Halloween

OK, this is what has been festering (good word for this time of year) in my head for a few days. I went into our local Carlos O'Kelly's for dinner one day last week and lo to my surprise the place was decorated for Halloween. As you walked up to the front door there were full size translucent posters of a witch and a vampire on them. Once inside the place was hung with ghosts and spiders from the ceiling and it was just plain "fun" -

Now I don't get into Halloween like my friend Spo who lives in Arizona and writes on his blog about decorating his house. I used to decorate in school and the kids loved it. I would cut crepe paper for the bodies (criss cross cut opens up nicely) with black for witches, green and orange for zombies and pumpkin heads. We hung things from the light fixtures and put up scary posters. I had a haunted house that was purple and black and was marvelous.

I loved decorating for the holiday and one year I got all the kids little gourds and let them draw faces on them to decorate them for their individual desks. The Halloween party was the big event of the year and I used it and all the parties to teach democracy. In some classrooms the parents would do everything. They provided all the treats and games and actually came in and "ran" the classroom. I used Constitution Week in September for the kids to learn about the Constitution and write their own and democratically decide what they wanted to do for their parties. We wrote a constitution, elected officers, developed committees, and evaluated the party afterward so that the next one would be better. We also used the Class officers for decision making. We had a plan in place to change the Constitution if we wanted to. All in all I think it was a better way to prepare kids for participation in a democracy than just having things done for them.

The first party was Halloween and the kids had been anticipating this for months. In fact I accuse the retail stores of jumping the gun for Christmas but nothing would hold the kids back from thinking about what costume they were going to wear for Halloween. They were planning it from the first day of school. And it was fun. And it was innocuous. No one was hurt by it.

However that all changed. When my nephew was attending Kate Mitchell School here in Ames and was in third or fourth grade the Art teacher had the kids making Halloween decorations for the classroom. Nothing like using the things going on in the real world to develop the skills you were trying to teach and the kids were enthusiastic. It was (as always) fun for everyone. Until one day he came home upset and disappointed. The very elaborate and unfinished decoration came with him. The principal, Mrs H, had stopped the decorations because some "Christian lady" had come in and complained to her that the school was encouraging a pagan holiday (like Christmas isn't) or satanism or witchcraft and they had to stop it. Rather than stand up to her Mrs. H caved. Gone were the creative decorations and fun. Instead there was disappointment and the kids replaced the anticipated fun with resentment. All because of ONE "Christian lady"

No more Halloween parties. No more Christmas parties...(they could still have Valentines for some unknown reason) - instead we had "fall" parties and decorated with leaves and colorful gourds (undecorated) and a "winter" party around the time of December the last day of classes before the "winter" break which just happened to coincide with the Christian Holiday.

As I walked into the restaurant to enjoy my meal (and I did) I thought "what fun" and then I remembered my nephew's experience and I wondered why the "Christians" had not swooped down on them and accused them of fostering witchcraft or satanic practices. Why weren't the folks from Westboro outside picketing. I mean they use every opportunity they can. Jon went to one of the "haunted houses in a "church" which shall remain nameless and was so turned off by the thinly disguised propaganda that he no longer attends any church. The fruits of their evangelical practices!

Lets be honest folks. Taking a fun time away from children in the entire school because of your misguided beliefs is just wrong. It is Christian Talibanism and just shows what you would do if you ran the country. Wouldn't it be better to let the kids have a little harmless dress up fun and enjoy themselves for about an hour than taking it away from them in the name of YOUR religion? ... We have a multi-cultural community here - I think it was better to do it the way I did and let the kids use democracy to plan and execute their party times. Not the Christianists - They would rule every small iota of your life and it would have to be the way THEY want not what you want. Be afraid of them Be very afraid!