Post by slt on Oct 20, 2007 10:50:53 GMT -6
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/opinions/valleyviews/611218,2_5_AU20_VVTATAR_S1.article
Taking the 'Wee!' out of Halloween
October 20, 2007
Elementary school Halloween parties have been an American tradition for decades, yet in recent years many Indian Prairie schools have banished Halloween celebrations entirely or moved them outside of school hours.
Until this year, each elementary principal decided how to handle classroom parties; some opted for traditional holiday parties, curriculum-themed parties or seasonal affairs, while others decided to ban all parties. Over time, we lost both Halloween and Valentine's Day classroom parties at Brooks Elementary School. Last year, our school hosted a fall party in September instead of Halloween and an Earth Day party in April instead of a February Valentine's party.
There are a few students whose families do not want them to participate in Halloween celebrations. So, in the spirit of inclusion, administrators decided there would be no Halloween parade and party. This seems wrong to me. In an effort to avoid offending a few, the many lose out. Halloween for the majority of American families is a fun, secular celebration.
Last year, Brooks held its first evening family Halloween party. Hundreds of families showed up, which turned out to be more than could be accommodated comfortably. I truly appreciate the efforts of the volunteers who put on the party, but there was simply no way around the extremely long lines for all activities and huge crowds in every part of the available space. This was not an enjoyable evening.
I much prefer the classroom costume parties over this chaos. In a classroom party, my daughter would have the chance to see her own classmates in costume, and every child would have the opportunity to do each activity provided by the room parents.
The school board received a lot of feedback from parents about this, and it seems the majority prefer Halloween parties during the school day. In June, the board approved a new policy that requires the principal and parents to agree on room parties.
Principals are choosing to handle this in different ways. While the wording of the new policy indicates we are to be given a choice of various options along with the reasoning behind them, this is not what I've seen. The two letters I've seen that went home to families stated what parties would be offered and when, and parents were to send back a simple yes or no response to each suggestion. The Brooks party list is an evening Halloween party in October to be held at the middle school, a winter party in December, a Valentine's party in February (awesome!) and an Earth Day party in spring.
The survey was clearly set up to lead to a certain outcome.
The evening Halloween party conflicts with a concert that Waubonsie Valley High School and Granger Middle School students will be participating in, meaning that not all students who would like to celebrate Halloween with the other students at Brooks will have the chance to do so.
At least one school no longer has daytime classroom parties at all, after having first replaced the traditional parties with curriculum-based parties. The principal does not intend to reinstate the daytime parties even with the new policy in place. What is the point of this? Childhood goes by so quickly, and an hour and a half of lost instruction time to have fun three times a year does not seem unreasonable.
It's sad that for many of today's grade-schoolers Halloween will always be just a regular day of school.
Taking the 'Wee!' out of Halloween
October 20, 2007
Elementary school Halloween parties have been an American tradition for decades, yet in recent years many Indian Prairie schools have banished Halloween celebrations entirely or moved them outside of school hours.
Until this year, each elementary principal decided how to handle classroom parties; some opted for traditional holiday parties, curriculum-themed parties or seasonal affairs, while others decided to ban all parties. Over time, we lost both Halloween and Valentine's Day classroom parties at Brooks Elementary School. Last year, our school hosted a fall party in September instead of Halloween and an Earth Day party in April instead of a February Valentine's party.
There are a few students whose families do not want them to participate in Halloween celebrations. So, in the spirit of inclusion, administrators decided there would be no Halloween parade and party. This seems wrong to me. In an effort to avoid offending a few, the many lose out. Halloween for the majority of American families is a fun, secular celebration.
Last year, Brooks held its first evening family Halloween party. Hundreds of families showed up, which turned out to be more than could be accommodated comfortably. I truly appreciate the efforts of the volunteers who put on the party, but there was simply no way around the extremely long lines for all activities and huge crowds in every part of the available space. This was not an enjoyable evening.
I much prefer the classroom costume parties over this chaos. In a classroom party, my daughter would have the chance to see her own classmates in costume, and every child would have the opportunity to do each activity provided by the room parents.
The school board received a lot of feedback from parents about this, and it seems the majority prefer Halloween parties during the school day. In June, the board approved a new policy that requires the principal and parents to agree on room parties.
Principals are choosing to handle this in different ways. While the wording of the new policy indicates we are to be given a choice of various options along with the reasoning behind them, this is not what I've seen. The two letters I've seen that went home to families stated what parties would be offered and when, and parents were to send back a simple yes or no response to each suggestion. The Brooks party list is an evening Halloween party in October to be held at the middle school, a winter party in December, a Valentine's party in February (awesome!) and an Earth Day party in spring.
The survey was clearly set up to lead to a certain outcome.
The evening Halloween party conflicts with a concert that Waubonsie Valley High School and Granger Middle School students will be participating in, meaning that not all students who would like to celebrate Halloween with the other students at Brooks will have the chance to do so.
At least one school no longer has daytime classroom parties at all, after having first replaced the traditional parties with curriculum-based parties. The principal does not intend to reinstate the daytime parties even with the new policy in place. What is the point of this? Childhood goes by so quickly, and an hour and a half of lost instruction time to have fun three times a year does not seem unreasonable.
It's sad that for many of today's grade-schoolers Halloween will always be just a regular day of school.
