faces these problems of having to miss work for her own religious holidays every year.
“I feel torn; I don’t feel like I can be present for either group,” Zottoli said.
In order to fully participate in her religion, Zottoli must prepare ahead for her students so that they don’t fall behind.
“For AP, we move at a really fast pace. I need to be present with [my students] as much as possible. And to take that time off, it always creates a little bit of chaos,” Zottoli said.
Some teachers use their personal days to celebrate their religious holidays. Ramy Yousef, a math teacher, shares the same feelings Zottoli has about missing work.
“It’s just always a struggle, because you know, other religions, their holidays are recognized, so they automatically get the day off, but I had to miss class a lot… and you know that can put a student behind,” Yousef said.
Teachers taking the time off for their religions also affects the student in their classes. However, many teachers are accepting of religious absences and have allowed students, like sophomore Milo Krain, to make up the work.
“A couple weeks ago, I missed school for Rosh Hashanah, which is a Jewish new year, and I missed like two tests, but the teachers let me have extra time to study and make them up,” Krain said. “They were super understanding,… and it really helps me feel in touch with my Jewish identity.”
Although teachers are understanding of the absences, there is still a struggle with keeping up with classwork.
“It can be kind of difficult because you can miss work or lessons,” Krain said.
Whether you’re a student or a teacher, there are still obstacles when trying to balance school-life and religious identity.
“I love being a teacher. I love working at Central, but it feels unfair that I have to make that kind of choice,” said Zottoli.
