|
 Every
year, Halloween seems to get a bad rap from some one of
some group of people. This tends to scare us more then any new horror
film ever could. here, you'll find some of the articles we've found and
why they scare us. Maybe if we all stand up for the right to celebrate
Halloween, we can put a stop to this nonsense! |
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Hollow Holidays: School's
Effort to
Offend No One Backfires
By Nicole Brodeur - Times Staff Columnist - November 12, 2000
Not long ago, my kid's school sent home a memo that read as
follows: "Halloween Party Tuesday. No costumes."
Oh. It sounded like a dance without music. A Sweet 16 without
a kiss.
It turned out to be a great time anyway, with games and
snacks and pumpkins.
But there had to be a moment when the kids took a look at
each other and wondered why, on such a day of disguise and wonder, there wasn't a single
Muggle or mummy or X-Man among them.
Welcome to the new world, where classrooms resemble the
United Nations, and their December decor no longer looks like Norman Rockwell just stepped
out to puff his pipe.
Instead, they look a tad desperate in their effort to honor
all and offend none.
The Kent School District is pondering a new set of holiday
guidelines that, among other things, would allow Christmas trees - but no decorations. Not
a single light, ball or candy cane. Not even give-a-gift cards for charities.
"That's a real emotional button for people,"
district spokeswoman Becky Hanks said of the bare trees. "Adults are having a more
difficult time than the kids are.
"But our schools are serving a much more diverse
population than we had when we were kids."
The guidelines, which may be revised in time for
Thanksgiving, were hammered out by a committee assembled by Superintendent Barbara Grohe.
When she arrived at the district last year, Grohe discovered
that there were 64 languages spoken in her schools. Certainly not everyone knew the words
to "Jingle Bells."
And so the committee went down the list of holidays,
suggesting that Halloween be replaced by something called "Harvest Day," and
that costumes be limited to storybook and historical characters.
Other holiday suggestions: If you sing, teach, draw or act
out anything religious, a variety of religions should be included.
The district phones, radio call-in lines and editorial pages
lighted up like, well, a Christmas tree. A menorah. A Kwaanza candle. I'm trying here,
folks.
Last week, Grohe began a series of public forums. Almost 400
people packed into the Kentlake High School cafeteria for the first one; 75 came to the
next.
Two more hearings are scheduled for this week: tomorrow at 7
p.m. at the Kentridge High School cafeteria; and Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Kent-Meridian
High School cafeteria.
Hanks expects big turnout, and more scenes like the one from
the first session:
A man who supports the new guidelines stood to explain that
his family doesn't celebrate Christmas. In kids' terms, Santa Claus doesn't come to their
house. When his child shared this with his classmates, they concluded he must be naughty.
Otherwise, Santa would come. Right?
With that, a young woman stood and turned to the man:
"It's your job," she said, "to teach your child that he's not
naughty."
The crowd roared in support. The man sat down. Nothing like a
little goodwill toward men.
How schools celebrate the holidays needn't be so contentious
- or so cautious.
I can't imagine anything worse than a bare Christmas tree in
a place where children gather. It's such a half-hearted kind of thing, worse than the
pathetic little pine adopted by Charlie Brown.
But some can't separate the idea of a holiday tree from its
religious roots. It's as simple as that.
"The last thing we want to do," Hanks said,
"is to take away the kids' fun."
So put up a holiday tree. But then let each student make his
or her own decoration, within reason, to reflect their diversity and beliefs.
Students have already started working around the new rules.
One school's service club has started a "Wish Upon a
Star" campaign which allows students to donate to the needy.
One only needs to walk through a school cafeteria to see how
kids bring their home traditions to school. At my son's school, I have seen kids snap open
containers of sushi, curry and peanut butter on matzoh, along with the Go-Gurt and
PB&J.
The coolest part is that it all looks normal to them. They
don't blink. They don't stare. They sample, they listen, they learn.
And I think that a diverse holiday season would be the same.
They would share. They would feast on their spiritual smorgasbord, and probably learn a
lot in the process.
And that may be the best gift of the season.
The Seattle Times Company
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Every
year, Halloween enthusiasts anxiously await the retail
industry to begin their Halloween season and see who's
first to stock products for the spooky season. Many
stores begin stocking Halloween products as early as
July! |
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