It is interesting to me how different schools view Halloween. I look at it as a fun opportunity for the kids, that they need a break and some fun once in awhile. It can easily be incorporated into a lot of lessons. You can incorporate spiders, pumpkins, and fall with all sorts of Halloween activities. There are poems, songs, and stories that will capture the students interests at this time of year as well.
Some schools have great Halloween celebrations. Some schools I have seen ban all things with the name of Halloween, but if you call it Harvest then you can incorporate it into lessons, have a party, and have fun. All in the name of Harvest -- just avoid that nasty Halloween word. Other schools have banned all activities in October -- no matter whether it is called Halloween or Harvest or something else. Why have they banned Halloween? Is it the religious connection? A few years ago the Puyallup school district banned all things to do with Halloween because of complaints by the Wiccan community. That is something new. I thought it was supposed to be their holiday? Isn't that why the Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities don't like it?
Maybe it has it become too commercial ? What about the junk food aspect of it? Unhealthy. It doesn't have to be all candy, some schools are finding ways to be healthy and still celebrate.
I am not sure I really understand why the difference in schools attitudes toward this day. My kids school is a Harvest school -- no Halloween wording is allowed anywhere. My intern school is a non-holiday school. No Halloween or Harvest parties at all. I could understand it if it was because of religious tolerance, yet they have Christmas parties. I don't understand that either. How can you ban Halloween for religious tolerance reasons, yet have Christmas parties?
I guess for me, I think that having a party and having fun once in awhile is an important part of school, and life. School can't just be about the tests. I think it helps build a feeling of community. I think that any way that you can reach the kids, through what they enjoy and are excited about is a good thing. I don't want to step on anyone's religious or personal beliefs, but I do think that people take their objections too far at times. I think that Halloween is more of a tradition than a religious event. I think it can be a fun learning experience without having religious discussions enter into it.
What did your school do for Halloween?
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2 comments:
I agree. In my own personal opinion I don't think celebrating Halloween is such a big deal. It has been done for years and years. I realize you need to respect differences but this country is so overly PC about everything. I know people will say that school is not the private sector and all holidays need to be kept out. However, think back to when you were a child. How excited were you about Halloween and Christmas or whatever holidays you celebrated? How can you not recognize? Why do we want to take the fun out of everything? I just don't get it. You dress up and you eat candy. Kids have fun and they get to be kids. I feel taking this kind of stuff away is wrong. You're right, school does need to have some fun and not be all about testing. Kids spend 7 hours a day at school and for pete's sakes they are kids! The school I am at now had a Harvest Festival... a PC way of saying "Halloween party". My class is very diverse and has not one single caucasian. All the kids dressed up except the two Muslim children. They didn't dress up yet they were able to participate in the party. One child did not come to school that day. He is from Guatamala and his mom will not let him participate in any school parties or dances.
It appears to me there has been a meshing of the Halloween and a Harvest celebration in recent years since Halloween has been banned from many schools. In the earlier times, the Harvest celebration was the beginning of the Thanksgiving season and usually did not start until after the Halloween season. The celebrations would progress from those outside of the home with the community and friends of Harvest , Autumn, or Fall celebrations to cumulate with the more personal celebration of Thanksgiving with one's family. Some churchs have now also began to offer Harvest Celebrations as an alternative to Halloween which appears to have added to more confusion about understanding the difference between Halloween and Harvest celebrations.
As for taking these kind of things away from the classroom, these practices are newer than some people realize. When I went to school, we did not have Halloween parties. We had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a end of the year party and that was it. The parties were more of visiting before separtion. The parties were always held the last day before break, so there would not be any ongoing disruption in learing.
Like with many issues we have studied it's not the children who turn these events into issues but their parents.
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