THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412180310
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
There were snowflakes and singing and little children on stage, full of holiday spirit. But it wasn't a Christmas show.
Officials at G.A. Treakle Elementary School were careful to avoid using the ``C'' word in the title of their PTA's ``Winter Fantasy'' program Monday, and Christian overtones were cautiously edited out.
But one parent, Renee Hannas, says school officials went overboard when they told her son, Andrew, he couldn't read a poem he was to recite because it mentioned the name of Jesus.
School Principal Diane G. Martin, however, said the poem was not allowed because it was submitted at the last minute and could not be approved properly.
``It's never been our policy to use things solicited from parents at the last minute,'' Martin said. ``I follow procedure, and the procedure would have been to have the program chairperson come to me for any changes to the (holiday program) agenda that was set in August.''
It was one week before the program, when the school's PTA president, Linda Hodge, was searching for a poem to kick off the upcoming after-school ``Winter Fantasy'' show. Hodge, a special-education assistant at the school, spoke to one of Andrew's former teachers, who suggested a poem titled ``Christmas in our Hearts.''
The poem, written by Andrew's mother, focuses on the homeless and the hungry, and on keeping kids off the street and Jesus in our hearts.
``I was honored that the teacher had even asked him to read it,'' Hannas said. ``I thought it was perfect because there were parents as well as children there to get the message across to.''
Practicing the page-long poem for several days before the show, Andrew, 11, recited it over and over at home to an audience of his parents, who urged him to say the words with more expression and to flow with the poem's meter.
But on the day of the holiday show, Andrew says, Hodge approached him in the hallway to apologize and explain that the school principal did not approve the poem because of its religious references.
``I was a little disappointed. I was surprised,'' the sixth-gradersaid. But he seemed more concerned that he would be embarrassed if his mother pursued the issue.
``I was disappointed, but I had to look at both sides,'' Hodge said, adding that she had considered taking out a few lines in the poem that referred to Jesus. ``Everybody has a different opinion about what's offensive and what's not. You just never know. It could be the littlest thing.''
Chesapeake school spokesman Tom Cupitt said Christmas celebrations in city schools now are often called ``winter pageants'' or ``winter festivals'' rather than ``Christmas celebrations.''
``We try to be fair to everybody. Schools are secular,'' Cupitt said, touting an all-inclusive approach to honoring holidays.
``(Administrators) take great pains to reflect the community. We try to teach kids diversity. Some schools try to be as neutral as possible.''
In the interest of diversity, the school program had a segment devoted to Kwanzaa, a holiday celebrating African-American culture, Cupitt said.
There are no citywide policies on celebrating holidays. Guidelines are left up to schools, he said.
``A lot of people don't think it's a big issue, but if you're a true Christian, it is,'' Hannas said.
``I try to understand other points of view, and I did sit back and think, `Well, what if I was Jewish? Would I have been offended?' I don't think so, but I am offended that we can't mention the real reason for Christmas. . . . Christmas is about Christ.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BETH BERGMAN/Staff
Andrew Hannas says he was ``a little disappointed'' when he was told
he couldn't read his poem at the school program.
Graphic
CHRISTMAS IN OUR HEARTS
By Renee Hannas
'Twas the month before Christmas when all through the town,
The homeless were hungry and wearing a frown
Their stockings were not hung by the chimney with care
For they knew that St. Nick would not find them anywhere!
The children were nestled in the back of a car
while visions of warmth they felt from afar
While out in the streets a shot could be heard,
a young boy fell to the ground, not saying a word
Away in an ambulance he rode like a flash,
and all because drugs were a part of his past.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
gave luster of midday to objects below
The words seemed the same of years long ago,
But oh how the world it had changed, don't you know
Our children were no longer safe as before,
for drugs and violence were knocking at our door.
As you read through this story, it seems all gloom and no glory
But there's Hope for you, see, since He came for you and me.
No, He didn't arrive in a big red sleigh
but in fact in a manger far, far away.
Wouldn't it be grand to lend a helping hand.
Not just one time of good cheer but every single day of the
year.
To have ``Christmas'' in our hearts, where Jesus never departs.
I now it can't always be like in fairy tales and storybooks.
But if only we'd learn to open our hearts
and not just our pocketbooks.
Our children they desperately need our love and attention
So, they'll stay off the streets and look to us for affection.
The homeless, the hungry - they all need our care
For we are more fortunate than those in despair
We know not why they live in the streets,
Perhaps they just had one too many defeats.
So listen my children and you shall hear
By God's Word He is very near.
So lend out your heart and not just your hand,
Let Christmas live everyday,
with peace throughout the land!
by CNB