>But music class isn't necessarily an exploration of culture...there's learning *how* to sing or play an instrument. And that requires singing or playing the music, much of which springs from religious roots. I think the winter holidays get scooped up by the music teachers (especially in elementary school) because the melodies and words are quite well known. You figure schools start in fall, and it takes a few months of once-a-week classes to get some good sounds for a concert, so you're into December. Well, everyone is generally celebrating something in December, which is why the music is chosen. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of choice for "winter music" that isn't about or refers to a religion.

So do the spring concerts do "spring music"? My point is that you can do a concert in December and it doesn't have to be "winter music", just good music that allows the teacher to teach the relevant things. FWIW, a couple of the schools in my district don't have their winter concerts until January because December is just too full. I'm sure they're not doing holiday music. (Actually, in general, we don't do holiday music here in the winter concerts. There's plenty of great music to teach kids besides that.)

>Shouldn't? I guess I have very different views, but I've never considered singing songs from someone else's religion to be compromising my own.

Doesn't the content of the song matter? When I go to a church service, I don't participate except perhaps in recitation of psalms. I don't generally sing Amazing Grace or Silent Night or other religious Christian songs (which isn't to say that I don't know the words and melodies).

Maybe it's because so much of Jewish prayer is sung or chanted, but to me singing a religious song is a little too close to prayer.

My biggest issue with the thing my high school did is that the _only_ songs we learned in the languages were Christmas carols. If the idea was to provide cross-cultural experiences, why not teach folk songs from those languages? Why not do it at another time of year that wasn't so busy. This was, specifically, a celebration of Christmas in the public school.

>Exactly. All kinds of music needs to be taught. Most of our music and tradition comes from all kinds of religious backgrounds and world cultures. However, if the argument is that we don't allow any religious music in the schools because it makes children of other religions uncomfortable, then we must ensure that NO religious songs are sung. That rules out a LOT of music, not just Christian Christmas carols! And that music is important to American culture -- as you and your children already know.

I think there's a big difference between high school choristers learning Handel's Messiah, and second graders singing Silent Night.

Tamar