It seems strange to think--as our school is SO involved in Halloween--that there might be other schools or places across the country that aren't nearly in the spirit (no pun intended) to celebrate or dress up. Trick-or-treating, putting on extravagant makeup or slicing up pumpkin faces is something most people enjoy and do annually. In contrast, a small Connecticut town planned on banning the festivities, as they were unfair to those who don't celebrate Halloween. Things like not being allowed to dress up the students or even theming activities as "Halloween-themed" (but rather "fall-themed") were also mentioned in the decree. "However," Fox News wrote, "Officials from Milford Public Schools decided on Monday to
reinstate parades and other Halloween activities at elementary schools
in the district after parents protested the original decision." The article further explained that the officials in charge believed they were doing the right thing, but later came to the understanding that they were emphasizing the issue of celebration as opposed to focusing on the more important issue: teaching the students. "'The principals and I are about educating our children,' read a
letter from School Superintendent Elizabeth Feser sent to parents Monday
afternoon. 'With this in mind, knowing that the issue of Halloween is
detracting from what we are truly about, and our time with our children
around teaching and learning is most important, we have decided to
reverse our decision.'”
I guess my questions about the following article are these: Would this matter of dressing up ourselves and our children to celebrate something be considered an issue on the freedom of speech (our First Amendment)? And if so, does the authority of MISD have the right to uphold these privileges from the public?
On the other hand, it does make sense to respect all religions, including those who specifically do not believe in Halloween or the celebration of evil and Satan or monsters in general. There could very well be some people out there who get highly offended by even the mention of Halloween. However, this ban deals with the supposed seclusion of non-participants, and has in no way been shaped around the idea that those non-participants actually feel attacked and/or discriminated against because if the holiday. And in the words of Victoria Johannsen (mother to a third-grader in Milford),
“I don’t think we’re excluding anybody, I think they’re excluding themselves.”
This is the article, in more descriptive detail: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/12/boo-connecticut-school-district-cancels-halloween/
Nicholas Godfrey Period 8:
ReplyDeleteI find it weird that the school district would remove the term Halloween from their parties that they give the students. If they really want to remove distraction, then cancel the parties that they are giving but let the kids celebrate their Halloween. I find this is like how schools stopped calling them "Christmas Parties" and changed it to "Holliday Parties" as to not offend anybody.
It is silly that some schools are deciding to ban Halloween festivities because Halloween isn't a religious holiday or offensive to anyone's religion. It should just be a fun holiday to dress up and have fun with your friends.
ReplyDelete-Julianne Swaykus 6
That's ridiculous! Halloween is tradition and a fun part of childhood. Dressing up for one school day wouldn't distract kids from learning.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Homsher 9th- There are a lot of religious holidays that occur around the same time as Halloween. For example, el Dia de los Muertos and All Souls' Day occur just after Halloween. Why would Halloween interfere with religious beliefs when many cultures around the world have holidays that are similar?
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm thinking about it, it makes sense that school "Halloween-themed" parties could be offensive to other cultures. We already call school parties in December "Holiday parties" or "Winter parties" because not everybody celebrates Christmas. Elementary schools could do the same and call the Halloween parties "Fall parties", that way everyone's included.
ReplyDeleteI feel like changing the name isn't going to stop the kids from dressing up and carving pumpkins but goes a length to make sure that anyone from any culture is included in the festivities. I don't really see why it would be a big deal to change the name.
ReplyDelete