“Happy Black Friday!” and Other Title One Holidays

“Happy Black Friday!” one hears repeatedly around Thanksgiving from the newly minted residents of the USA which make up the bulk of our Title-One students.

One hears it on the playground, in the hallways, the cafeteria and art room, “Happy Black Friday!” for the weeks leading up to our November break.

It’s apparently a national holiday, clearly, and these folks just want to fit in.

It’s not their fault. They are using the information provided … in the media. Searching the past week’s Washington Post Online, there are 65 articles about Thanksgiving, and 69 about Black Friday.

Stories about Thanksgiving are recipes and the other fluff journalism. Black Friday is about our national economic health. Thanksgiving is relegated to inserts and the last 2 minutes of local newscasts. Black Friday are headlines and top stories.

A recent CBS MoneyWatch piece, “Black Friday shopping: 5 reasons to stay home” did not mention Thanksgiving, which, in my book, is the main reason to stay home.

So what do the kids see as most important when processing their limited-English-proficiency-media-gestalt?

It’s all about Black Friday and how fast we can get through the fourth Thursday in November so retailers can start putting up (if they haven’t already) Christmas decorations.

Black Friday (not Thanksgiving) gets the media-hype building in the weeks before our November Holiday Break. You know, the break for Black Friday.

So “Happy Black Friday!” everyone, and don’t eat too much so you’re in shape to head out to the stores at midnight, Thanksgiving night.

Thanksgiving, you know, “It’s the day before Black Friday.”