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who grew up in public schools, I've never understood the "tradition" thing. Not once, in any of the 10 schools I attended K -12th grade, did we wear costumes to school. I don't remember any parties, candy, etc.; we were always hyperfocused on AFTER school, when we'd go home and get ready for the big event; trick-or-treating.
I didn't run into the parade/party scenario until my own kids were in school. And I didn't "get" it until I became a teacher myself.
This is not a 30 minute "pass out candy walk in a parade" event. Kids are wearing the costumes all day long. Some costumes interfere with movement and ability to sit in your own space at your desk. Some, no matter how explicitly you explain this beforehand, violate dress code and pissed off parents have to come get their kid and bring something different to wear. Backpacks are full of candy, and whether or not it's "scheduled" for the end of the day, candy is passed through the underground all day. Starting before school. And we get to manage 32 (my class size) sugared bodies all day long. If you think the kids are focused on learning all day until the candy/parade thing starts, think again. Just try to get anything productive accomplished. By the end of the day, the costumes are bedraggled, and they rush home to put a DIFFERENT costume on for trick-or-treating. Because they've been anxious to go out and collect all that candy; they've been waiting and waiting, and so looking forward to it...oh, wait. They had bags of their own candy already. They ate half of their own, passed out the other half, and ate a bunch of the loot they've already collected. But that's not enough. They now need to go out and collect more candy.
These kids will be on sugar highs and crashes for days to come. Making our classroom of 32 such an interesting place to be.
If you think that this does not impact learning time, think again. And, of course, there is the exclusion factor. Every kid whose family does not "do" Halloween is excluded. Shrugs, headshakes over the parents' beliefs, and "oh well, too bad" blanket the campus. It's one of those days that these kids endure. Just like others endure the "under god" in the pledge every day.
I don't think we need to "outlaw" Halloween; but a little restraint at school might be nice. If we could just get over being obsessive about it, and keep whatever we do in moderation, that would be a good start. And it starts at home, with listening to classroom requests and complying with them out of respect for the person who actually will be present supervising the whole thing. I have a fantasy every year about using my "personal days" to take halloween and valentine's day off; I never do, knowing what a disaster would be wreaked upon my classroom, but I always want to.
I have this fantasy, where all of those parents who think kids need more parties host the parties themselves, in their own homes. Where they can choose the number of children attending, and sugar them up to their hearts' content.
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