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American Morning

School Will Not Celebrate Mother's Day; Others Opposing Holiday Include Founder

Aired May 10, 2001 - 09:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Mothers around the country are no doubt looking forward to their day of honor -- by the way, Mother's Day is this Sunday, if you haven't done anything for your mom, Leon.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Oops. Oops.

KAGAN: With the changing makeup of today's families, at least one New York school has decided not to honor Mom.

Here's CNN's Garrick Utley with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the Rodeph Sholom Day School, in Manhattan, decided not to celebrate Mother's Day or Father's Day, the private school sent a letter home to the parents of its young students: "We are a school with many different family makeups, and we need to recognize the emotional wellbeing of all the children in our school." Translation -- according to the newspaper that broke the story: Two gay males who adopted a child who goes to the school felt that Mother's Day, in particular, was no longer appropriate. The school says there were a number of reasons for its decision, including that Mother's Day does not serve an educational need.

(on camera): Which makes this the kind of story that commentators and social critics love to jump on as an example of political correctness run amuck. It is also a sign of the sensitivity that can surround Mother's Day and what has happened to it.

(voice-over): Perhaps you have heard of Anna Jarvis, whose mission and obsession in life was to honor her mother and all others. She was raised in this home in West Virginia in a United States where women didn't yet have the vote. But in 1914, they got Mother's Day, as President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed that it would be observed on the second Sunday of May.

But since there's no sentiment that cannot be marketed, Mother's Day was an idea quickly exploited by business, which could play on the indisputable fact that everyone has had a mother. The most popular gifts are cards -- 132 million of which will be sold this year -- followed by flowers, and then by taking Mom out to brunch. From its very beginnings, the commercialization of the holiday enraged Anna Jarvis, who filed lawsuits and was arrested for disturbing the peace as she valiantly, but vainly, defended the purity of her Mother's Day vision.

Today, mothers with young children have the ultimate inescapable 24/7 job. But of all the gifts that will be given, perhaps the most cherished is the one we seem unable to give: 24 hours of peace and quiet.

(on camera): And what would Anna Jarvis make of Mother's Day today? We know the answer: She spent all her money fighting the commercialization of the day she created.

(voice-over): She died at 84, penniless and childless -- she was never a mother.

Garrick Utley, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: An interesting twist, there.

By the way, a senior rabbi at the New York school that's featured in Garrick Utley's piece has issued a statement saying, "Mother's Day evokes great love and pride, but in my judgment, children who, for whatever reason, have no mother should not have to sit in class while cards are made for the mothers of others."

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