Halloween Cancelled!?!?

[Munin-Hugin]

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-halloween-in-schools-20141026-story.html#page=1

So this is the town RIGHT next to where I live. While I don't have any children, I'm rather irritated about this. These days, it's gotten to the time that people who grew up learning and starting to practice alternative religions are having children of their own and raising them in those traditions. What sort of message is that sending to those children, that their holiday isn't good enough to be recognized by the schools?

[thalassa]

Re: Halloween Cancelled!?!?

Honestly, I'm with this line from the article:

Schools "haven't figured out how to talk about religious pluralism," and often have a "knee-jerk" reaction when a particular group expresses discomfort with a tradition like Halloween, Peters said, rather than use it as an opportunity to discuss diversity.
"This seems to be part of a bigger trend, more recent in the United States, of kind of taking things that are particularly religious and kind of trying to filter the religious aspects out of them,"

I don't give a fig either way, as long as the school is consistent...if you aren't going to do Halloween, then there shouldn't be a Valentine's Day, and there really better not be a Easter or Christmas. Schools have been moving away from this for the past 10-20 years--they nixed most of these things between when I attended school and when my brothers did (in a suburban Midwestern public school district--my brothers attended the same school I did, about 15 years after I did). This isn't anything new, and I'd dare say it has as much to do with the "minimizing offense" PC crowd as it does just getting rid of anything fun (like recess) that detracts from *getting ready for standardized tests* "class time". They've gotten away from birthday parties--and even treats too, except in preK and K classes at my kids' school.

TBH, I'm okay with schools doing parties/crafts/education for Easter and Christmas too, provided they also include the same for Hanukkah, Diwali, etc. I'm also okay with moments of silence for "reflection, meditiation, or prayer", with teaching about world religions from a historical and anthropological perspective, and with using religious texts in literature classes. (And, I might add, so is the Constitution, as interpreted in various court cases and by the Department of Education)

[VeganZombettie]

Re: Halloween Cancelled!?!?

Honestly, I'm with this line from the article:




I don't give a fig either way, as long as the school is consistent...if you aren't going to do Halloween, then there shouldn't be a Valentine's Day, and there really better not be a Easter or Christmas. Schools have been moving away from this for the past 10-20 years--they nixed most of these things between when I attended school and when my brothers did (in a suburban Midwestern public school district--my brothers attended the same school I did, about 15 years after I did). This isn't anything new, and I'd dare say it has as much to do with the "minimizing offense" PC crowd as it does just getting rid of anything fun (like recess) that detracts from *getting ready for standardized tests* "class time". They've gotten away from birthday parties--and even treats too, except in preK and K classes at my kids' school.

TBH, I'm okay with schools doing parties/crafts/education for Easter and Christmas too, provided they also include the same for Hanukkah, Diwali, etc. I'm also okay with moments of silence for "reflection, meditiation, or prayer", with teaching about world religions from a historical and anthropological perspective, and with using religious texts in literature classes. (And, I might add, so is the Constitution, as interpreted in various court cases and by the Department of Education)

This makes me wish that we could 'like' posts. This is spot-on.

[Torey]

Re: Halloween Cancelled!?!?

This makes me wish that we could 'like' posts. This is spot-on.

You can, basically. Just add to Thal's rep points.

At the bottom of her post, next to the link that says "Blog this Post", there's a star icon.

[SleepingCompass]

Re: Halloween Cancelled!?!?

You can, basically. Just add to Thal's rep points.

At the bottom of her post, next to the link that says "Blog this Post", there's a star icon.

Well, don't I feel silly! I never noticed that star icon; I just assumed staff was somehow doing the reputation thing... So what's the deal with Medusa's then? If we like one of her posts do we give her negative feedback or does she just have her color set to red somehow?

[thalassa]

Re: Halloween Cancelled!?!?

Well, don't I feel silly! I never noticed that star icon; I just assumed staff was somehow doing the reputation thing... So what's the deal with Medusa's then? If we like one of her posts do we give her negative feedback or does she just have her color set to red somehow?

Nah, we've gone in an administratively changed hers (she likes it that way)...there's almost no way that it could get rep'ed enough to go back to green.