As the first month of school comes to a close, so too comes the Jewish “High Holidays,” which are known in the Jewish community as the holiest days of the year. Starting the chain of holidays is Rosh Hashanah, celebrating the Jewish New Year. 

Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of a 10-day period of self-reflection. People think over the good things that happened in the past year that they would like to carry into the new year, and the things they can improve on in the year ahead. It is also a time to apologize to people they may have hurt in the past year and consider how to make things right.

Jewish holidays don’t receive days off from school. This means that school work, tests and quizzes continue. While some might think Jewish students have an extra day to study, although that might be true, they don’t take into account the downward spiral of catching up and feeling further and further behind in classes. If a student misses a test and does not have a study hall, they will have to miss yet another class to take the test, which will force them to miss more classwork. It might not seem bad catching up in one class, but Jewish students also have to catch up in all six other classes, setting them up for failure.

Many teachers allow their students to push back due dates and take tests the following day. This, in theory, is a good idea. However, what most teachers fail to realize is that — depending on the student’s religious beliefs — they cannot use technology or write on the holiday. That means they aren’t able to do their homework until the end of the holiday, which does not give them nearly enough time to complete the work for all their classes on time. 

Students who do use technology and will write on the holiday still can’t get their work done when they miss class. Most of the holiday is spent in synagogues or with friends or family who might be visiting from out of town. We should be focusing on celebrating the holiday, not stressing about what we are missing in school or how to catch up. 

Considering Park’s large Jewish population, I’d expect the school to be more accommodating for Jewish students. This has not been the case. I have been continuously frustrated seeing other schools with a smaller Jewish population being more accommodating for their students. This past year, other schools in the Twin Cities had their teacher development day on Rosh Hashanah. This allowed Jewish students not to miss school during the holiday. Only a couple teachers were forced to miss the development day instead of a large number of students being forced to miss school. 

Park should switch the teacher development day to a major holiday, and make it clear to not schedule major assignments, tests, or quizzes on the High Holidays. This would save Jewish students a great deal of stress, and let them enjoy the holidays the way they should be celebrated.