Valentine's Day celebrations are at the discretion of each individual classroom

 

One of the best childhood memories for many is the celebrations of St. Valentine's day in the classroom. It is a welcome and colourful festive respite from the dreary winter months, and it sparks good feelings all around to share thoughts of admiration as well as spicy cinnamon hearts.

This year, Valentine's Day is one of the many holidays coming under fire on social media, with people claiming the holiday is becoming an inclusivity issue in many public schools. The root of this concern comes from a recent ban of the holiday's celebration at an elementary school in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Bruce Vento Elementary has put a ban on all holiday celebrations in school, including Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas.

Valentine's Day is of course, no exception. The argument for the ban centres around the ill feelings harboured by students who don't receive the same amount of Valentine's Day greetings as their peers. Teachers and parents are afraid feelings will be hurt if all students are not treated equally when it comes to the distribution of cards and treats affiliated with the holiday.

Mixed responses from parents all over the province have been documented on various social media outlets such as twitter; most parents are apalled the inclusivity of Valentine's day has come in to question.

However, it seems there will be no boycott of the holiday in Saskatchewan; schools in and around the region claim the celebration of February 14th is at the individual discretion of each and every classroom. The majority think it is entirely possible to have a successful celebration which includes every student if the appropriate steps are taken.

Teachers who wish to celebrate the holdiay with their class are encouraged to provide a full list of student names, which children can take home to their parents. The parents are then able to ensure their child provides the adequate amount of Valentines for every student and eliminates the possibility their child will send Valentine's Day greetings to only a select group of friends.