There’s nothing religious about big bunnies toting colorful plastic eggs, but an Alabama elementary school is doing what they can to make sure they don’t offend anyone with an upcoming “academic egg hunt.”
Teachers at Heritage Elementary School in Madison, Ala., were informed Monday (March 25) their plans to have an “academic egg hunt” with their kindergarten and second grade students would need to be scrapped, according to a report from WHNT.com.
School Principal Lydia Davenport informed staff no activities related to or centered around any religious holiday would be allowed in the interest of religious diversity among students.
The change has some parents upset.
“I don’t get upset about too many things, but this upsets me. What is this world coming to? I am a Christian and proud to announce it. But even non-believers enjoy a good egg hunt. Kids need to enjoy being kids,” one parent wrote in an email.
Teachers had originally planned to participate in a ‘quiz bowl’ egg hunt where students would chime in to answer with egg buzzers and search for answers to quiz questions in “Easter eggs,” WHNT reports.
The activity will go on, but with some changes. Teachers are being asked to use other different kinds of shapes besides eggs and to not mention the word “Easter.”
“Kids love the bunny and we just make sure we don’t say ‘the Easter bunny’ so that we don’t infringe on the rights of others because people relate the Easter bunny to religion; a bunny is a bunny and a rabbit is a rabbit,” Davenport said.
Davenport said the school’s religious diversity among students prompted the decision to change the quiz bowl.
