Winter break, spring break, Thanksgiving break, and summer break are common breaks in California and by law, schools are required to have them off, according to the California Department of Education. The school districts decide the school calendars and make the final decision on what other holidays students will observe, ones that are not a state requirement.
To a lot of students, holidays are often time to spend with family and friends, and using their time to relax. To other students, certain holidays commemorate not only their family and friends, but important American leaders who have made an important impact while they were still alive.
Days like Veterans day and Memorial day are important holidays to the United States. This gives everyone a time to remember the men and women who served America. Often people do different activities with their family even if they don’t come from a military background.
Those holidays are all required for students to have because the United States values them which calls to question why only certain holidays that fit this criteria are validated. Cesar Chavez Day, for instance, is a holiday that schools observe to give students the day off. It is up to the district. Celebrating Mexican-American Cesar Chavez, an activist and a nonviolent protest leader for Mexican-Americans. In California, Cesar Chavez day is celebrated and all state offices are closed, but it does not include schools.
“I think it’s important to celebrate Cesar Chavez day and just really remember what it represents for labor in the hispanic community,” said senior Juliette Preciado.
It’s important to celebrate every holiday, they hold great value to communities of people. Different holidays are significant to different ethnicities, celebrating what is important to their culture and uniting what makes these communities of people similar. California is a region that is heavily populated by Mexican-Americans who are directly impacted by what Cesar Chavez fought for. Cesar Chavez day is to remember an activist that affected the labor that Mexican-Americans were doing. It’s important to the black community and other ethnicities as well to remember Martin Luther King Jr. who was a historic figure and is important to many communities of people.
School districts with the power to create calendars and choose which holidays to celebrate need to think about the communities of their schools as well. This year, West Covina School District decided to include Cesar Chavez day in spring break. Holidays that represent communities of people bring unity amongst students.
