Living in Loudoun County, I am faced with a diverse population so I can only imagine the types of religious celebrations or practices I might encounter in my classroom. First, I would love to make my classroom welcoming of the different backgrounds of my students, including their religions. As an English teacher, I would give my students opportunities to write about their own religious experiences for writing prompts. Religion is a part of who my students are and I feel as if I would be overstepping if I were to ban any type of religion from the classroom, excluding texts.
One practice I expect to encounter the most would be prayer. I'm sure I will encounter a student's wish to pray at various points of the day, and I would have no issue with it as long as it doesn't disrupt other students. Regarding accomodation for prayer and other special religious needs, I found the following statement from A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools:
Public schools are sometimes asked to accommodate students with special religious needs or practices. Sensitive and thoughtful school officials may easily grant many of these requests without raising constitutional questions. Muslim students, for example, may need a quiet place at lunch or during breaks to fulfill their prayer obligation during the school day.
Additionally, for students who might need to leave school for a day during a given time for a religious practice, I would encourage them to keep on top of their work and communicate with their classmate regarding class materials, since this is at the discretion of their family.
In my opinion, as a teacher I am not there to voice my own opinion on their religious background. I am there to teach English and expose them to all that's beautiful of literature. If my students would like to voice religion in their writing, so be it. If they feel the need or pray or be excused for a religious celebration and/or practice, I would remain the support system they need in terms of academia since that is my responsibility as an educator.
Haynes, C. C. (2008). A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools. First Amendment Center. Retrieved from http://www.religiousfreedomcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/teachersguide.pdf